Software Developer 1

The Department of Ophthalmology in the School of Medicine at Stanford University is launching an interdisciplinary Neuro-AI project dedicated to building a foundation model of the brain. This endeavor will involve multiple labs and faculty across the Stanford campus, including the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford Bio-X, and the Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence Institute. Leveraging cutting-edge advances in electrophysiology and machine learning, this project aims to create a functional "digital twin" — a model that captures both the activity dynamics of the brain at cellular resolution and the intelligent behavior it generates, including perception, motor planning, learning, reasoning, and problem-solving.

This ambitious initiative promises to offer unprecedented insights into the brain's algorithms of perception and cognition while serving as a key resource for aligning artificial intelligence models with human-like neural representations. As part of this project, we are seeking talented software developers/engineers to support the whole team by developing and scaling the systems that allow our scientists to iterate quickly. In this role, you will play a critical role in ensuring the reproducibility and production-readiness of our codebase, as well as implementing Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) processes for all teams involved in the project. Your work will be essential in maintaining the highest standards of software quality, reliability, and efficiency.

This position promises a vibrant and cooperative atmosphere within the laboratories of Andreas Tolias (https://toliaslab.org), Tirin Moore (https://www.moorelabstanford.com) and other labs at Stanford University renowned for their expertise in perception, cognition, pioneering neural recording techniques, computational neuroscience, machine learning, and Neuro-AI research.
 

Duties include:

• Assess user needs and requirements. 
• Design and develop applications that may involve sophisticated data manipulation. 
• Maintain and update existing programs.
• Troubleshoot and solve technical problems.
• Create programs to meet reporting and analysis needs.
• Design and implement user and operations training programs. 
• Document changes in software for end users.
• Follow team software development methodology. 
• Serve as technical resource with respect to applications.
• * - Other duties may also be assigned
   

Desired Qualifications:

• 3+ years of experience in developing and maintaining production-grade codebases
• Strong programming skills in Python and system-level languages (e.g. C/C++, Rust)
• In-depth experience with version control systems like Git and collaborative development platforms like GitHub
• Experience setting up and maintaining CI/CD principles through tools such as GitHub Actions and Jenkins
• Strong understanding and experience in test-driven software development with knowledge of different testing methodologies such as unit testing, integration testing, and end-to-end testing
• Excellent problem-solving, communication, and collaboration skills
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, multidisciplinary environment
• Experience with containerization technologies like Docker and orchestration platforms like Kubernetes and Slurm
• Experience with the challenges of scientific software development
• Knowledge of software design patterns and architectures
• Experience contributing to and/or maintaining open-source software projects or libraries
• Familiarity with machine learning frameworks such as TensorFlow or PyTorch

What we offer:

• Work on a collaborative and uniquely positioned project spanning several disciplines, from neuroscience to artificial intelligence and engineering.
• Work jointly with a vibrant team of researchers and scientists in a project dedicated to one mission, rooted in academia but inspired by science in industry.
• Competitive salary and benefits.
• Strong mentoring in career development.
   
   

Core Duties:

• Assess user needs and requirements.

• Design and develop applications that may involve sophisticateddata manipulation.

• Maintain and update existing programs.

• Troubleshoot and solve technical problems.

• Create programs to meet reporting and analysis needs.

• Design and implement user and operations trainingprograms.

• Document changes in software for end users.

• Follow team software development methodology.

• Serve as a technical resource with respect toapplications.

Minimum Education and Experience:

Bachelor's degree and three years of relevant experience or acombination of education and relevant experience.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Working knowledge of latest software and designstandards.

• Ability to define and solve logical problems for technicalapplications.

• Knowledge of and ability to select, adapt, and effectively use avariety of programming methods.

• Ability to recognize and recommend needed changes in user and/oroperations procedures.

• Basic knowledge of software engineering principles.

• Strong knowledge of at least one programming language.