Software Engineer 2, Autonomous Lab
Ginkgo Bioworks · Boston, MA · 3 wk ago
EngineeringFull-time
Responsibilities
- Technical Delivery
- Write clean, readable, maintainable code and apply coding principles (DRY, SOLID) with guidance from senior teammates.
- Recognize and follow established architectural patterns; contribute improvements as you grow into the codebase.
- Identify and communicate dependencies and potential blockers proactively.
- Use AI agents and tooling to accelerate development while applying sound engineering judgment.
- Collaboration & Communication
- Participate constructively in technical design discussions and code reviews.
- Work effectively with scientists, operators, and cross-functional partners to understand requirements and deliver solutions.
- Ask good questions, document decisions, and communicate progress clearly with the team.
- Quality & Reliability
- Write tests at the unit and integration level; actively think through edge cases and error conditions.
- Address bugs and failing tests promptly; contribute to a culture of quality.
- Build logging, error handling, and observability into the software you ship.
- Learning & Growth
- Actively develop expertise in your team’s technical domain and the broader Catalyst platform.
- Seek and act on feedback from peers and senior engineers; contribute mentorship to more junior teammates over time.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Bioinformatics, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.
- Some professional software development experience, including work on team-owned codebases in a production setting, such as internships, academic research, or full time employment.
- Proficiency in Python; familiarity with additional languages relevant to your area of interest (e.g. TypeScript & React) is a plus.
- Ability to reason about code across multiple files and components; familiarity with version control (Git) and collaborative development workflows.
- Strong communication skills and eagerness to collaborate with engineers and non-engineers alike.
Preferred Capabilities And Experience
- Familiarity with laboratory automation, robotics, or scientific instrumentation.
- Exposure to agentic systems, LLM-backed applications, or tool-use frameworks (LangChain, MCP, function calling, etc.).
- Familiarity with scheduling, optimization, or operations research concepts.
- Experience with hardware communication protocols or low-level systems programming.
- Experience with specialized device software libraries such as HL8, Terapagos, and Stratum v2.
- Familiarity with relational databases (PostgreSQL) and writing or modifying queries.
- Exposure to Kubernetes, cloud infrastructure (GCP, AWS, Azure), or CI/CD pipelines.
- Familiarity with REST API design and development.
- Experience with TypeScript/React or comparable frontend frameworks.
- Proficiency with Git and experience working within agile methodologies.
Benefits
- 85,600 USD - 120,200 USD Annual - Actual pay within this range will depend on a candidate's skills, expertise, and experience.
- Company stock awards.
- A comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental & vision coverage, health spending accounts, voluntary benefits, leave of absence policies, 401(k) program with employer contribution, 8 paid holidays in addition to a full-week winter shutdown and unlimited Paid Time Off policy.
Pay
- 85,600 USD - 120,200 USD Annual
Schedule
- Regular on-site attendance to Ginkgo's Boston office 5 days a week.
Qualifications
- EEO disability/vet.
Privacy Notice
- I understand that I am applying for employment with Ginkgo Bioworks and am being asked to provide information in connection with my application. I further understand that Ginkgo gathers this information through a third-party service provider and that Ginkgo may also use other service providers to assist in the application process. Ginkgo may share my information with such third-party service providers in connection with my application and for the start of employment. Ginkgo will treat my information in accordance with Ginkgo's Privacy Policy. By submitting this job application, I am acknowledging that I have reviewed and agree to Ginkgo's Privacy Policy as well as the privacy policies of the third-party service providers used by Ginkgo's associated with the application process.