Staff Software Engineer

Astera Institute; Emeryville (CA); On-site; USD 200,000 - 500,000; Full time

Job summary

A cutting-edge research foundation in Emeryville seeks a Staff Software Engineer to reverse-engineer the human brain. Responsibilities include defining high-performance infrastructure for training AI models and designing custom reinforcement learning environments. The ideal candidate is adaptable and experienced in system architecture, solving technical challenges at a startup pace. This role offers a competitive salary range of $200K - $500K and may provide visa sponsorship for qualified applicants.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated ability to write clean, maintainable, and well-tested code.
• Experience in architecting complex systems from scratch.
• Ability to dive into new domains and master them quickly.

Responsibilities

• Define and architect high-performance infrastructure for training large-scale models.
• Design and optimize custom RL environments informed by neuroscience.
• Create production-grade code that boosts research velocity.
• Transform research prototypes into scalable production systems.
• Resolve technical bottlenecks to assist the research team.

Skills

High-Velocity Craftsmanship

System Architecture Intuition

Extreme Adaptability

Mastery of Hard Problems

Job description

About Astera

Astera is a private foundation with a $2.5B endowment on a mission to steer science and technology toward an abundant future for all. Unlike traditional foundations, we operate like a high-velocity startup with unprecedented access to computational resources and complete freedom from funding pressures or profit motives. This allows us to focus on ambitious goals and attract incredibly creative scientists and engineers from leading academic institutions and from frontier AI labs.

Obelisk is our large-scale AI research program, pursuing a neuroscience-informed approach to engineering AGI. This is not yet-another-lab scaling LLMs in hope of achieving general intelligence. We are integrating neuroscience, AI, and bioengineering to understand and digitally model the architecture of the human brain.

Position Summary

We are looking for an ambitious Staff Software Engineer to help us reverse-engineer the human brain.

• Define and architect high-performance infrastructure for training large-scale models and running complex simulations.
• Design and optimize custom RL environments informed by neuroscience.
• Set the standard for clean, fast, production-grade code that boosts our research velocity.
• Turn research prototypes into scalable production systems.
• Tackle systemic technical bottlenecks, from low-level optimization to high-level strategy, to unblock the research team.

Qualifications

• High-Velocity Craftsmanship: You set the bar for clean, maintainable, and well-tested code at a startup pace. You know how to balance engineering rigor with the need to iterate quickly on research prototypes.
• System Architecture Intuition: You have proven success architecting complex systems from scratch. You understand the long-term trade-offs, and you can design infrastructure that survives the chaos of research.
• Extreme Adaptability: You might be an expert in distributed systems today, but you are ready to become a novice in neuroscience tomorrow. You have a track record of diving into complex domains, mastering them quickly, and guiding others through them.
• Mastery of Hard Problems: You have a track record of leading the resolution of difficult engineering challenges, whether it is massive scale distributed systems or kernel-level optimization. You do not shy away from what your peers consider hardcore.

Location & Visa

• This role is in-person in Emeryville, CA.
• Visa sponsorship may be available for qualified candidates.

Compensation Range: $200K - $500K