Senior Software Engineer, The Stacks - Radial Science

Software Engineer Opportunity At Astera Institute

The Astera Institute is seeking a full-time software engineer to help build and scale The Stacks, a new content platform designed to meaningfully improve how scientific, technical, and intellectual work is shared, discovered, and built upon. The ideal candidate is a highly capable, hands-on generalist who has built and maintained complex content platforms or large-scale web applications, and who is comfortable redesigning core systems as the product's identity evolves. Beyond technical skill, you should have strong architectural judgment, a user-centered mindset, and enthusiasm for building tools that accelerate knowledge-sharing.

This is a unique opportunity to shape a core piece of public digital infrastructure at the earliest stages. Successful candidates will be comfortable working in fast-moving environments, collaborating across multiple teams, and making thoughtful architectural decisions that support long-term growth. Open-source experience and enthusiasm are a major plus.

Key Responsibilities

• Contribute to the architecture, development, and maintenance of The Stacks—including backend services, frontend interfaces, data models, and integrations.
• Design flexible internal structures that can adapt as The Stacks platform develops.
• Implement high-quality user-facing interfaces and experiences using modern web technologies.
• Build reliable APIs and services and integrate content-management fundamentals such as search indexing, metadata enrichment, static/dynamic content generation, and back-office tools for moderation and curation.
• Ensure data integrity, performance, scalability, and maintainability for both content and user data.
• Work closely with product and design teams to develop user-centric features and iterate rapidly based on feedback.
• Manage and deploy cloud infrastructure, ensuring high availability, observability, and smooth development workflows.
• Maintain high-quality engineering practices including version control, testing, documentation, and CI/CD workflows.
• Provide ongoing support and improvements post-launch, including bug fixes, feature development, and performance optimization.
• Contribute to open-source components of The Stacks when appropriate.
• Collaborate with related internal teams across Astera's connected programs and external partners as needed.

Qualifications and Experience

• BA/BS in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or equivalent experience.
• 7+ years experience building and maintaining production-grade, user-facing software systems.
• Demonstrated experience with content-heavy or knowledge-based platforms, such as:
• publishing systems
• large documentation or archival sites
• hybrid static/dynamic content architectures
• search indexing and metadata pipelines
• user-generated content, content moderation
• back-office workflows
• Strong engineering fundamentals and experience owning complex systems over time, including refactoring or re-architecting major components as products evolve.
• Proficiency with modern backend and frontend technologies (e.g., Python, TypeScript, SQL databases, Flask/FastAPI, React, etc.)—specific technologies matter less than your ability to learn and adapt.
• Experience deploying and managing cloud infrastructure (AWS or equivalent).
• Ability to move quickly in environments with evolving requirements, ambiguity, and rapid iteration cycles.
• Highly adaptable and comfortable working across disciplines.

Location

On site at our office in Emeryville, CA. Some travel may be required from time-to-time for in-person collaboration and work.

Compensation

The posted salary range is based on location in the Bay Area. The successful candidate will receive a competitive compensation package, commensurate with their experience and location.