About Arc Institute
Arc Institute is an independent nonprofit research organization at the interface of artificial intelligence and biology, working to accelerate scientific progress and understand the root causes of complex diseases. Founded in 2021 and based in Palo Alto, Arc partners with Stanford University, UC Berkeley, and UC San Francisco.
Unlike academia, our scientists have long-term funding and industry-like resources. Unlike industry, they're free to pursue high-risk, long-term research without commercial pressures. Arc's Technology Centers and Core Investigator labs work side by side, integrating experimental and computational biology under one roof to tackle problems neither could solve alone.
Our two Institute Initiatives reflect this model in action:
- Virtual Cell Initiative: Building a full-stack virtual cell model to identify disease mechanisms and nominate drug targets, accelerating the path from biological insight to clinical trials.
- Alzheimer's Disease Initiative: Mapping the genes, pathways, and environmental factors behind Alzheimer's disease to develop drug candidates that address root causes.
More than 300 Arconauts work together at our Palo Alto headquarters, backed by substantial long-term philanthropic funding.
About the position
We're looking for a Full Stack Engineer with a backend and internal tools focus to help build the software infrastructure that powers science at Arc. You'll own and develop platforms that Arc's researchers rely on daily, from genomics submission systems to data catalogs to ML tooling, while contributing to public-facing products like the Virtual Cell Challenge. This is a hands-on, cross-functional role where you'll work directly with biologists, bioinformaticians, and ML engineers to understand their workflows and build tools that become essential to how researchers work.
About you
- You thrive at the intersection of engineering and domain expertise, building tools that make complex scientific workflows feel simple.
- You have a sharp eye for inefficiency and don't wait to be told what to build. You proactively seek out friction in workflows, talk to users, and propose solutions.
- You’re comfortable collaborating across disciplines, working with researchers, designers, and other stakeholders to clarify needs, define scope, and build intuitive, elegant tools.
- You’re a strong communicator and a self-directed builder who enjoys taking ownership, iterating quickly, and learning on the fly.
- You care about clarity and craft, writing clean code and building interfaces that balance usability, performance, and simplicity, without over-engineering.
In this position you will
- Own and evolve the Virtual Cell Challenge backend, including authentication, metrics pipelines, and participant analytics
- Build and maintain Arc's internal Genomics platforms, including NGS submission, sample tracking, and QC automation
- Architect and develop an internal Data Catalog for browsing, searching, and interacting with rich datasets across the Virtual Cell Atlas and other research programs
- Build tooling and infrastructure to support Arc's ML engineering workflows such as model registries, experiment tracking, and inference pipelines
- Own backend services for Arc's Imaging platform, supporting microscopy and spatial data workflows
- Collaborate directly with scientists and computational researchers to identify pain points and ship solutions with a product mindset
Requirements
- 4+ years of experience in backend or full-stack engineering roles, with a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Biology, Bioinformatics, or a related field
- Proficiency in Python or Node.js and modern API frameworks such as FastAPI, Flask, or Express
- Strong experience with relational databases (PostgreSQL preferred), including schema design, query optimization, and data modeling
- Proficiency with AI-assisted development tools (Claude, Cursor, Copilot, or similar) as a core part of your workflow
- Experience building internal apps and tools for scientific/technical users
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with scientific data formats and tools (e.g., h5ad/AnnData, pandas, NumPy, scverse ecosystem)
- Familiarity with cloud infrastructure (GCP, AWS, or Azure)
- Experience with CI/CD pipelines, Docker, and containerized deployments
- Familiarity with modern JavaScript/TypeScript and frameworks such as Next.js and React
The base salary range for this position is $133,000 to $165,000. These amounts reflect the range of base salary that the Institute reasonably would expect to pay a new hire or internal candidate for this position. The actual base compensation paid to any individual for this position may vary depending on factors such as experience, market conditions, education/training, skill level, and whether the compensation is internally equitable, and does not include bonuses, commissions, differential pay, other forms of compensation, or benefits. This position is also eligible to receive an annual discretionary bonus, with the amount dependent on individual and institute performance factors.
What We Do
Arc Institute is a nonprofit research organization focused on curiosity-driven biomedical science and technology, aiming to accelerate scientific progress, understand the root causes of complex diseases, and narrow the gap between discoveries and patient impact.
