Lead Platform Engineer
Summary
Hands-on technical lead owning the cloud, data, AI, and lab-infrastructure of a biotechnology sequencing operation in South San Francisco — orchestrating lab devices and building AWS-based pipelines (ECS, Batch, Step Functions, Python/FastAPI) for large-scale bioinformatics workloads, while mentoring engineers on a small team.
About the Role
Lead the compute, data, AI, and security infrastructure behind a biotechnology sequencing operation. This hands-on technical leadership role connects laboratory systems with reliable cloud platforms and data workflows that support scientific work.
What You'll Do
Own services that orchestrate laboratory devices, including robots, sequencers, and on-premises Linux servers, along with the data ingestion pipeline.
Build cloud infrastructure and data pipelines to store, process, and deliver large volumes of sequencing data.
Design reliable systems for orchestrating large-scale bioinformatics workloads, including queues, workflow orchestration, and scheduling.
Develop AI infrastructure and internal tools for operational quality monitoring, logistics coordination, and adaptive bioinformatics analysis.
Lead cross-functional projects from problem definition through production, connecting architectural decisions to business impact.
Contribute directly to implementation while mentoring engineers and communicating across scientific and engineering teams.
What We're Looking For
At least 5 years of experience in platform, backend, or infrastructure engineering, including meaningful experience at a startup as it scaled.
Strong AWS orchestration experience with ECS, Batch, and Step Functions, plus Python backend development using FastAPI or Django.
Experience designing and shipping reliable distributed systems, including queues, orchestration, and state machines.
Linux server administration experience and familiarity with distributed task queues such as Celery or SQS.
Experience leading cross-functional projects and mentoring engineers on a small team, with a substantial hands-on individual contributor focus.
Current familiarity with AI tooling; experience building LLM or agent systems, including tools, evaluation, safety, permissions, prompts, and workflows, is valuable.
A technical degree or equivalent background, and curiosity about biotechnology, science, and scientific applications.
Compensation & Benefits
Base salary is $205,000 to $235,000 USD annually. Visa sponsorship is available.
Location
Hybrid in South San Francisco, California, United States.
Skills
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