Senior Research Engineer

Biorce; Austin (TX); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

MacBook provided

Medical, dental, vision insurance

Hybrid work model

Company events

Pet-friendly office

Job summary

Biorce is hiring a Senior AI Engineer in Austin to lead the AI Open Source function. You will operate in the AI layer full-time—focus on prompts, agents, retrieval, evaluation, and model behavior within product squads.

You will design and ship AI-specific features, build evaluation frameworks, and mentor junior engineers while partnering with product and design to deliver AI-driven clinical trial solutions. This is a fast-paced biotech AI startup role.

Qualifications

• Degree in Computer Science with ML focus.
• 5+ years direct AI/ML systems experience.
• Experience with LLM APIs, prompts, agents, and retrieval.
• Experience with evaluation pipelines and prompt optimization.
• Strong grounding in ML fundamentals (model behavior, training vs inference).
• Experience integrating LLM APIs and considering latency and cost.
• Shipping AI-powered, user-facing features end-to-end.
• Designing guardrails and safety checks for AI systems.
• Mentoring or leading other engineers.

Responsibilities

• Design, prototype, and ship AI-specific product features (prompts, agents, retrieval).
• Build and refine tool-calling and multi-step agent workflows.
• Design and maintain evaluation frameworks and datasets for AI systems.
• Create pipelines for prompt and context optimization.
• Monitor model quality, latency, and cost in production; diagnose regressions.
• Integrate platform and model capabilities into end-to-end experiences.
• Implement guardrails, safety checks, and fallback behavior.
• Debug complex model/agent behavior and traces.
• Evaluate retrieval-augmented generation and fine-tuning techniques.
• Collaborate with product/design to translate needs into AI solutions.
• Provide fast feedback to AI Scientist teams and mentor junior engineers.

Skills

AI engineering

Machine Learning

LLM APIs

Prompt engineering

Evaluation frameworks

Mentoring

Guardrails design

Education

Degree in Computer Science

Tools

Prompt tooling

Agent frameworks

Job description

About the company

Biorce is a pioneering Healthtech company dedicated to revolutionizing drug development through the power of AI. We are passionate about accelerating medical advancements and improving patient outcomes.

Our team comprises seasoned clinical research professionals, data scientists, and AI experts, working collaboratively to bridge the gap between cutting-edge technology and real-world clinical needs.

With an unwavering commitment to revolutionize healthcare, we envision a world where all patients benefit from accelerated and cost-effective access to treatments. Biorce is poised to redefine the landscape of healthcare, shaping a future where innovation and accessibility converge for the betterment of humanity.

About the role

Following our successful expansion into the U.S. and continued growth across Europe, we are seeking a Senior AI Engineer to help drive our AI Open Source function from our Austin, Texas hub.

Reporting directly to our Head of AI, this person will play a critical role acting as an embedded guardrail inside our product squads catching AI-specific issues in real product context and holding the line on quality through the evaluation frameworks and optimization tooling they build.

This is not a general full-stack or product engineering role, you'll live in the AI layer full-time: prompts, agents, retrieval, evaluation, and model behavior, embedded inside product squads building an AI-powered product that is transforming how clinical trials are run. You'll move fast, prototype early, and help set technical direction for how our embedded AI Engineers work, mentoring more junior teammates along the way. This is an exciting opportunity to join a fast-paced biotech AI startup at an early stage of its growth, as we continue expanding our US presence.

Who We're Looking For

Someone who considers themselves an AI engineer first, not a full-stack engineer who picked up AI. This person brings a scientific, hypothesis-driven approach to improving AI systems, as comfortable defending quality tradeoffs with data as building the feature itself. They're energized by direct customer impact, are fast learners comfortable with incomplete information, and thrive switching between multiple projects while enjoying helping others grow.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, prototype, and ship the AI-specific parts of product features, prompts, agents, tool integrations, and retrieval
• Build and refine tool-calling and multi-step agent workflows for product-specific use cases
• Design and maintain evaluation frameworks and golden datasets for our AI systems
• Build automated pipelines for prompt and context optimization
• Monitor and improve model quality, latency, and cost in production, diagnosing regressions using evals and telemetry
• Integrate platform and model capabilities into end-to-end product experiences
• Design and implement guardrails, safety checks, and fallback behavior for AI features in production
• Debug complex issues in model and agent behavior, from prompt/tool-call traces to unexpected outputs
• Evaluate and apply retrieval-augmented generation, fine-tuning, and other techniques where they fit a product need
• Partner closely with product and design to translate user needs into AI-driven technical solutions
• Provide fast, direct feedback to the Platform and AI Scientist teams based on real-world AI usage patterns
• Mentor junior AI Engineers and help set technical standards for AI-specific work across product initiatives

Must-haves

• Degree in Computer Science, with a specialization or concentration in Machine Learning (or equivalent depth gained on the job)
• 5+ years of experience working directly on AI/ML-powered systems, this is not a generalist role
• Full working exposure across the modern AI stack: LLM APIs, prompt engineering, agent frameworks, tool calling, RAG/retrieval, embeddings, and evaluation practices
• Experience designing or running evaluation frameworks and automated prompt-optimization pipelines for ML or LLM-based systems
• Solid grounding in core ML fundamentals (model behavior, training vs. inference, failure modes) even if your day-to-day is applied rather than research
• Experience integrating LLM APIs and reasoning about their operational tradeoffs (latency, cost, context limits, failure modes)
• Track record of shipping AI-powered, user-facing features end-to-end
• Experience designing and implementing guardrails or safety checks for AI systems
• Comfort debugging model and agent behavior, not just application code
• Experience mentoring or leading other engineers

Nice-to-Haves

• Experience fine-tuning or adapting models for a specific product use case
• Background working directly with customers (e.g., consulting, embedded product engineering, or similar roles)
• Experience in healthcare, biotech, or another regulated industry
• Experience in a regulated or high-stakes domain

Why Join Us?

• A dynamic work environment with an international team, where collaboration and diversity thrive.
• Work alongside top talent, united by a shared purpose and committed to making a real impact.
• Get equipped with a MacBook to enhance your productivity and work experience.
• Benefits package designed to support you and your family's overall well-being.
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance options beginning on the first of the month following hire.
• Hybrid work model offering flexibility to balance your professional and personal life.
• Company events to celebrate achievements and enjoy time together.
• Our office is pet-friendly! You'll likely be greeted by a few wagging tails upon arrival.