Senior / Staff Software Engineer
Autoscience Institute
Location
San Mateo
Employment Type
Full time
Location Type
On-site
Department
Development
Compensation
- Estimated Total Compensation (including bonus/equity) $300K – $500K
Company Description
At Autoscience Institute, we automate AI research. Recently, we announced the first AI agent to autonomously create peer-reviewed literature (ICLR 2025) and the first AI system to win a Kaggle medal. We are passionate about pushing the boundaries of artificial intelligence and contributing to groundbreaking advancements in the field.
Role Description
This is a full-time on-site role for a Senior or Staff Software Engineer (Technical Lead) located in the San Francisco Bay Area.
In this role, you will lead the design and development of core systems that power autonomous research agents. You’ll be responsible for building reliable backend infrastructure and production systems that support large-scale AI experimentation and research workflows.
We are looking for engineers who have owned complex projects end-to-end, contributed to system architecture, and helped guide small teams of engineers through delivery. You should be comfortable writing high-quality code, producing clear design documents, and making thoughtful technical decisions that shape how systems evolve over time.
You will work closely with both engineers and researchers to translate experimental ideas into robust production systems.
Responsibilities
Lead the design and implementation of core backend and infrastructure systems
Own projects from architecture and design through production deployment
Write clear technical design documents and drive engineering decisions
Build and maintain 24/7 production systems supporting autonomous research agents
Partner closely with research teams to productionize experimental workflows
Guide and collaborate with engineers on system design and implementation
Improve system reliability, scalability, and observability
Help shape the technical direction of the platform
Qualifications
Experience leading complex engineering projects or technical initiatives
Experience acting as a technical lead or guiding small teams of engineers
Strong software design and architecture skills
Demonstrable experience writing clear technical design documents
Strong experience with Python
Experience building or operating backend or production infrastructure
Experience working in 24/7 production environments
Experience with Google Cloud Platform (GCP) or similar cloud infrastructure
Strong understanding of software evolution, maintainability, and system design tradeoffs
Ability to collaborate effectively with both engineers and researchers
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Mathematics, or a related field
Strong candidates will typically have 5+ years of experience building and operating production software systems, including ownership of projects from design through deployment
Our Culture
We're a team of passionate researchers and engineers working to automate scientific discovery. We believe in the power of AI to accelerate scientific discovery and are committed to responsible AI development.
Compensation Range: $300K - $500K