Software Engineer 1

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is hiring a Software Engineer 1 to support development of the EMSL Science Central technology platform. The role focuses on backend services, data infrastructure, platform reliability, and delivering software that supports scientific research workflows.

Responsibilities:

• Designs, develop, document, test, and debug new and existing software systems, hardware/software interfaces, and/or applications according to industry established software engineering principles and best practices. Works collaboratively within a team to execute on the full system development lifecycle including analyzing user needs to determine technical requirements; developing technical specifications based on conceptual design and requirements; developing well-crafted and documented source code; integrating hardware using software; automating manual tasks; and consulting with the end user to prototype, configure, refine, test, and debug programs or systems to meet needs. Identifies and evaluates new technologies or methods for implementation and continuous improvement
• This Software Engineer 1 role will support the development of the EMSL Science Central technology platform with a focus on backend services, data infrastructure, and platform reliability. The successful candidate will design and develop RESTful APIs using Python and FastAPI, build and maintain PostgreSQL databases, implement role-based access control (RBAC) across platform services, and contribute to the deployment of containerized services in Kubernetes environments. The team follows modern DevOps principles using GitLab CI/CD and actively uses AI-assisted development tools — including GitHub Copilot, OpenCode, and Claude Code — to accelerate development and improve code quality. The candidate will work closely with a multidisciplinary team of scientists and engineers to deliver scalable, maintainable software that supports scientific research workflows at EMSL. Familiarity with frontend technologies is a plus but is not a primary focus of this role

Requirements:

• BS/BA or higher in Bioinformatics
• Experience working at national labs and/or DOE
• Working knowledge of Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, and other deployment environments
• API development using Python
• Experience designing and implementing role-based access control (RBAC) for APIs and platform services
• Experience with API gateways (e.g., Kong, AWS API Gateway, or similar) for routing, rate limiting, and authentication enforcement
• Backend languages and tools such as Python and PostgreSQL
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines and tools like Jenkins, GitLab CI/CD, or Github Actions
• Experience using AI-assisted development tools (e.g., GitHub Copilot, OpenCode, Claude Code, or similar) in a professional software development workflow
• Familiarity with RESTful API design patterns and backend service architecture