Technical Lead, Product

About the company

Bioptimus is developing a universal AI foundation model for biology with the goal of enabling major advances in biomedical research and innovation. The company has raised more than $75M, was founded in October 2023, and is headquartered in Paris. It is backed by international venture investors and is focused on bringing together top talent in science and engineering to push the boundaries of AI and life sciences.

About the role

This is a remote position that can be done from outside Paris. As Technical Lead, Product, you will help turn foundation models for biology into usable, dependable products for scientists and engineers. You will own features from concept through production across backend services, APIs, and user-facing interfaces, working closely with Product Engineers and R&D teams.

This is a senior individual-contributor leadership role. You will shape technical direction through hands-on delivery, architecture, coding standards, code reviews, and pairing. People management is not required, though there may be a path into it later as the product team grows.

What you will do

• Design, implement, test, and release end-to-end product features across backend and frontend for B2B biology products.
• Take features from early ideas to production ownership, balancing delivery speed with reliability and maintainability.
• Build and maintain scalable services and APIs, including REST and gRPC, that turn packaged models into product capabilities.
• Create data workflows and work with Python, SQL, and closely related tooling.
• Develop products on top of the SDK and model packages built by Product Engineers, while feeding back product needs into those interfaces.
• Establish engineering practices and technical standards for the areas you own, and guide design decisions on complex cross-functional problems.
• Support and mentor other engineers through code reviews and collaborative pairing.
• Use agentic coding tools such as opencode and Claude to speed up delivery and help shape AI-native development practices.
• Partner with Product Engineers and infrastructure teams to ensure the software matches real scientific and customer needs.

What you bring

• Several years of production experience writing clean, maintainable, well-tested Python and owning features end to end.
• Strong full-stack ability, with backend experience and comfort using modern frontend tools such as JavaScript or TypeScript with React, Vue, or similar frameworks.
• Practical knowledge of SQL and data workflow design.
• Hands-on experience deploying applications and ML models in the cloud, especially with AWS, and using containers such as Docker and Kubernetes.
• Strong software engineering fundamentals, including data structures, core computer science concepts, and modern CI/CD workflows.
• Good understanding of object-oriented and functional design, with the ability to weigh trade-offs among performance, simplicity, and modularity.
• Proven ability to set technical direction, lead architecture discussions, and mentor other engineers.
• Experience designing and integrating APIs such as REST and gRPC for complex applications.
• Comfort using AI-assisted coding tools as part of daily development work.
• Clear, empathetic communication across audiences ranging from scientists to DevOps engineers.
• An independent, curious, detail-oriented mindset and a collaborative approach in fast-moving environments.

Education and language

A Master’s degree in Computer Science or a related technical field is preferred, or equivalent practical experience. Full professional fluency in English is required.

Preferred background

• Experience in Pharma, Biotech, or Healthcare.
• Work on developer-facing products or platforms used by external customers.
• Prior technical leadership or ownership of a significant product area.
• Deep familiarity with AWS services such as SageMaker, EC2, S3, IAM, and RDS.
• Exposure to PyTorch, JAX, or Hugging Face Transformers.
• Experience across the AI model lifecycle, including deployment, hosting, and low-latency inference optimization.
• Front-end work involving data-heavy or scientific visualizations.
• Contribution to or maintenance of open-source projects.
• Experience in a startup or similarly fast-moving innovative environment.

Hiring process

Applicants are expected to submit a CV in English. The process includes an initial screening, a 1.5-hour timed technical assessment focused on Python exercises, and then a series of interviews that may be adjusted as needed.

• Hiring manager conversation of about 30 minutes to discuss background, motivation, and technical depth.
• Technical interview of about 1 hour focused on live coding, trade-offs, architecture, and problem solving.
• Case study interview of about 1 hour centered on product delivery and technical decision-making.
• Culture fit conversation of about 30 minutes with several team members.
• Final decision, followed by a reference check if an offer is made.
• Onboarding after acceptance and signing of the offer.

Why this role stands out

• You will report to the Head of Product in a high-ownership role that shapes how foundation models become customer-facing products.
• You will help advance AI applications in drug discovery and healthcare, with potential impact for patients living with disease.
• The role offers competitive compensation, equity, and flexible working arrangements.
• You will have room to grow professionally and develop leadership skills in a rapidly evolving field at the intersection of AI and biology.

Compensation and benefits

This position includes a competitive salary and equity package, along with flexible remote working options, a collaborative mission-driven environment, and opportunities for growth and leadership development.

Additional information

The role is open in multiple locations, including remote work. Candidates should apply for the location where they are primarily based or would prefer to work. Bioptimus states that it is committed to equal employment opportunity and does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, national origin, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, or disability status.