Lead Full Stack SW Engineer July 7, 2026

Chemify Ltd; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 250,000; Full time

Job summary

Chemify Ltd in San Francisco is seeking a Lead Full Stack Software Engineer / Engineering Manager to drive the software platform behind our robotic synthesis systems. You will lead, mentor, and grow the US team while staying close to the code.

As a founding engineering leader for the US site, you will shape culture, set technical direction with Glasgow peers, and deliver end-to-end platform capabilities that scale with growth.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in software engineering with leadership experience.
• Deep full-stack expertise in Python, C, C++, with strong architecture judgment.
• Proven ability to ship complex production systems and raise a team’s bar.
• Strong people leadership and ability to develop engineers.
• Comfort working with autonomy and ambiguity in a scaling deep-tech company.

Responsibilities

• Lead and grow a team of full-stack engineers - hiring, mentoring, performance, and career development.
• Set technical direction and architecture for the platform software in partnership with peers in Glasgow.
• Stay hands-on: review designs and code, and contribute to the hardest problems.
• Own delivery - planning, prioritisation, and execution - and be accountable for outcomes.
• Partner with firmware, hardware, manufacturing, chemistry, and product to deliver end to end.

Skills

Full-stack leadership

Python

C/C++

Software architecture

Team leadership

Job description

Chemify is revolutionising chemistry. We are creating a future where the synthesis of previously unimaginable molecules, drugs, and materials is instantly accessible. By combining AI, robotics, and the world’s largest continually expanding database of chemical programs, we are accelerating chemical discovery to improve quality of life and extend the reach of humanity.

Travel: Travel to our Glasgow HQ

The Role

We are seeking a Lead Full Stack Software Engineer / Engineering Manager to lead the software effort at our US site - setting technical direction and growing the team that builds the platform behind Chemify's robotic synthesis systems. This is a hands-on leadership role: you will stay close to the code, but your biggest impact comes through the people you hire, grow, and unblock, and the standards you put in place.

What sets this role apart is timing: as one of the founding engineering leaders in San Francisco, you will help stand up the team as our second site comes online - shaping its culture from the start.

If leading a team building real-world platform software sounds like the right shape of job for you, we’d love to welcome you to our team.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and grow a team of full-stack engineers - hiring, mentoring, performance, and career development.
• Set technical direction and architecture for the platform software in partnership with peers in Glasgow.
• Stay hands-on: review designs and code, and contribute to the hardest problems.
• Own delivery - planning, prioritisation, and execution - and be accountable for outcomes.
• Partner with firmware, hardware, manufacturing, chemistry, and product to deliver end to end.

About You

You are a technical leader who multiplies the people around you. You have shipped complex systems yourself, and you have learned that the highest-leverage thing you can do is build a team that ships even more. You are comfortable with the ambiguity of a scaling company and a new site.

We expect you to bring:

• 8+ years in software engineering, including experience leading and growing teams.
• Deep full-stack expertise ([Python/C/C++) and strong architectural judgement.
• A proven ability to ship complex systems in production and to raise a team’s bar.
• Strong people‑leadership instincts - you develop engineers and create an environment where they do their best work.
• Comfort operating with autonomy and ambiguity in a scaling deep-tech company.

Beneficial Skills

• Experience with robotics, hardware-in-the-loop, real-time, or instrument-control systems.
• Background in lab automation, manufacturing software, or scientific computing.
• Experience standing up or scaling a new engineering team or site.

Why Join Chemify?

Impact. You will own the platform capability for an entire new site - the team and systems you build will shape what Chemify can do in the US.

Autonomy. You will have a genuine founding mandate over how the US Chemify engineering team is built and how it works.

Ambition. We are a Series B deep-tech company at the frontier of AI, robotics, and chemistry - a rare chance to stand up an engineering team with the resources to match the ambition.