Principal Full-Stack Engineer

<h4><strong>About</strong></h4> <p>Edison Scientific builds and commercializes AI agents for science. Scientific discovery moves too slowly, and autonomous AI agents are how we intend to fix that. We're assembling a team of top researchers and engineers across AI and biology to build an AI scientist.</p> <hr> <p><strong>Role</strong></p> <p>As a <strong>Principal Full-Stack Engineer (Backend-Focused)</strong> you’ll play a key role in shaping and scaling our core platform that automates scientific discovery. You’ll work across the stack, with a strong emphasis on backend systems- designing and evolving services, APIs, data pipelines, and infrastructure- while also contributing to critical user-facing workflows.</p> <p>Our mission is to build an AI scientist, and you’ll help define and build the tools, interfaces, and data systems it relies on. This role goes beyond implementation: you’ll influence architectural direction, establish engineering best practices, and partner closely with frontend engineers, designers, and researchers to deliver robust, end-to-end solutions.</p> <p>At Edison Scientific, full-stack engineering at the senior level is about technical ownership and leverage- understanding how complex systems interact, making sound architectural tradeoffs, and building foundations that allow teams and science to move faster.</p> <p>This role is on-site at our San Francisco office in the Dogpatch neighborhood. Our office is a converted warehouse with high ceilings, open space, and a team that genuinely believes in what they're building.</p> <p>This position is part of the Platform team.&nbsp;</p> <hr> <p><strong>Responsibilities</strong></p> <ul> <li>Architect, design, implement, and maintain backend services, APIs, and databases that power the scientific discovery platform.</li> <li>Drive technical decisions across the stack, balancing scalability, reliability, security, and developer velocity.</li> <li>Lead the design and evolution of data pipelines supporting AI agents and research workflows.</li> <li>Contribute to and review frontend features and workflows, ensuring seamless integration with backend systems.</li> <li>Establish and uphold best practices around testing, monitoring, observability, and incident response.</li> <li>Troubleshoot complex, cross-system issues and guide others through effective debugging and remediation.</li> <li>Collaborate closely with engineering, design, and research teams to scope, plan, and ship new AI-driven capabilities.</li> <li>Mentor and support other engineers, raising the technical bar and fostering a strong engineering culture.</li> <li>Act as a trusted technical partner in a highly collaborative team working at the frontier of AI for science.</li> </ul> <hr> <p><strong>Qualifications</strong></p> <ul> <li>5+ years of professional software engineering experience, with significant experience across backend systems and full-stack development.</li> <li>Deep proficiency in one or more backend languages (e.g., Python, Node.js), with a strong track record of designing production systems.</li> <li>Extensive experience designing, building, and evolving APIs (FastAPI, REST; GraphQL a plus).</li> <li>Strong working knowledge of modern frontend frameworks (e.g., React, Next.js) and how frontend and backend systems interact at scale.</li> <li>Expertise with relational and/or document databases (PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, or similar), including schema design and performance considerations.</li> <li>Hands-on experience with cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCP, or Azure) and containerized environments (Docker; Kubernetes preferred).</li> <li>Proven experience building and maintaining CI/CD pipelines, automated testing strategies, and observability systems.</li> <li>Ability to operate autonomously, make sound technical judgments, and drive projects from concept through production.</li> <li>Strong communication skills and experience collaborating across disciplines in fast-moving environments.</li> </ul> <hr> <h4><strong>Bonus points for</strong></h4> <ul> <li>Experience with data-intensive platforms, scientific computing, or ML/AI infrastructure.</li> <li>Prior experience in startups or small teams with significant architectural ownership and ambiguity.</li> <li>Experience scaling systems, teams, or platforms through periods of rapid growth.</li> </ul> <hr> <p><strong>Salary</strong></p> <p>$200,000- $350,000 &nbsp;•&nbsp; Offers equity</p> <hr> <p><strong>Why join us?</strong></p> <ul> <li>Competitive salary and equity</li> <li>Full healthcare coverage — we pay 100% of premiums for you and your dependents</li> <li>Support for growing families, including a yearly new parent stipend and fertility coverage through Carrot</li> <li>401(k) company matching</li> <li>$300 health and wellness benefit</li> <li>Lunch is on us every day you're in the office, and dinner is on us when you're working late</li> <li>Regular team offsites and company events</li> <li>A fast-moving, mission-driven culture where smart people do their best work and actually enjoy doing it</li> </ul>