Machine Learning Engineer/Senior Machine Learning Engineer, Agentic Systems, AI for Drug Discovery
Roche
Summary
Within AI for Drug Discovery, the Software Engineering team builds and operates software platforms that put advanced models and computational tools into the hands of scientists. We are seeking a very talented Machine Learning Engineer to help build our agentic platform for molecule design. The platform enables scientists to use AI agents, computational models, scientific tools, and internal data sources together in coordinated workflows that support the design and evaluation of therapeutic molecules.
Job description
In this role, you will:
- Develop and maintain backend services, APIs, and user-facing applications for an agentic drug design platform.
- Integrate machine learning models, scientific applications, databases, and internal services into reliable end-to-end workflows.
- Implement agentic capabilities, including tool execution, workflow orchestration, state management, evaluation, and observability.
- Build software that enables scientists to configure, run, inspect, and reproduce computational molecule design workflows.
- Deploy models and scientific tools into secure, scalable, cloud-based production environments.
- Write clean, maintainable, and well-tested code, and contribute to automated testing, documentation, code reviews, and CI/CD practices.
- Monitor deployed services, troubleshoot issues, and improve platform reliability, performance, and usability.
- Work closely with users to understand scientific needs, gather feedback, and translate requirements into practical software solutions.
- Contribute to technical design decisions and the ongoing evolution of the platform’s architecture.
- Develop familiarity with relevant drug discovery concepts and apply software engineering best practices in a scientific research environment.
Who You Are:
- For the Machine Learning Engineer level, you have a bachelor’s or master’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience, and 3+ years of professional software engineering experience; and for the Senior Machine Learning Engineer level, you have a bachelor’s or master’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience, and 5+ years of professional software engineering experience
- You are proficient in Python and have strong software engineering fundamentals, including API design, automated testing, data modeling, and system design.
- You have experience independently delivering production software from technical design and implementation through deployment, monitoring, and ongoing support.
- You have built backend services, platform capabilities, developer tools, or user-facing applications in a cloud environment.
- You are comfortable working with relational databases, asynchronous workflows, containers, version control, and CI/CD practices.
- You can translate user and scientific needs into practical technical solutions and communicate effectively with engineers, researchers, product managers, and domain experts.
- You are interested in AI-enabled applications and in integrating models, scientific tools, and data into reliable workflows.
- You are motivated by delivering software to users and improving real scientific workflows.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience with frontend development using a modern framework such as React.
- Familiarity with frameworks and standards for agentic applications, such as Model Context Protocol, workflow orchestration, retrieval systems, or evaluation frameworks.
- Experience developing software for scientific research, cheminformatics, computational chemistry, biology, or drug discovery.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s or master’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience
- 3+ years of professional software engineering experience (Machine Learning Engineer level)
- 5+ years of professional software engineering experience (Senior Machine Learning Engineer level)
- Proficient in Python
- Strong software engineering fundamentals, including API design, automated testing, data modeling, and system design
- Experience independently delivering production software from technical design and implementation through deployment, monitoring, and ongoing support
- Experience building backend services, platform capabilities, developer tools, or user-facing applications in a cloud environment
- Comfortable working with relational databases, asynchronous workflows, containers, version control, and CI/CD practices
- Ability to translate user and scientific needs into practical technical solutions
- Effective communication with engineers, researchers, product managers, and domain experts
- Interest in AI-enabled applications and integrating models, scientific tools, and data into reliable workflows
- Motivated by delivering software to users and improving real scientific workflows
Benefits
- Discretionary annual bonus
- Benefits package
Company overview
Roche is a Swiss multinational healthcare company and a global pioneer in pharmaceuticals and diagnostics, founded in 1896 and headquartered in Basel, Switzerland. As the world's largest biotech company and the fifth-largest pharmaceutical company by revenue, Roche operates through two primary divisions: Pharmaceuticals and Diagnostics. The company is renowned for its leadership in personalized healthcare, combining strengths in both drug development and diagnostic testing to deliver tailored treatments for patients. Roche maintains a strong focus on oncology, immunology, infectious diseases, ophthalmology, and central nervous system disorders, with a portfolio that includes over 30 medicines on the World Health Organization's Model Lists of Essential Medicines. The company owns significant subsidiaries including Genentech, Chugai Pharmaceuticals, Ventana Medical Systems, and Foundation Medicine. With approximately 103,000 employees worldwide and operations in over 100 countries, Roche has established itself as a leader in cancer treatments globally while maintaining a robust pipeline of innovative therapies and diagnostic solutions. The company's commitment to sustainability has been recognized through ten consecutive years as Group Leader in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices within the Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences Industry.