> Markdown version of [/jobs/ext/1467787-engineer-research-software](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/jobs/ext/1467787-engineer-research-software). Every page supports `.md` or `Accept: text/markdown`. Links point to the HTML versions so they work for humans too. Agent guide: [/agents.md](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/agents.md). --- # Engineer, Research Software - **Company:** Ayar Labs - **Location:** San Jose, CA, United States - **Experience:** Expert - **Salary:** $170,000.0 - $192,000.0 - **Contract:** Permanent contract - **Skills:** Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), Artificial Intelligence, Amazon Web Services, Data Analysis, C++ (Programming Language), Code Review, Continuous Integration, Programming Tools, Python (Programming Language), Link Analysis, Metadata Standards, NumPy, Software Tools, SciPy, Signal Processing, Software Engineering, High Performance Computing, Data Ingestion, Git, Pandas, Information Technology, Data Management, Slurm, Data Pipelines - **Published:** July 28, 2026 - **Apply:** https://www.dice.com/job-detail/c3037679-0df8-4a7c-a0b1-155406747aca ## About the Role * Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Physics, Optics/Photonics, Electrical Engineering, or a related field. * 2+ years of experience building scientific or engineering software in a research, product, or modeling context. * Strong Python skills, including hands-on experience with the scientific stack (NumPy, SciPy, pandas, networkx, or similar). * Experience owning and maintaining a codebase with real users - internal teams, collaborators, or an external community - through multiple release cycles. * Experience designing data schemas and APIs used by other engineers or scientists. * Experience running large-scale compute workloads in AWS and/or HPC environments (SLURM or equivalent). * Comfortable working on Linux/UNIX systems and with modern developer tooling (Git, CI, containers). * Excellent communication skills and a collaborative working style, with the ability to engage deeply with domain experts across disciplines., * Master's degree or Ph.D. * Experience with modern data management architectures (e.g., data lakehouse patterns), metadata standards, and query engines. * Hands-on experience applying AI tools and agentic workflows to engineering or data pipelines. * Proficiency in C/C++ or another compiled language used alongside Python in scientific codebases. * Working knowledge of at least one of: photonic device physics, circuits, signal processing, or statistical analysis. * Prior work on compact models, SPICE-like simulators, or link/yield statistical modeling. ## Description As a Research Software Engineer, you will work side-by-side with domain experts in photonics, circuit design, and signal processing to turn scientific code into robust, tested, and scalable infrastructure. You'll own the schemas, pipelines, and shared software that let our modeling stack grow with the product - making simulations faster to run, results easier to trust, and insights transparent to engineering teams and executive stakeholders alike., * Partner with photonics and circuits engineers on their modeling code - review, refactor, and help evolve prototypes into well-tested, versioned, and properly packaged tools that teams across the company can depend on. * Design and maintain the data schemas and interfaces that describe devices, measurements, model parameters, and simulation results across the modeling stack. * Build and operate data ingestion, cleaning, and curation pipelines that turn raw measurement and simulation outputs into trusted inputs for link analysis and yield prediction. * Scale simulation and analysis workloads across HPC and AWS cloud environments, so link studies and statistical sweeps run reliably and reproducibly at product-relevant scale. * Integrate AI and ML tooling into engineering workflows - both to accelerate the software development lifecycle and to augment the team's modeling and data analysis capabilities. * Bring modern software engineering practice to the group: testing, documentation, CI/CD, reproducible environments, and code review, applied pragmatically in a research setting. * Collaborate closely with the Photonic Device Design and Analog/Mixed Signal teams to ensure modeling infrastructure evolves with the product roadmap. ## Related Videos - [Python Data Visualization @ Deepnote (w/ PyViz overview)](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/113-python-data-visualization-deepnote-w-pyviz-overview) - [Running Secure Life Science Research at Scale using Hybrid GPU HPC and Kubernetes 🧬](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/100355-running-secure-life-science-research-at-scale-using-hybrid-gpu-hpc-and-kubernetes) - [How a Small Team Shrank a Microsoft Monorepo by 94%](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1236-how-a-small-team-shrank-a-microsoft-monorepo-by-94) - [Are We All Prompt Engineers? How AI Changed What It Means to Build Software](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1980-are-we-all-prompt-engineers-how-ai-changed-what-it-means-to-build-software) - [Strange New Worlds: shaping the future of the digital age](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/677-strange-new-worlds-shaping-the-future-of-the-digital-age) - [Git for Code Reviews](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/429-git-for-code-reviews) ## Related Articles - [How to Become an AI Engineer](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/331-how-to-become-an-ai-engineer) - [Highest Paying Tech Companies for Developers](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/220-highest-paying-tech-companies-for-developers) - [Software Engineer Career: Things You Should Know](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/143-software-engineer-career-things-you-should-know) - [Is Software Engineering Hard?](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/448-is-software-engineering-hard) - [Dev Digest 120 - Apple and peers](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/455-dev-digest-120-apple-and-peers) - [Navigating the AI Shift](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/629-navigating-the-ai-shift)