Staff Software Engineer

About the role

We are seeking a Staff Software Engineer to contribute to the development of Kernel, our platform designed to empower bioengineers to design, build, and debug genetic systems with confidence.

Responsibilities

• Make architectural decisions that will shape Kernel for years, with real ownership over how the system evolves.
• Design GraphQL APIs for searching, editing, and analyzing tens of thousands of genetic constructs using Python 3, SQLAlchemy, and Strawberry.
• Architect data models that represent the genuine complexity of biological systems.
• Interface directly with synthetic biologists to understand their workflows and identify tools that would transform their productivity.
• Be part of an on-call rotation to support the software you’ve helped develop.

Requirements

• You have 10+ years building production software - systems that other engineers depend on, not research code that runs once.
• You have deep expertise in Python 3, and ideally with GraphQL, SQLAlchemy, and/or Strawberry.
• You are the kind of engineer who loses track of time working on an interesting technical problem.
• You want challenges that will have you waking up with a new idea that you can’t wait to try.
• You think about API design, data migrations, and what happens when the system has 10x usage.
• You want to help design a product with a close-knit team, not just write code from predefined specifications.
• You can navigate the ambiguity of building something first-of-its-kind.

Qualifications

• Experience with synthetic biology and/or bioengineering is a plus.
• A strong background in computer science fundamentals.
• Excellent communication skills to work effectively with cross-functional teams.

Skills

• Python 3
• GraphQL
• SQLAlchemy
• Strawberry

Benefits

• Fueled by a vision to transform biological engineering into a fully-fledged engineering discipline.
• Growth within a constantly evolving organization.
• Push the frontiers of synthetic biology.

Pay

$179K - $230K

Schedule

Nightly on-call rotation