Lead Software Engineer

About the Company

UL Research Institutes (ULRI) expands the boundaries of safety science to create a more secure and sustainable world. Through the Digital Safety Research Institute (DSRI), ULRI addresses unresolved safety risks and emerging dangers in the digital ecosystem, including privacy, algorithms, and disinformation threats.

Responsibilities

• Lead, define, and develop full-stack software systems and platforms for large-scale research and safety insight dissemination
• Implement service boundaries, data model evolution, and integration patterns
• Set technical direction and align architecture with research priorities and the AI evaluation ecosystem
• Design complex, ambiguous, cross-cutting systems
• Set standards for AI-assisted engineering, including the use of tools like Claude Code
• Provide guidance and informal mentorship to junior engineers
• Assist in hiring, onboarding, and training new software engineers
• Represent technical work across the organization and in external settings

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in computer science or equivalent experience (Master's preferred)
• Minimum 8 years of experience in software development
• Proficiency in multiple programming languages and frameworks
• Experience deploying complex software products and managing the SDLC
• Deep expertise in React, Python, async patterns, and PostgreSQL
• Experience with containers, deployment, and observability
• Sophisticated use of AI coding tools to structure context and review code
• Strong architectural judgment and ability to articulate technical trade-offs
• Excellent written communication skills for design documents and RFCs
• Genuine interest in AI safety or harm domains like synthetic media or chatbot safety