We are rebuilding biotech for the AI era.
When a breakthrough is delayed, the world waits. Getting a molecule from discovery to patients, or a crop from lab to field, involves thousands of slow, manual, disconnected steps. AI has the potential to change this, compressing decades of R&D work into years. But that only happens when clean, structured scientific data and AI are built into how science gets done.
Benchling is the AI platform for biotech R&D. Scientists use Benchling to design experiments, capture structured data, and run AI agents and models directly in their workflows. Over 200,000 scientists around the world trust Benchling to power their most important work, from academic labs to Sanofi, Moderna, and more than half of the world's top 50 biopharma.
We’re building an AI scientist for our customers. We can’t do that if we haven’t built the muscle ourselves. AI fluency is the foundation we build on; it's core to how we work, and we're committed to helping every new hire integrate it into their day-to-day. As part of our interview process, you'll complete a brief AI-focused exercise or discussion so we can understand how you think about and use AI to drive impact in your role. Feel free to reference any tools, platforms, or workflows you use today.
As a software engineer on the Extensibility Platform team, you will design, build, and operate platform systems that are essential to our vision for an extensible, flexible, and customizable Benchling experience. Not only will your work enable Benchling to scale its product offerings and accelerate scientific discovery for our customers, but you will also have the opportunity to help shape technical strategy and establish best practices for Benchling product and platform teams.
The richness and variety of our customers' work means Benchling cannot anticipate every bespoke workflow or integration that a scientific organization might need. Our Extensibility Platform helps bridge that gap by letting customers, partners, and third-party developers build custom offerings for Benchling in the form of Apps and Extensions that can be installed into a tenant and offer highly customizable in-product experiences. As an engineer on this team, you will own these products end-to-end, including domain modeling, the infrastructure for versioning and distributing these products across tenants, and the installation, configuration, and lifecycle machinery behind them.
The Extensibility Platform team also owns Benchling's event, webhook, and notification platforms, which fan out permission-filtered, real-time domain changes to customer systems and scientists across thousands of tenants. Additionally, our team owns the Benchling MCP, which gives our customers’ AI agents a governed way to interact with Benchling data, and Canvas Core, which allows users to render powerful, interactive, custom UI natively inside Benchling with the help of the AI Assistant. Together, all of these products are fundamental for Benchling’s vibe-coding platform where scientists are empowered to build out the bespoke experiences that they need on Benchling, without needing to be a seasoned software developer.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Lead high-impact projects from design through to deployment and operation.
Work closely with product managers, designers, and other engineers across Platform and Applications teams to translate business needs into effective solutions.
Collaborate with technical leaders and teammates to contribute to team growth, drive improvements in engineering processes and tools, and foster a culture of excellence.
Improve the maintainability, consistency, scalability, and developer experience of Extensibility Platform’s public APIs.
QUALIFICATIONS
You have 2+ years of experience in a fulltime software engineering role. Ideally in SaaS with platform development experience.
Strong problem-solving skills with a proven ability to iterate on feedback and deliver high-impact solutions.
Proficiency in backend development, API design, data management. Experience in Web Application development is highly desirable.
Experience leading & delivering projects from start to finish, independently or as a part of a larger team.
Excellent interpersonal skills and experience working in a collaborative, cross-functional environment. Willing to work out of our SF office 3 days a week.
Enthusiasm for diving into complex technical challenges and a keen interest in the life sciences domain, with a willingness to learn and adapt.
HOW WE WORK
We offer a flexible hybrid work arrangement that prioritizes in-office collaboration. Employees are expected to be on-site 3 days per week (Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday).
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#BI-Hybrid
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Benchling welcomes everyone.
We believe diversity enriches our team so we hire people with a wide range of identities, backgrounds, and experiences.
We are an equal opportunity employer. That means we don’t discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We also consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records, consistent with applicable federal, state and local law, including but not limited to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance.
Skills Required
- 2+ years of experience in a full-time software engineering role
- Strong problem-solving skills and ability to iterate on feedback and deliver high-impact solutions
- Proficiency in backend development, API design, and data management
- Experience leading and delivering projects from start to finish, independently or as part of a larger team
- Excellent interpersonal skills and experience working in a collaborative, cross-functional environment
- Willingness to work from the San Francisco office three days per week
- Experience in SaaS with platform development experience
- Experience in web application development
- Enthusiasm for and willingness to learn the life sciences domain
Benchling Compensation & Benefits Highlights
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Healthcare Strength — Health, dental, and vision coverage is described as robust, with dedicated mental-health programs, therapy access, and wellness support included. Some listings also note employer-covered premiums, reinforcing the depth of coverage.
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Parental & Family Support — Long, fully paid parental leave and fertility/family-forming benefits are consistently highlighted, with family-friendly amenities for office-based employees also noted. These offerings are often cited as standout elements of the package.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Flexible or unlimited PTO and a company-wide winter shutdown enable meaningful time away from work. Paid sick time and holidays further reinforce time-off flexibility.
Benchling Insights
What We Do
Biotechnology is rewriting life as we know it, from the medicines we take, to the crops we grow, and the household goods that we rely on every day. But moving at the new speed of science requires better technology. Benchling’s mission is to unlock the power of biotechnology. The world’s most innovative biotech companies use Benchling’s R&D Cloud to power the development of breakthrough products. Help us bring modern software to modern science. We’re on Team Science We believe in the promise of science and the teamwork required to fulfill that promise. Whether your background is in science, engineering, business, or another field, you’re on Team Science if you believe in the power of science to solve the world’s most pressing problems.
Why Work With Us
Everyday at Benchling, you’re surrounded by talented people who are really excited about the work they’re doing and the impact they’re having. It’s truly uplifting to work on a product that you can believe in and to work alongside colleagues who are energized by the shared vision of a future with less disease and greater sustainability.
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Benchling Offices
Hybrid Workspace
Employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work.
