Software Engineer, Foundry Systems

Airtree is advertising this role on behalf of one of our portfolio companies, who are currently in stealth mode.

We exist to drastically increase access to advanced medicines. 

We're hiring a software engineer to build the systems behind the foundry: software that runs lab and factory equipment, coordinates production work, tracks materials and creates the records regulated manufacturing requires.

Why this role exists

This is an early-career role with a high bar. We're looking for people who've done hard work well and can sustain a high rate of delivery, whatever field that evidence comes from.

You will work with scientists and operators to understand real problems, decide what matters most and choose how to solve it. You will get broad goals and own the detailed path from need to live software.

Our products are AI-native: AI agents will write a large share of the code. Your job is to understand what each system must achieve, turn that into clear tests, and verify the generated code on live lab and factory systems. That takes care, technical judgement and thorough testing. You stay responsible for the result, regardless of what wrote the code.

What you'll own

During your first 3-6 months, you will help build and improve software for equipment control, process coordination, electronic work records and material tracking.

• Work with scientists and operators to turn real needs into clear requirements and priorities.
• Build Python services, process-control software, TypeScript and React interfaces, APIs and PostgreSQL data models.
• Connect software to physical equipment through interfaces such as Modbus and OPC UA.
• Deploy and operate systems on AWS.
• Use AI agents to generate, review, test and debug software, and take responsibility for what they produce.
• Verify that software does what it needs to, through code review, automated tests, simulation and controlled trials on live equipment.
• Test normal operation, failure cases, data integrity, equipment responses and safe recovery.
• Own production systems: monitoring, support, incident response and on-call work.
  

Much of this work supports regulated, mission-critical or safety-affecting systems. You're responsible for their behaviour, including code an AI agent produced. Cloud and infrastructure work exists to support the core job: improving lab and factory systems.

What we're looking for

Essential

• 2-4 years of professional software engineering experience.
• A bachelor's degree in software engineering, computer science or another engineering field.
• Strong fundamentals across APIs, databases, testing, debugging and production systems.
• Clear evidence of high performance, from academic results, professional work, difficult projects, research, open source work or another demanding field.
• Experience building and shipping software that people actually use.
• Ability to work out what software must achieve, turn that into testable behaviour and verify the result thoroughly.
• Regular use of AI coding agents, with the discipline to review and test generated code across normal operation, edge cases, failures and recovery.
• Comfortable working directly with users, setting sound priorities and staying hands-on through delivery and support.
• The right to work in Australia, work on-site in inner Sydney and join an on-call roster.

Nice to have

• Experience with Python, TypeScript, React, PostgreSQL, AWS or Terraform.
• Experience with process control, state machines or event-driven systems.
• Experience connecting software to lab, factory or other physical equipment.
• Experience with audit trails, electronic records or regulated software.

What success looks like

Within three months, scientists or operators are using software you delivered. You understand the need, have verified it on the real system and can support it in daily use.

Within six months, you own several production systems outright. You understand their users, code, data, equipment links and failure modes, and can find and deliver valuable improvements with little direction.

You use AI to keep your rate of delivery high. Thorough testing, monitoring and controlled releases keep the software reliable.

How we work

We're a small team with fast development cycles and direct communication. Goals often start broad; engineers work with scientists and operators to define the work and carry it through to live use.

The role is based in inner Sydney. You'll work at a desk, in the lab and around factory equipment, and help support whatever you release. This is primarily an on-site role.