Head of Software Engineering

Role overview Lead a small engineering team building the software infrastructure for an automated biology lab, while continuing to contribute directly to production code. You will shape the engineering roadmap, architecture, team, and working practices so the lab’s software can support reliable experiments as the organization scales. This player-coach role spans product engineering, data pipelines, infrastructure, and connections to laboratory hardware.

Responsibilities - Own engineering priorities, deciding what to build, defer, or stop as company needs evolve. - Set architecture and technical direction across frontend, backend, data systems, and lab hardware integration. - Personally deliver code on high-impact problems as well as review and guide team work. - Hire, develop, and support engineers while maintaining a high bar for delivery and quality. - Build effective use of AI coding tools and agents into the team’s development practices. - Translate broader strategy into focused engineering work and help the team scale while preserving momentum.

Requirements - A track record of shipping production software and a desire to remain hands-on while leading. - Prior experience hiring, managing, and developing engineers in a startup or high-growth setting. - Experience owning or significantly shaping an engineering roadmap and making pragmatic scope and priority decisions. - Architectural judgment across frontend, backend, data, and infrastructure, with the ability to decide when to dive deep or delegate. - Practical experience using AI agents or coding tools, alongside a considered view of their impact on engineering work. - High autonomy, sound judgment, and a genuine interest in biology and physical-world experimentation.