Lead/Principal Software Engineer

Summary:

We're working with a global Biotech company who develops enzymatic DNA synthesis technology, driving innovation in industrial synthetic biology, personalised therapeutics, diagnostics, and future applications in information storage and nanotechnology.

We're seeking a Principal Software Engineer to spearhead the MES software development and integration. As the owner of their MES system and other business software, you'll be pivotal in scaling the operations. You'll lead project planning, capture requirements, and provide technical guidance. Additionally, you'll mentor a team of engineers, guiding the team's vision, goals and roadmap within their early engineering organisation.

Responsibilities:

* Manage all aspects of MES, spanning green-field development to Production environment support, and third-party business systems.

* Maintain roadmaps and lifecycle plans, develop proposals, and lead Build/Run Squads for seamless product transfers and assessments.

* Co-create MES strategy and roadmap in collaboration with business and IT partners, along with external vendors.

* Lead technical discussions, vendor negotiations, and collaborate with Scientists, Automation Engineers, and SMEs for lab data capture and automation.

* Plan for code and data organisation with a strong emphasis on data provenance.

* Cultivate an environment valuing Software Engineering craft, emphasising maintainability, reliability, testability, scalability, and security.

* Lead teams through the software development process, from brainstorming to validation testing, ensuring deployability and observability.

* Lead yearly and quarterly planning, setting impactful goals and aligning with collaborating teams and stakeholders.

* Build a welcoming and passionate team by leading hiring, onboarding, career development, and feedback, while facilitating effective technical conversations in a team setting.

Experience:

* BS, MS, or Ph.D. in computer science, computational biology, or computational chemistry, with >6 years of experience (>3 years in management).

* Strong full-stack development skills in general-purpose languages (e.g., Python, Java, C#, Rust) and web-front end languages (e.g., JavaScript, React)

* Proven ability to write high-quality, secure, production-ready code with well designed APIs.

* Experience in green field development, plus familiarity with regulated environments.

* Effective communication and collaboration with diverse backgrounds and job functions.

* Familiarity with Agile development, Sprints, JIRA, and Confluence.

* Strong familiarity with cloud computing services is required, AWS certifications are a plus.

* Proficiency in Linux, scripting, GitOps, and software development lifecycle best practices.

* Familiarity with relational databases, security best practices, and web services/application frameworks.

* Experience with lab and scientist stakeholders are a plus.