Staff Software Engineer

Who you are

• Proven Tenure: 8+ years of professional experience building and operating production-grade software and high-throughput data pipelines, primarily in Python
• ML Platform Depth: You have designed, built, and deployed scientific computing pipelines, visualizations, and QC processes for large-scale imaging or similarly high-dimensional datasets
• Distributed Systems Stack: Hands-on experience with a Python-first ML stack, distributed compute (e.g., PyTorch/Lightning, Ray, Kubernetes), and workflow orchestration (e.g., Argo, Airflow, or redun)
• End-to-End Delivery: A track record of owning complex systems from architecture through production operation
• Cross-Functional Partnership: You thrive alongside scientists and excel at translating abstract research needs into practical, scalable software
• Mission-Driven: You're motivated by enabling scientific breakthroughs through robust platform engineering
• Force Multiplier: You enjoy mentoring and leveling up the engineers around you

What the job involves

• As a Staff Software Engineer on our Imaging Software team, you will define and expand our computer vision and ML infrastructure across the full imaging data lifecycle — from on-microscope acquisition to high-throughput ML pipelines
• You'll build the platform features that make novel imaging modalities and ML-derived phenotypes integral to our discovery workflows, partnering daily with lab scientists, ML scientists, and our microscopy team to turn research prototypes into validated screening workflows that run reliably at laboratory automation scale. This is a chance to set the technical direction for how imaging, automation, and machine learning converge in drug discovery
• This position reports directly to the Director of Imaging, Cellular Machine Learning
• Platform Enablement: Partner with lab and ML scientists to design, develop, and scale the platform capabilities needed to run and interpret ML-powered high-content imaging screens
• User Tooling: Build and evolve robust tools and interactive interfaces for data exploration, quality assessment, and visualization so scientists can iterate quickly on experimental data
• Architectural Ownership: Own complex, end-to-end projects, making thoughtful architectural trade-offs, and delivering incrementally with long-term maintainability in mind
• Production Hardening: Scale and harden complex image processing and ML workflows, taking them from research prototypes to systems that reliably process millions of images per day
• Data Integrity: Set and uphold best-in-class practices for data integrity, lineage tracking, reproducibility, and observability across the entire imaging data lifecycle
• Documentation: Write clear, exemplary technical specifications and documentation that others build on
• Scientific Translation: Work closely with lab scientists, ML scientists, and microscopy teams to translate complex experimental needs into clear, actionable technical plans and shipped software
• Mentorship: Raise the technical bar across the team by sharing knowledge and mentoring other engineers

Benefits

• Complete Healthcare Coverage: Take your health seriously without worrying about the costs. insitro offers comprehensive coverage with low premiums for you and your family
• Wellness Benefits: Prioritize your well-being beyond medical care. insitro offers a comprehensive range of benefits tailored to support all aspects of wellness
• Mental Health Support: Our generous healthcare plans include access to digital mental health platforms with a range of services for you and your loved ones
• Supportive Time Off Policies: Flexible vacation time, generous paid parental and bereavement leaves, and a year-end shutdown week
• Support for Hybrid Work: Balance work and your personal commitments with in-person, hybrid and remote options based on the team and role. We support you with home office setup reimbursement as well as co-work space stipends for remote workers
• Formal Learning and Training Programs: Partake in formal programs to help you grow and develop, from day 1 onboarding to new manager training to our annual, in vivo week
• Self Development: Annual personal budget for books, external training, and conferences that nurture you professional passions and development interests
• Access to Knowledge Leaders: Engage with in-house and visiting scholars and experts throughout the year at special events designed exclusively for insitrocytes
• Extensive HQ Benefits: Our insitro HQ offers free daily meals via an onsite cafe and coffee shop, a free fitness facility, an onsite childcare center, and free commuter shuttle buses
• Social Connection: get to know your colleagues at our weekly HQ happy hours, celebrations for special cultural events, and casual meet-ups for sports, music, outdoor activities, and more