Lead Software Engineer

The Institute for Neurodegenerative Disorders is a mission-driven organization supporting research into the understanding and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. The Lead Software Engineer will design, build, and maintain scalable software systems, APIs, backend services, data pipelines, and integrations while shaping technical strategy, mentoring engineers, and translating research and operational needs into technical solutions.

Responsibilities:

• Develop deep expertise in IND’s codebase, architecture, and research workflows
• Design, build, and maintain scalable, reliable, secure, and maintainable applications, APIs, and backend services
• Own complex technical problems and drive solutions end-to-end, from design through deployment
• Partner with the Director to shape system architecture, technical strategy, and engineering decisions
• Lead efforts to modernize, simplify, and improve systems while establishing best practices for code quality, testing, and deployment
• Work across software systems, data pipelines, databases, and integrations to support data quality, validation, and research workflows
• Translate research and operational needs into scalable technical solutions and collaborate with PMs, engineers, and stakeholders to support delivery and prioritization
• Communicate technical concepts and decisions effectively with both technical and non-technical audiences
• Provide technical guidance and mentorship to engineers, build credibility as a trusted technical leader and support the development of future engineering talent
• Contribute to hiring, onboarding, engineering team structure, and a scalable, collaborative team culture as the role grows

Requirements:

• • 5–8 years of software engineering experience
• • Strong proficiency in Python, SQL, and front-end frameworks (such as Vue, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS)
• • Experience building production systems, APIs, and backend services
• • Experience working with data systems, pipelines, or complex data models
• • Demonstrated experience leading projects or influencing technical direction
• • Proven ability to take ownership of complex systems and drive outcomes
• • Prior experience mentoring engineers or leading small teams (formal or informal)
• • Experience in research, healthcare, or data-intensive environments
• • Experience working in small or scaling teams with high ownership
• • Exposure to AWS or similar cloud platforms
• • Interest in or readiness for people management
• • Strong systems thinker who can connect technical decisions to business outcomes
• • High ownership mindset with desire to lead and grow into management
• • Ability to influence without authority and build trust across the team
• • Strong communication and collaboration skills
• • Comfortable operating in a fast-moving, evolving environment