Senior Software Engineer, AI Foundations

About Formation Bio

Formation Bio is a tech and AI driven pharma company differentiated by radically more efficient drug development. 

Advancements in AI and drug discovery are creating more candidate drugs than the industry can progress because of the high cost and time of clinical trials. Recognizing that this development bottleneck may ultimately limit the number of new medicines that can reach patients, Formation Bio, founded in 2016 as TrialSpark Inc., has built technology platforms, processes, and capabilities to accelerate all aspects of drug development and clinical trials. Formation Bio partners, acquires, or in-licenses drugs from pharma companies, research organizations, and biotechs to develop programs past clinical proof of concept and beyond, ultimately helping to bring new medicines to patients. The company is backed by investors across pharma and tech, including a16z, Sequoia, Sanofi, Thrive Capital, Sam Altman, John Doerr, Spark Capital, SV Angel Growth, and others. 

You can read more at the following links:

• Our Vision for AI in Pharma
• Our Current Drug Portfolio
• Our Technology & Platform

At Formation Bio, our values are the driving force behind our mission to revolutionize the pharma industry. Every team and individual at the company shares these same values, and every team and individual plays a key part in our mission to bring new treatments to patients faster and more efficiently.

About the Position 

Join our newly formed AI Foundations Team as a Senior Engineer I, where you will be an essential contributor to building our core AI infrastructure. This role is focused on hands-on development of our AI Platform, Services, and Governance layers—enabling scalable access to AI models and tooling for the entire organization. You will work collaboratively with Product, Engineering, and Data Science teams to create, iterate, and refine solutions that establish the foundational bets for our enterprise AI strategy. 

Responsibilities 

Platform Development:

• Design, develop, and maintain core components of our AI Platform, including modules for model profiling & benchmarking, programmatic access, evaluation tooling, and knowledge graph integration.
• Contribute to building robust pipelines that support both experimental and production-level AI models. 

Cross-Functional Collaboration:

• Work closely with diverse teams to gather requirements, iterate on features, and ensure that platform solutions meet broad organizational needs.
• Develop proofs-of-concept and prototypes to validate new technical approaches quickly and efficiently. 

Quality & Scalability:

• Write clean, maintainable, and well-tested code, ensuring high system performance and reliability.
• Support the implementation of cloud-native architectures, containerization, and modern CI/CD pipelines to foster continuous integration and deployment. 

Technical Best Practices:

• Contribute to the development and adoption of best practices and coding standards, particularly in the context of AI model governance and scalable infrastructure.
• Stay abreast of industry trends and innovative techniques used by leading startups to democratize AI and build next-generation platforms. 

About You 

Experience & Education:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, AI, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience).
• 5+ years of software development experience, with a proven ability to deliver high-quality, scalable software in a fast-paced, innovative environment. 

Technical Skills:

• Proficient in developing distributed systems, services, and cloud-based applications.
• Familiarity with AI/ML frameworks (such as TensorFlow, PyTorch) and practical experience working with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP).
• Experience with containerization technologies and CI/CD practices.
• Experience with Infrastructure as Code (IaC) 

Problem Solving & Collaboration:

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a proactive, hands-on approach.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively with cross-functional teams.
• Prior experience with AI model governance or platform infrastructure projects is a plus.

Formation Bio is headquartered in New York City, with plans to build a larger team and presence in Boston. We are prioritizing hiring in these areas, with an expectation for NYC-based employees to work in the office at least two days per week. While our primary focus is on candidates in NYC (including the Tri-state Area) and Boston, we may consider remote candidates from specific geographies based on qualifications, skills, and business needs. We believe that in-person collaboration is essential for breaking down silos, fostering cross-functional teamwork, and embedding our company values into daily work. All employees located outside of the NYC Metro Area will be expected to travel to the NYC office at least four times per year for company events and team-specific meetings or activities.

Compensation:

Salary ranges are informed in part by geographic location, in addition to other factors. The target salary ranges for this role are: 

• NYC Metro Area, Boston Metro Area, SF Bay Area: $190,000 - $230,000
• All Other Eligible Remote Locations: $180,000 - $218,000

The ranges provided above include base salary only. In addition to base salary, we offer equity, generous perks, hybrid flexibility, and comprehensive benefits.

If this range doesn’t match your expectations, please still apply because we may have something else for you.

**Eligible Remote Locations:
Alabama (AL), Arizona (AZ), California (CA), Connecticut (CT), Florida (FL), Georgia (GA), Illinois (IL), Indiana (IN), Maryland (MD), Massachusetts (MA), New Hampshire (NH), New Jersey (NJ), North Carolina (NC), Ohio (OH), Pennsylvania (PA), South Carolina (SC), Texas (TX), Utah (UT), Virginia (VA), and Washington, D.C. (DC).

You will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.

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