Sr. Software Engineer (Contract-to-Hire)

About Fulcrum

Fulcrum Neuroscience is a biotech startup developing new therapeutic approaches to Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative conditions. At the heart of Fulcrum's approach is a unique computational platform: the Brain Health and Neurodegeneration world model, reconciling over 1,800 literature and data sources, and an underlying AI-enabled, digital twin computational engine. This platform enables Fulcrum scientists to explore target and therapeutic alternatives, identify biomarker patterns, and design lab and clinical experiments.

Fulcrum is establishing collaborations with leading research institutions and pharmaceutical organizations, and is a member of the Global Neurodegeneration Proteomics Consortium (GNPC), enabling access to the GNPC data sets. The Fulcrum software platform supports expansion through plug-ins and APIs, enabling integration with a wide range of AI and analysis tools and data sources.

The Role

Reporting to the Chief Technology Officer, you support the development of AI-driven tools to enable the development and enhancement of biological models, digital populations, digital twins, and model-enabled research. This is a hands-on role, working closely with proven innovators in the development of new modeling methodologies and technology.

Your work will include:

• Development of AI-driven tools and skills including chat-based interactions, agentic workflows, MCP-based integrations to enable model development and analysis and model-based drug discovery and development.
• Building AI-enabled visualizations, dashboards, and automated parametric search tools that support complex workflows including iterative goal-seeking tasks that can operate autonomously or with human-in-the-loop
• Building tools to support the integration and analysis of external literature and data into the modeling platform.
• Working from concepts and prototypes to build scalable, extensible software solutions.
• Capturing requirements from technical discussions and producing clear documentation — commented code, architecture and workflow descriptions, and API documentation.

This is an opportunity to work at the ground level of an early-stage startup, contributing to leading-edge research on neurodegenerative disease while working at the leading edge of AI-infused scientific tooling.

The ideal candidate would be based in the San Francisco Bay Area and able to work at the company's office in South San Francisco, CA one day per week. Remote candidates with a willingness to periodically travel to South San Francisco will be considered.

Qualifications

Required

• BS in Computer Science or Engineering, or a related discipline
• 5+ years developing software in a professional environment
• Experience vibe coding with one or more frontier models
• Proficient in Python, JSON, and interfacing with API-driven platforms. Experience with Mathematica is a plus.
• Demonstrated skill in well-designed, well-documented code, with documentation (architecture, workflow, APIs) that supports other team members
• Comfortable in a fast-moving startup environment, juggling multiple priorities and flexing to help the team meet evolving deadlines

Highly Desired

• Experience developing scientific, modeling, and/or analytical software
• Experience developing AI skills for agentic workflows
• Experience developing software that integrates with LLMs including LLM APIs, RAG, and MCP
• Experience using open-weight (local) LLM models
• Familiarity with Bayesian statistics and simulation of systems of non-linear differential equations

What We Offer

• The chance to build modeling tools to enable model-based research of Alzheimer's and related disease at an early-stage company.
• Meaningful early-stage equity and contract rate commensurate with experience.

This is a full-time, contract-to-hire role: we intend it as a path to full-time employment.

Direct applicants only, please. We are not working with staffing agencies or third-party recruiters for this contract opportunity and are not accepting agency-submitted candidates.