software engineers

The Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering’s primary research mission involves managing high-impact, multi-disciplinary research initiatives, specialized laboratory facilities, and large-scale sponsor portfolios. To support faculty innovation and maintain seamless operations across complex grant portfolios, the department utilizes embedded administrative professionals who provide direct, localized support to large faculty research groups, multi-investigator centers, and specialized laboratory infrastructure. Operate the Self-driving Platforms for Expedited Experimental co-Design (SPEED) as an NSF-funded national autonomous-science user facility. Provide remote access to integrated self-driving laboratories. Connect robotics, scientific instruments, AI, and data infrastructure. Enable reproducible experiments in chemistry and materials science. Serve academic, government, and industry research users. Wolfpack Perks and Benefits As a Pack member, you belong here, and can enjoy exclusive perks designed to enhance your personal and professional well-being. As you consider this opportunity, we encourage you to review our Employee Value Proposition and learn more about what makes NC State the best place to learn and work for everyone. What we offer, Disclaimer: Perks and Benefit eligibility is based on Part-Time or Full-Time Employment status. Eligibility and Employer Sponsored Plans can be found within each of the links offered. Essential Job Duties As the Software Engineer for SPEED (Self-driving Platforms for Expedited Experimental co-Design), an NSF-funded national user facility for remotely accessible autonomous robotic experimentation in chemistry and materials science, you will develop the software infrastructure that connects users to SPEED’s autonomous laboratories. You will build and maintain the backend services, APIs, experiment-submission tools, and user-facing software needed to orchestrate experiments across robotics, scientific instruments, data systems, and AI/optimization tools in cloud and local environments.

• Develop and maintain backend services, APIs, experiment-submission tools, and user-facing applications for SPEED.
• Integrate workflow orchestration, scheduling, job queues, platform monitoring, and experiment status tracking.
• Connect robotics, scientific instruments, data services, and AI/optimization tools through reliable software interfaces.
• Deploy and maintain cloud and local services, containers, authentication, logging, monitoring, and related infrastructure.
• Apply strong software engineering practices, including testing, version control, documentation, release management, and reliability engineering.
• Support platform commissioning, user onboarding, troubleshooting, and technical demonstrations for internal and external SPEED users.

This role offers the opportunity to build the digital backbone of a national autonomous experimentation user facility, enabling researchers to remotely design, execute, monitor, and analyze experiments across integrated robotic laboratories. We welcome software engineers with experience building backend services, APIs, and software integrations across complex technical environments. Other Responsibilities

• Evaluate vendor APIs, SDKs, and integration approaches.
• Participate in architecture and cybersecurity reviews.
• Create technical documentation and developer/user guides.
• Train staff and researchers on SPEED software tools.
• Provide occasional after-hours support for critical systems.

Minimum Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, software/computer engineering, or related field.

Other Required Qualifications

• .Three or more years of relevant software-development experience.
• Proficiency in Python programming and software engineering fundamentals
• Development and integration of REST APIs, backend services, databases, and event- or workflow-driven systems.
• Use of Git and Linux-based development environments, including automated testing, debugging, and technical documentation.
• Agentic coding.
• Deployment and operation of software in cloud or on-premises environments, including containers, monitoring, and logging.
• Integration of software across heterogeneous hardware and software systems.
• Technical communication and collaborative problem-solving across software, hardware, engineering, and research teams.
• Experience building production APIs, backend services, or distributed applications.
• Experience with databases, Linux, Git, testing, and deployment workflows.

Preferred Qualifications

• Development or support of scientific software or research-computing systems.
• Integration of laboratory automation, robotics, or instrument-control systems.
• Implementation of workflow orchestration, schedulers, message queues, or microservices.
• Use of Docker, Kubernetes, CI/CD, cloud infrastructure, or infrastructure-as-code.
• Integration of AI/ML services into software systems or autonomous experimentation workflows.
• Experience supporting external users or shared research facilities.

Required License(s) or Certification(s) N/A Valid NC Driver’s License required No Commercial Driver’s License required No Recruitment Dates and Special Instructions

Anticipated Hiring Range Commensurate with education and experience (anticipated hiring range $70,000-$80,000) Work Schedule Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5 pm (additional work outside of standard hours may be required due to business needs)

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