Software Engineering Tech Lead

About Ark

Ark is building the world’s highest-fidelity bioprocess simulation platform so cutting edge science reaches those who need it most. Helping breakthroughs break through from the lab to the world - faster.

Too much world changing science gets stuck in the lab. Innovations that can save people’s lives, mitigate climate change, enhance national security never reach those who need it most. At Ark, we’re changing this. We're building a computational bioprocess platform that gives modeling superpowers to scientists everywhere. WIth Ark’s software scientists can replace slow, expensive experiments that take years to run and cost $10Ms with simulation that runs in seconds! With Ark, scientists can run 10,000x as many experiments, making sure the best science reaches those who need it most. 

About the Role

Ark is hiring a Software Tech Lead to drive the architecture, development, and scaling of the application layer in our bioreactor simulation platform. This is a high-impact leadership role in a fast-moving startup, where you will shape the technical vision, optimize processes, and lead a small team while remaining hands-on with the code.

As the key technical leader, you will own backend architecture and infrastructure, ensure seamless integration with the frontend, and collaborate directly with PhD-level bioprocess modelers to translate cutting-edge simulations into a scalable platform. You’ll be responsible for making strategic technical decisions, mentoring a growing team, and balancing fast iteration with long-term stability.

Key Responsibilities

• Architect scalable systems – Design, build, and maintain high-performance software that integrate with modeling simulation engine.
• Make key technical decisions – Ensure architectural choices align with business goals, balancing speed with long-term maintainability.
• Hands-on development – Contribute high-quality code while guiding the team through technical challenges.
• Ensure reliability & performance – Manage incident response, debugging, and optimization to keep systems running smoothly.
• Own engineering processes – Improve developer workflows, testing pipelines, CI/CD, and deployment automation.
• Lead and mentor – Manage a small team of engineers, foster a culture of learning, and set a high bar for code quality and technical excellence.

Tech Stack

• Backend: Python 3.11, FastAPI, Postgres, Docker
• Frontend: TypeScript, React, Tailwind
• Infrastructure: Cloud deployment (e.g., AWS)

About You

• 5+ years of software development experience, with 1+ year of managing others
• Full-stack understanding – While backend-focused, you can make informed frontend decisions to optimize system-wide performance.
• Bias for action – You thrive in a fast-paced startup environment, iterating quickly while maintaining high quality.
• Strong problem-solving skills – You can debug complex systems, optimize performance, and resolve scaling challenges.
• Cloud deployment experience – Familiarity with AWS, containerization, and CI/CD workflows.
• Passion for technical excellence – You uphold best practices in code quality, security, and software design.

Position

• Full-time, exempt
• Location: Cambridge, MA
• Benefits: Health, dental, and vision coverage, holiday and vacation time, 401k matching, stock options, and career growth opportunities

Ark Biotech is an equal-opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.