Senior Software Engineer - Lab Automation

Roche • South San Francisco, CA

3d • $142,500 - $264,700

About The Position

The Senior Software Engineer will work within Roche’s Computational Sciences Center of Excellence, in the Data and Digital Catalyst organization, to modernize computational and data ecosystems and integrate digital technologies across Research and Early Development. The role bridges scientific workflows and modern software solutions, potentially working alongside laboratory scientists and automation systems. As part of a software-focused engineering team, the engineer will build, test, and deploy production software and systems supporting experimental and data workflows.

The engineer will develop and operate full-stack solutions spanning web frontends, backend services, APIs, databases, and cloud infrastructure. The work includes creating applications for researchers to manage samples and data, coordinate workflows, and design, execute, monitor, and analyze experiments. The role uses coding agents as part of the development process and takes features from ambiguous requirements through design, implementation, validation, deployment, and production support. The engineer will also design reliable and scalable systems that support scientific workflows and connect with laboratory and enterprise systems, collaborate across disciplines, and contribute to architecture and engineering practices.

Requirements

• At least 5 years of experience designing, shipping, and maintaining high-quality production software.
• Comfort working across frontend, backend, databases, and cloud infrastructure, with deep expertise in at least one area.
• Hands-on experience with modern web development, particularly React and TypeScript, as well as Python, SQL, and cloud-based services.
• Regular use of coding agents such as Claude Code, Codex, or comparable tools for substantial engineering work, with effective practices for providing context, decomposing problems, directing agents, reviewing their work, and validating results.
• Understanding of the limitations of AI-generated code.
• Experience creating and evaluating AI agents used within applications, including designing robust evaluations to measure agent performance and reliability.
• Strong software engineering fundamentals, including system design, automated testing, version control, CI/CD, debugging, and production operations.
• Clear communication and effective collaboration skills, including enjoyment of working directly with users to understand problems and deliver useful solutions.
• Bachelor's degree in computer science or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.

Nice To Haves

• Experience integrating software with laboratory instruments, robotic systems, or other physical hardware.
• Experience developing software for scientific research, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, or other data-intensive technical environments.
• Familiarity with laboratory workflows, laboratory information management systems (LIMS), electronic laboratory notebooks (ELNs), or scientific data management.
• Experience with AWS or other cloud-based services.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, deploy, and operate full-stack software, including web frontends, backend services, APIs, databases, and cloud infrastructure.
• Develop intuitive applications for researchers to manage samples and data, coordinate workflows, and design, execute, monitor, and analyze experiments.
• Use coding agents to accelerate implementation, testing, debugging, refactoring, and documentation while maintaining quality standards.
• Own features and systems from ambiguous requirements through technical design, implementation, validation, deployment, and production support.
• Design data models, services, and integrations that support complex scientific workflows and connect with laboratory and enterprise systems.
• Collaborate with scientists, automation engineers, designers, and software engineers to address scientific challenges with effective software solutions.
• Contribute to technical architecture, development practices, and adoption of emerging tools and technologies.

Benefits

• A discretionary annual bonus may be available based on individual and Company performance.
• The position qualifies for company benefits detailed at a linked benefits resource.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior