Staff Software Engineer, Backend

Bayer CropScience Limited; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 117,000 - 171,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health care

Vision

Dental

Retirement

PTO

Job summary

Bayer Crop Science Limited in the United States (Illinois, Chicago) is seeking a Staff Software Engineer, Backend to shape scalable architectures for AI-enabled farming platforms. You’ll drive strategy, guide teams from design to delivery, and raise engineering standards for reliability and observability.

The role emphasizes leadership of senior engineers and alignment with farmer outcomes. Requirements include 8+ years in software development, strong backend skills (Java/Python), Docker and AWS

Qualifications

• BS or equivalent in Computer Science or related technical field or equivalent combination of education and experience
• 8+ years of hands-on experience in software development
• Experience leading across teams the development of scalable cloud-based microservices and data pipelines
• Proficiency with CI/CD pipelines (e.g., GitLab Pipelines, GitHub Actions)
• Experience with container technologies (e.g., Docker)
• Strong knowledge of AWS and other public cloud platforms
• Strong backend language knowledge (e.g., Java, Python)
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Responsibilities

• Define and drive the technical strategy for the organization's highest-priority initiatives, from architecture through delivery.
• Bring clarity to ambiguous, high-complexity problems — translating strategic goals into actionable technical direction that teams can execute with confidence.
• Set and evolve the engineering standards for reliability, observability, and code quality that define how Digital Farming Solutions builds software at scale.
• Actively develop senior engineers into Staff-level leaders, sponsoring their growth into initiatives with organization-wide scope and impact.
• Champion a culture where engineering decisions are grounded in farmer outcomes — connecting technical tradeoffs directly to the real-world impact on the people we serve.
• Shape the technical approach for the full spectrum of agricultural data — from on-farm precision sensors to satellite and geospatial imagery — ensuring platforms handle it with accuracy, scale, and performance.
• Drive architectural decisions for data-intensive, algorithmically complex precision agriculture systems, partnering with data science and product to turn research into production-grade capabilities.

Skills

Backend development

Cloud platforms

Microservices

CI/CD tooling

Docker

Communication skills

Education

BS in Computer Science or related field

Tools

GitLab

GitHub Actions

Job description

At Bayer we’re visionaries, driven to solve the world’s toughest challenges and striving for a world where 'Health for all Hunger for none’ is no longer a dream, but a real possibility. We’re doing it with energy, curiosity and sheer dedication, always learning from unique perspectives of those around us, expanding our thinking, growing our capabilities and redefining ‘impossible’. There are so many reasons to join us. If you’re hungry to build a varied and meaningful career in a community of brilliant and diverse minds to make a real difference, there’s only one choice.

Staff Software Engineer, Backend

The world's farmers make high-stakes decisions every season — and the platforms built by Digital Farming Solutions Engineering are what makes those decisions smarter. As a Staff Engineer, your role is to ensure those platforms are architected for scale, reliability, and the demands of AI and machine learning at a global level.

YOUR TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Define and drive the technical strategy for the organization's highest-priority initiatives, from architecture through delivery.
• Bring clarity to ambiguous, high-complexity problems — translating strategic goals into actionable technical direction that teams can execute with confidence.
• Set and evolve the engineering standards for reliability, observability, and code quality that define how Digital Farming Solutions builds software at scale.
• Actively develop senior engineers into Staff-level leaders, sponsoring their growth into initiatives with organization-wide scope and impact.
• Champion a culture where engineering decisions are grounded in farmer outcomes — connecting technical tradeoffs directly to the real-world impact on the people we serve.
• Shape the technical approach for the full spectrum of agricultural data — from on-farm precision sensors to satellite and geospatial imagery — ensuring platforms handle it with accuracy, scale, and performance.
• Drive architectural decisions for data-intensive, algorithmically complex precision agriculture systems, partnering with data science and product to turn research into production-grade capabilities.

WHO YOU ARE

Required:

• BS or equivalent in Computer Science or related technical field or equivalent combination of education and experience
• 8+ years of hands-on experience in software development
• Proven history of ability to quickly learn new skills and technologies
• Experience leading across team(s) the development of highly scalable cloud based (AWS preferred) microservices and data pipelines using container technologies (e.g., Docker)
• Ability to take ambiguous requirements in complex domains and distill them down into actionable tasks for other engineers
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills including the ability to present complex information in a clear and concise manner to engineering and non-engineering audiences
• Expert knowledge in at least one modern backend programming language (e.g., Java, Python) with the ability to write understandable, testable code with an eye towards maintainability.
• Strong understanding of at least one containerization technology (e.g., Docker)
• Strong understanding of at least one public cloud platform.
• Strong knowledge of software development methodologies and best practices.
• Experience using observability techniques to drive support and improvements of systems
• Proficiency with managing CICD pipelines (e.g., GitLab Pipelines, GitHub Actions)

Preferred:

• Experienced with modern REST and GraphQL (Strong Plus) API design
• Exceptional customer focus, ownership, and drive.
• Proven ability to develop other strong senior engineers into Staff engineers, operating and leading their own initiatives with org-wide scope and high impact.
• Experience with relational and non-relational data stores. Expert knowledge of at least one. Strong knowledge and experience with SQL including performance tuning and query optimization.
• Expert knowledge of at least one containerization technology (e.g., Docker)
• Strong understanding of multiple AWS capabilities (EC2, S3, RDS, SQS, etc.). Expert knowledge of multiple AWS capabilities.
• Strong experience with event driven architectures using messaging middleware (SQS, JMS, etc.)
• Experience with layered geospatial data structures and data representations (Strong Plus)

Employees can expect to be paid a salary of approximately $117k-171k. Additional compensation may include a bonus or incentive program (if relevant). Additional benefits include health care, vision, dental, retirement, PTO, sick leave, etc.. This salary (or salary range) is merely an estimate and may vary based on an applicant’s location, market data/ranges, an applicant’s skills and prior relevant experience, certain degrees and certifications, and other relevant factors.

This posting will be available for application until at least 5/19/26.

Bayer offers a wide variety of competitive compensation and benefits programs.

Bayer is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Disabled/Veterans

Bayer is committed to providing access and reasonable accommodations in its application process for individuals with disabilities and encourages applicants with disabilities to request any needed accommodation(s) using the contact information below.

Bayer is an E-Verify Employer.

Location:| United States : Residence Based : Residence Based || United States : Illinois : Chicago || United States : Missouri : Creve Coeur || United States : Washington : Seattle

Division:| Crop Science |

Reference Code:| 868401 | |

Contact Us

Email:| [e-mail]