Software Engineer, Lab Platform
Arc Institute1 day ago
Base Salary
$118k - $146k/yr
Responsibilities
- Run the request queue for Arc’s laboratory data systems, including questions, fixes, and schema changes.
- Support experiment-recording templates and command-line tools used to retrieve data for analysis.
- Build and maintain data-quality checks that prevent incorrect records from reaching analysis pipelines.
- Help refactor LIMS team and permission structures governing data access and editing.
- Automate recurring requests using scripts, scheduled jobs, template changes, or AI agents, with documentation, checks, and code review.
- Train scientists, write user documentation, and work directly with researchers to understand their workflows.
- Build tools that make screen and experiment metadata queryable across systems.
- Own part of the lab platform from design through support as responsibilities grow.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree with 0–2 years of relevant experience, or an advanced degree.
- Strong Python and SQL skills and comfort working with REST APIs.
- Ability to debug systems using code, logs, and data, including systems the candidate did not build.
- Experience using AI coding tools or willingness to learn, with careful review of generated output and sensitive research data.
- Ability to explain technical concepts clearly to scientists and create useful documentation and training.
- Evidence of owning work from start to finish in school, an internship, or a job.
- Ability to work onsite in Arc’s Palo Alto office at least three days per week.
- Preferred: experience with a LIMS or ELN such as Benchling, or with lab data including samples and sequencing metadata.
- Preferred: experience automating repeated manual tasks with scripts, bots, or agents.
- Preferred: experience with CI pipelines, tests, or repository templates.
- Preferred: experience supporting tool users through help desk work, teaching assistance, or on-call rotations.
Benefits
- Palo Alto onsite work arrangement requiring at least three days per week in the office.
- Eligibility for an annual discretionary bonus.
- Eligibility to participate in the Institute’s Compound Cash Grant Program, with multi-year cash grants paid in semi-annual installments.
- Mentorship from the lab platform Tech Lead and increasing ownership of the lab platform.
About Arc Institute
Arc Institute is an independent nonprofit research organization at the intersection of AI and biology, focused on understanding complex diseases and advancing new technologies. It operates investigator labs and Technology Centers that develop genome engineering, multiomics, cellular models, and machine-learning systems, including efforts like the Virtual Cell and Alzheimer’s Disease Initiatives. Founded in 2021 and headquartered in Palo Alto, it works in close partnership with Stanford, UC Berkeley, and UCSF.