Lead Software Engineer

Keystone Distinction Group; New York (NY); On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Keystone Distinction Group is seeking a Lead Software Engineer – Full Stack to join its engineering team in Long Island City, NY, blending hands-on development with technical leadership.

You will collaborate with the VP of Engineering, frontend and backend engineers, and product management to develop and enhance the company's software platform, make architectural decisions, and mentor other engineers on best practices.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of professional experience with Python and Django.
• Strong experience in full-stack software development across frontend and backend.
• Experience with React or a comparable modern frontend framework.
• Experience with Google Cloud Platform (GCP) or another major cloud provider.
• Strong understanding of software architecture, development methodologies, testing, and deployment.
• Demonstrated technical leadership experience and the ability to guide other engineers.
• Experience coordinating or managing external engineering resources.
• Strong organizational and project management skills with the ability to manage multiple complex priorities.
• Demonstrated ability to take ownership of projects and consistently deliver results.
• Excellent communication skills with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Must live in or be willing to relocate to the New York City area.
• Must be willing to work on-site in Long Island City, NY.

Responsibilities

• Develop scalable, reliable, testable, and maintainable software across frontend and backend applications.
• Partner with product managers, customers, and internal stakeholders to evaluate and prioritize product enhancements.
• Contribute to software architecture and make informed decisions regarding system design and technical tradeoffs.
• Evaluate emerging technologies and recommend solutions that improve the platform's capabilities and performance.
• Design and maintain data pipelines that support machine learning and data-driven applications.
• Provide technical guidance and troubleshooting support to internal teams.
• Manage automated application deployments and ongoing web server maintenance.
• Help coordinate and oversee the work of external engineering resources.
• Provide technical leadership throughout the software development lifecycle.
• Take ownership of complex projects and drive them through successful completion.
• Help improve the scalability, reliability, security, and maintainability of the company's technology platform.

Skills

Python

Django

Full-stack development

React

GCP

Technical leadership

Stakeholder communication

Job description

Job Title: Lead Software Engineer – Full Stack

About the Opportunity

A rapidly growing life sciences technology company is seeking a talented Lead Software Engineer – Full Stack to join its engineering team in Long Island City, NY.

The organization develops technology solutions that support scientific research, laboratory workflows, and digital pathology. This is an opportunity to work on technically challenging software products used by researchers and life sciences organizations.

The ideal candidate is a hands‑on software engineer who enjoys solving complex problems, taking ownership of projects, and contributing to both technical and product strategy. The successful candidate will be comfortable making architectural decisions, collaborating across teams, and providing technical guidance to other engineers.

About the Role

The Lead Software Engineer will work closely with the VP of Engineering, frontend and backend engineers, and product management to develop and enhance the company's software platform.

This is a hands‑on technical leadership position with meaningful influence over product development and engineering strategy. The individual will help determine priorities, evaluate technical tradeoffs, improve existing systems, and lead projects from concept through completion.

The role requires someone who can operate independently while working effectively with both internal and external engineering resources.

Technology Stack

Frontend

• ReactJS
• Material-UI
• JSS
• GatsbyJS

Backend

• Python 3.10+
• Django
• RESTful APIs
• PostgreSQL

DevOps / Infrastructure

• Docker
• Ansible
• CircleCI
• GitHub
• Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
• Netlify
• Cloudflare

The engineering organization generally works with current stable releases to maintain a modern development environment and minimize technical debt.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop scalable, reliable, testable, and maintainable software across frontend and backend applications.
• Partner with product managers, customers, and internal stakeholders to evaluate and prioritize product enhancements.
• Contribute to software architecture and make informed decisions regarding system design and technical tradeoffs.
• Evaluate emerging technologies and recommend solutions that improve the platform's capabilities and performance.
• Design and maintain data pipelines that support machine learning and data-driven applications.
• Provide technical guidance and troubleshooting support to internal teams.
• Manage automated application deployments and ongoing web server maintenance.
• Help coordinate and oversee the work of external engineering resources.
• Provide technical leadership throughout the software development lifecycle.
• Take ownership of complex projects and drive them through successful completion.
• Help improve the scalability, reliability, security, and maintainability of the company's technology platform.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of professional experience with Python and Django.
• Strong experience in full-stack software development across both frontend and backend environments.
• Experience with React or a comparable modern frontend framework.
• Experience with Google Cloud Platform (GCP) or another major cloud provider.
• Strong understanding of software architecture, development methodologies, testing, and deployment.
• Demonstrated technical leadership experience and the ability to guide other engineers.
• Experience coordinating or managing external engineering resources.
• Strong organizational and project management skills with the ability to manage multiple complex priorities.
• Demonstrated ability to take ownership of projects and consistently deliver results.
• Excellent communication skills with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Must live in or be willing to relocate to the New York City area.
• Must be willing to work on-site in Long Island City, NY.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working within an early-stage, startup, or high‑growth technology environment.
• Background in computer vision, data mining, statistics, machine learning, or related disciplines.
• Experience in life sciences, healthcare, laboratory technology, digital pathology, or scientific research.
• Experience building or supporting data-intensive applications.