Principal Software Engineer – Data & AI Platforms for Drug Discovery

avec compétence GmbH; Basel; On-site; CHF 180,000 - 250,000; Full time

Job summary

Pharmaceutical research in Basel-Stadt seeks a senior software generalist to design and implement scalable data platforms for drug discovery. You will build interactive tools and a broad ecosystem of scientific data applications, applying microservices and event-driven patterns to improve workflows.

You will collaborate with scientists to translate challenges into robust, scalable solutions and provide mentorship to junior developers, leveraging AWS and modern frontend frameworks.

Qualifications

• PhD or 8-10+ years of experience in life science building full-stack software solutions.
• Strong software engineering expertise in backend (Python, Java) and frontend (React, Vue).
• Deep experience with data engineering, databases (SQL/NoSQL), ETL/ELT and APIs (REST, GraphQL).
• Experience deploying applications on cloud-native architectures, preferably AWS.
• Experience setting up SDLC best practices including versioning, testing, CI/CD.
• Ability to architect scalable solutions in complex, multi-system environments.
• Outstanding communication skills to articulate technical concepts to diverse audiences.

Responsibilities

• Design and build interactive tools for small and large molecule drug discovery workflows.
• Build and enhance a scalable ecosystem of applications and tools for scientific data.
• Design complex, user-friendly data applications and pipelines across scientific domains.
• Apply microservices and event-driven architecture to improve data workflows.
• Integrate diverse data sets to power AI, ML and natural language search capabilities.
• Collaborate with computational and research scientists to translate challenges into solutions.
• Provide technical leadership and mentor junior developers.

Skills

Python

Java

React

Vue

Data engineering

SQL

NoSQL

ETL/ELT

APIs (REST)

GraphQL

AWS

CI/CD

SDLC

Microservices

Architecture

Communication

Education

PhD or 8-10+ years experience

Tools

AWS

GraphQL

REST

CI/CD tools

Docker

Kubernetes

Job description

This role builds scalable data and software platforms that support drug discovery research, integrating data pipelines, AI/ML models and molecular design workflows.

Tasks

• Design and build interactive tools for small and large molecule drug discovery workflows
• Build and enhance a scalable ecosystem of applications and tools for scientific data
• Design complex, user-friendly data applications and pipelines across scientific domains
• Apply microservices and event-driven architecture to improve data workflows
• Integrate diverse data sets to power AI, ML and natural language search capabilities
• Collaborate with computational and research scientists to translate challenges into solutions
• Provide technical leadership and mentor junior developers

Profile

• PhD or 8-10+ years of experience in life science building full-stack software solutions
• Strong software engineering expertise in backend (Python, Java) and frontend (React, Vue)
• Deep experience with data engineering, databases (SQL/NoSQL), ETL/ELT and APIs (REST, GraphQL)
• Experience deploying applications on cloud-native architectures, preferably AWS
• Experience setting up SDLC best practices including versioning, testing, CI/CD
• Ability to architect scalable solutions in complex, multi-system environments
• Outstanding communication skills to articulate technical concepts to diverse audiences

Company

Pharmaceutical research