Lead Software Engineer - Technical Track

UL Research Institutes•Washington DC, DC

3d•Remote

About The Position

The Lead Software Engineer is a major contributor to the development and maintenance of complex software systems for the Digital Safety Research Institute (DSRI). This remote role provides technical guidance, mentorship, and leadership while collaborating with stakeholders to deliver high-quality software solutions. The engineer leads the development of full-stack systems and platforms supporting large-scale research, evaluation, and dissemination of safety insights, and helps set technical direction in line with DSRI’s research priorities and the broader AI evaluation ecosystem. The role involves designing complex, cross-cutting systems in evolving problem spaces; establishing engineering practices, including effective and responsible use of AI coding tools; and representing technical work across the organization and in select external settings. The position also contributes to hiring, onboarding, training, and cross-functional initiatives. UL Research Institutes is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing safety science through research, analysis, expert collaboration, education, outreach, and standards development. DSRI addresses safety risks and emerging dangers in the digital ecosystem, including risks involving personal devices and privacy, algorithms, and disinformation.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in computer science, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
At least 8 years of software development experience, focused on platform security, with proficiency in multiple programming languages and frameworks.
Experience deploying several complex software products and understanding the nuances of the software development life cycle.
Deep software engineering expertise in systems supporting research and data-driven analysis, including production React, Python services, asynchronous patterns, careful data handling, API design, PostgreSQL, complex data structures, containers, deployment, and observability.
Architectural judgment based on practical experience, including the ability to articulate trade-offs and recognize when not to introduce a service, abstraction, or dependency.
Sophisticated use of AI coding tools such as Claude Code or similar tools for substantial work, including structuring context, decomposing problems, reviewing generated code, and recovering when tools do not work properly.
Technical leadership without formal authority and a track record of raising team effectiveness through engineering work and collaboration.
Clear, direct written communication and the ability to explain complex technical work to varied audiences through design documents, RFCs, post-mortems, code reviews, and presentations.
Genuine interest in AI safety, test and evaluation, or a related harm domain such as synthetic media or chatbot safety.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree.
Experience or interest in AI safety, test and evaluation, synthetic media, or chatbot safety.

Responsibilities

Lead, define, and develop full-stack software systems and platforms for large-scale research, evaluation, and dissemination of safety insights.
Implement service boundaries, data model evolution, platform integration patterns, pipelines, and evaluation frameworks.
Set technical direction across projects, aligning architecture and data frameworks with DSRI’s research priorities and the broader AI evaluation ecosystem.
Design complex, ambiguous, cross-cutting systems iteratively, including when the problem is not fully understood.
Establish consistent engineering practices and standards for AI-assisted engineering, including use of Claude Code for refactors, greenfield work, and code adopted from external organizations.
Develop patterns and documentation to accelerate software engineering, and provide feedback when AI coding tools are used dangerously, inappropriately, or inefficiently.
Provide guidance and informal mentorship to junior engineers and promote knowledge sharing and professional growth.
Foster a collaborative and positive team environment.
Assist with hiring, onboarding, and training software engineers.
Represent technical work across the organization and in select external settings.
Contribute to or lead department-specific and cross-functional initiatives.