Software Engineer III – Frontend Development – Brain Science

The mission of the Allen Institute is to unlock the complexities of bioscience and advance our knowledge to improve human health. Using an open science, multi-scale, team-oriented approach, the Allen Institute focuses on accelerating foundational research, developing standards and models, and cultivating new ideas to make a broad, transformational impact on science.

The mission of the Allen Institute for Brain Science is to accelerate the understanding of how the human brain works in health and disease. Using a big science approach, we generate useful public resources, drive technological and analytical advances, and discover fundamental brain properties through integration of experiments, modeling and theory.

The Allen Institute for Brain Science is working on an exciting initiative to re-structure and map our vast quantities of neuroscience-centric data into a knowledge graph. We seek to lay the technical foundation to support supervised and unsupervised content discovery, enable deep data mining, and support new interactive modes of engagement with our data through innovative UI. We are seeking an experienced Software Engineer to join our Web Application Development team.

As a Software Engineer, you will participate in the design and development of innovative, high performance, robust, scalable, and extensible software solutions, owning key capabilities and features. Typical activities include contributing to technical discussions, technical and functional requirements analysis, solution design, and technical development.

The Allen Institute believes that team science significantly benefits from the participation of diverse voices, experiences and backgrounds. High-quality science can only be produced when it includes different perspectives. We are committed to increasing diversity across every team and encourage people from all backgrounds to apply for this role.

Essential Functions

• Participate in the full software development process, including gathering requirements, breaking down work into development tasks, discussing implementation ideas, recording issues, and delivering results
• Collaborate effectively with experts in diverse scientific and engineering topics, including neuroscience, high performance scientific computing, data science, and web applications
• Rapidly build and iterate on functional prototypes that express design intent, illustrate key pieces of functionality, and inform product and feature decisions by answering questions about the design, usability, feasibility, and desirability of proposed solutions
• Develop documentation for data workflows, software, and processes
• Apply a modern software engineering workflow, including emphasis on code review, continuous integration, and automated testing

Note: Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. This description reflects management’s assignment of essential functions; it does not proscribe or restrict the tasks that may be assigned.

Required Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant technical discipline or equivalent combination of degree and experience
• 3+ years of relevant experience in a team-oriented software development environment
• Strong computer science background with good knowledge of data structures
• Adept at leading teams in scrum-agile process, technical discussions, and technology choices
• Expertise in HTML, modern JavaScript, TypeScript, CSS, SCSS
• Experience creating data-driven web applications leveraging REST & GraphQL APIs
• Experience with contemporary client-side tools, frameworks and libraries, such as Node.js, React, Angular, Vue, Webpack
• Proficient in a broad range of software design approaches and common UX patterns
• Knows when (and when not) to use Frontend software design patterns
• Familiarity with entire software toolchain, including source code management (git), debuggers, build tools, and testing methodologies
• Experience writing code and configuring systems to facilitate automated testing, building, and deployment of software

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with web-based 2D and 3D data visualization using d3.js, WebGL, etc.
• Experience with biological datasets
• Experience writing code for continuous delivery
• Experience with tools that support infrastructure as code, such as CloudFormation, Azure Resource Manager, Cloud Deployment Manager, Terraform, etc
• Experience with container technologies such as Docker and Kubernetes
• Advanced degree in a relevant technical discipline (e.g., computer science, applied math)
• History of contributing to open source and/or team-based projects
• Demonstrated ability to mentor junior software engineers
• Strong project management, communication, and organizational skills

Physical Demands

• Fine motor movements in fingers/hands to operate computers and other office equipment

Position Type/Expected Hours of Work

• This role is currently able to work both remotely and onsite in a hybrid work environment. We are a Washington State employer, and the primary work location for all Allen Institute employees is 615 Westlake Ave N.; any remote work must be performed in Washington State.

Additional Eligibility Qualifications

• In keeping with our focus on employee safety, all employees must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment unless a medical or religious exemption is approved. All employees will be required to keep their vaccination status up to date according to CDC guidance and our policy.

Additional Comments

• **Please note, this opportunity does not offer work visa sponsorship**

It is the policy of the Allen Institute to provide equal employment opportunity (EEO) to all persons regardless of age, color, national origin, citizenship status, physical or mental disability, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, genetic information, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law. In addition, the Allen Institute will provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities.