Principal Software Engineer, Machine Learning

Moderna Therapeutics - Cambridge, MA

Full-time - Principal

Cambridge, MA

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

About the position

Joining Moderna offers the unique opportunity to be part of a pioneering team that's revolutionizing medicine through mRNA technology with a diverse pipeline of development programs across various diseases. As an employee, you'll be part of a continually growing organization working alongside exceptional colleagues and strategic partners worldwide, contributing to global health initiatives. Moderna's commitment to advancing the technological frontier of mRNA medicines ensures a challenging and rewarding career experience with the potential to make a significant impact on patients' lives worldwide. We are seeking a skilled Principal Software Engineer to join our dynamic team of experts in developing cutting-edge machine learning systems for real-world applications. As a Principal Software Engineer, you will be at the forefront of designing, implementing, and maintaining software that integrates advanced machine learning models into scalable, robust, and high-performance production systems. In this role, you will lead the design and development of software systems for machine learning solutions, ensuring scalability, efficiency, and robustness. You will collaborate with data scientists, product managers, and other stakeholders to understand requirements and translate them into technical specifications. Your responsibilities will include writing clean, maintainable, and well-documented code in a variety of programming languages, architecting and implementing end-to-end machine learning pipelines, and optimizing existing machine learning systems for performance and scalability. Additionally, you will develop and maintain high-performance APIs and microservices to support AI applications, implement best practices for software development, mentor junior engineers, and ensure compliance with data security and privacy regulations throughout the development lifecycle.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and development of software systems for machine learning solutions, ensuring scalability, efficiency, and robustness.
• Collaborate with data scientists, product managers, and other stakeholders to understand requirements and translate them into technical specifications.
• Write clean, maintainable, and well-documented code in a variety of programming languages.
• Architect and implement end-to-end machine learning pipelines, following best practices for data ingestion, preprocessing, re-training, evaluation, deployment, CI/CD, and automated testing.
• Optimize existing machine learning systems for performance and scalability.
• Develop and maintain high-performance APIs and microservices to support AI applications.
• Implement best practices for software development, including code reviews, testing, and documentation.
• Mentor and guide junior engineers, fostering a culture of continuous learning and improvement.
• Stay abreast of the latest advancements in AI and machine learning, and integrate new technologies and methodologies into our systems.
• Ensure compliance with data security and privacy regulations throughout the development lifecycle.
• Troubleshoot and resolve complex technical issues, ensuring the reliability and performance of deployed systems.

Requirements

• Bachelors, Masters, or PhD in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field.
• Extensive experience (7+ years) in software engineering, with a focus on AI and machine learning.
• Proven track record of designing and deploying large-scale machine learning systems in production environments.
• Extensive experience with Python, and lower-level programming languages like C++.
• Deep understanding of deep learning frameworks (e.g., PyTorch, PyTorch Lightning, JAX) and libraries (e.g., CUDA).
• Ability to design and implement solutions on cloud services (AWS, Azure, Databricks, GCP).
• Experience with containerization technologies (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes).
• Experience with fine-tuning and deploying LLM technologies (e.g., Llama) on cloud infrastructure (e.g., AWS Bedrock).
• Strong understanding of software development life cycle, DevOps practices, and Agile methodologies.
• Proficiency in distributed systems, microservices architecture, and RESTful API development.
• Knowledge of CI/CD tools (e.g., Jenkins, GitLab CI) and version control systems (e.g., Git).
• Familiarity with monitoring and logging tools (e.g., Prometheus, Kafka, ELK Stack).
• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to think critically and creatively.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams.

Nice-to-haves

• Experience with data engineering and ETL processes.
• Experience with MLOps Frameworks (e.g. Kubeflow, MLFlow, Airflow, AWS SageMaker).
• Knowledge of database systems (e.g., SQL, NoSQL) and data warehousing solutions (e.g., AWS Redshift).
• Familiarity with big data technologies (e.g., Hadoop, Spark).
• A desire to make an impact as part of a high-growth, transformational company that is Bold, Relentless, Curious, and Collaborative.

Benefits

• Highly competitive and inclusive medical, dental and vision coverage options
• Flexible Spending Accounts for medical expenses and dependent care expenses
• Lifestyle Spending Account funds to help you engage in personal enrichment and self-care activities
• Family care benefits, including subsidized back-up care options and on-demand tutoring
• Free premium access to fitness, nutrition, and mindfulness classes
• Exclusive preferred pricing on Peloton fitness equipment
• Adoption and family-planning benefits
• Dedicated care coordination support for our LGBTQ+ community
• Generous paid time off, including vacation, sick time and holidays
• Volunteer time to participate within your community
• Discretionary year-end shutdown
• Paid sabbatical after 5 years; every 3 years thereafter
• Generous Paid Leave offerings, including 18 weeks of 100% paid parental leave for all new parents
• 401k match and Financial Planning tools
• Moderna-paid Life, LTD and STD insurance coverages, as well as voluntary benefit options
• Complimentary concierge service including home services research, travel booking, and entertainment requests
• Free parking or subsidized commuter passes
• Location-specific perks and extras!