Software Engineer, AI Platform

Chai Discovery

San Francisco, California, United StatesFull-timePosted Oct 12, 2026

About the role

About Chai Discovery

Chai builds the design suite for molecules. We train frontier models that learn the underlying foundations of biochemical structure and interaction, so scientists can move faster and pursue targets that other methods cannot reach.

AI is reinventing life sciences the same way it reinvented software engineering, and Chai is at the forefront of this shift. Leading pharmaceutical companies like Eli Lilly, Pfizer, and Novartis are adopting our platform to power their drug discovery programs.

We value diverse perspectives and are ready to find greatness in unexpected places.

About the role

Build the AI platform that lets scientists direct research programs with agents. As agents become more capable, they will increasingly use Chai’s foundation models to design molecules and guide experiments. We believe scientists should be able to work at the level of the questions they want answered and delegate more of the work required to answer them; you will build the platform that makes this possible.

Work with scientists and researchers to define how people, agents, and models work together throughout a therapeutic research program.

Build products that shorten the cycle from an idea to an experiment to the next decision, while keeping scientists able to understand and direct the work.

Build the core abstractions for agent execution, model inference, and scientific tools so new capabilities can work together across the workspace.

About you

We look for strong software architecture and product judgment, with depth in complex applications or agent systems. You can find clear abstractions in a messy domain and build systems that hold up as their scope grows. We value a practical understanding of where agents fail and how to tell whether they’re doing useful work.

We offer

The opportunity to work at the vanguard of AI research and frontier biology, with world-class people, on a mission that matters. We protect & promote a culture of high velocity and ownership. We compensate our team accordingly.

Responsibilities

  • Build an AI platform that enables scientists to direct research programs with agents.
  • Work with scientists and researchers to define how people, agents, and models collaborate across therapeutic research programs.
  • Build products that accelerate the cycle from ideas to experiments and decisions while keeping scientists in control.
  • Develop core abstractions for agent execution, model inference, and scientific tools.

Qualifications

  • Strong software architecture and product judgment.
  • Depth in complex applications or agent systems.
  • Ability to create clear abstractions in complex domains and build systems that scale with growing scope.
  • Practical understanding of agent failure modes and how to evaluate whether agents are useful.

Benefits

  • Work at the forefront of AI research and frontier biology with world-class colleagues.
  • High-velocity, ownership-focused culture.
  • Competitive compensation.

Skills mentioned

AI AgentsLarge Language ModelsGenerative AISystem DesignBackend DevelopmentPythonModel ServingTool CallingAPI IntegrationDistributed Systems

About Chai Discovery

Building frontier artificial intelligence to predict and reprogram the interactions between biochemical molecules.

Technology2-10 employeesSan Francisco, California

H-1B sponsorship history

Historical employer filing data was found for Chai Discovery. The employer record includes 1 historical certified applications. This is employer-level history, not a guarantee that this role currently offers sponsorship.