Senior Systems Engineer – Production AI
Spectraforce
Agawam Town, Massachusetts
2 hours ago
Job Description
Position Title: Senior Systems Engineer – Production AI
Work Location: Waltham, MA 02451 (Hybrid - 3 days/week onsite)
Assignment Duration: 8+ months (possibility of extension)
Position Summary:
The Senior Systems Engineer – Production AI will join the mRNA Systems Engineering team to design, build, and operate production-grade systems based on AI and machine-learning and that accelerate mRNA vaccine research and development.
Working in a highly agile, cross-functional environment at the interface of software engineering, AI/ML, and pharmaceutical sciences, the role contributes to build scalable digital products that bring predictive models into production and empower scientific users across Vaccines R&D.
Background & Context: Our organization’s Center of Excellence (CoE) represents an annual investment of approximately €400 million to accelerate the development of next-generation vaccines. With around 400 dedicated employees across Cambridge, Massachusetts (USA) and Marcy-l’Étoile, France, the CoE integrates end-to-end mRNA vaccine capabilities across Research & Development, Digital, and CMC functions. Beyond pandemic preparedness, the CoE drives innovation in mRNA technologies with a strong focus on thermostability, tolerability, and routine vaccination use cases. Advanced AI and machine-learning approaches—such as lipid nanoparticle prediction and mRNA sequence optimization—are embedded in the research strategy to accelerate scientific decision-making and development timelines.
Key Responsibilities:
• Design, develop, deploy, and operate production-grade AI/ML systems and data pipelines in an agile environment.
• Build, maintain, and optimize CI/CD pipelines using GitHub Actions to enable automated testing and deployment.
• Deploy and operate applications on Kubernetes using GitOps practices (e.g., ArgoCD).
• Develop user-facing applications through APIs and/or graphical interfaces.
• Deploy predictive models into production environments with a strong focus on reliability, scalability, and observability.
• Build and optimize compute pipelines supporting data processing and model training.
• Collaborate closely with data scientists, computational biologists, and vaccine researchers to translate scientific needs into robust digital solutions.
• Actively participate in agile ceremonies and contribute to continuous improvement of team practices.
• Ensure high standards for code quality, documentation, and knowledge transfer.
• Communicate complex technical concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Qualification & Experience:
• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Data Science, or a related field. Advanced degrees are valued but not required.
• Minimum of 5 years of professional software engineering experience.
• Demonstrated delivery of production-level systems with measurable impact.
• Strong experience working in agile environments with a customer-oriented mindset.
• Proven experience deploying and operating applications in production.
• GitHub Actions and CI/CD pipeline implementation.
• Kubernetes-based container orchestration.
• GitOps practices (ArgoCD or equivalent).
• Strong Python programming skills.
• API and/or web application development.
• Production deployment of machine-learning models and MLOps practices.
• Familiarity with major cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP).
• English: fluent (mandatory). French: nice to have.
Working Conditions & Physical Demands (If Applicable):
• Hybrid working model with a minimum of three days per week on site in Waltham, MA.
• Agile and fast-paced team environment focused on rapid iteration and delivery.
• Strong cross-functional collaboration across Vaccines R&D, Digital, and CMC.
Additional Information (If Applicable):
Our organization values demonstrated impact, collaboration, and scientific curiosity. For the right candidate, depth of expertise and delivery track record are more important than the number of years of experience. The ideal candidate is a strong collaborator, comfortable working with scientific users, and motivated to build impactful digital products that advance mRNA vaccine development.
Contribute at the forefront of mRNA vaccine innovation and AI-enabled pharmaceutical R&D.
Collaborate with world-class scientists and engineers in a purpose-driven organization.
Make a direct impact on global public health.
Live our organization’s values: Aim Higher, Act for Patients, Be Bold, and Lead Together.
Access state-of-the-art R&D facilities and digital platforms.
At SPECTRAFORCE, we are committed to maintaining a workplace that ensures fair compensation and wage transparency in adherence with all applicable state and local laws. This position’s starting pay is: $ 75.00/hr.
Work Location: Waltham, MA 02451 (Hybrid - 3 days/week onsite)
Assignment Duration: 8+ months (possibility of extension)
Position Summary:
The Senior Systems Engineer – Production AI will join the mRNA Systems Engineering team to design, build, and operate production-grade systems based on AI and machine-learning and that accelerate mRNA vaccine research and development.
Working in a highly agile, cross-functional environment at the interface of software engineering, AI/ML, and pharmaceutical sciences, the role contributes to build scalable digital products that bring predictive models into production and empower scientific users across Vaccines R&D.
Background & Context: Our organization’s Center of Excellence (CoE) represents an annual investment of approximately €400 million to accelerate the development of next-generation vaccines. With around 400 dedicated employees across Cambridge, Massachusetts (USA) and Marcy-l’Étoile, France, the CoE integrates end-to-end mRNA vaccine capabilities across Research & Development, Digital, and CMC functions. Beyond pandemic preparedness, the CoE drives innovation in mRNA technologies with a strong focus on thermostability, tolerability, and routine vaccination use cases. Advanced AI and machine-learning approaches—such as lipid nanoparticle prediction and mRNA sequence optimization—are embedded in the research strategy to accelerate scientific decision-making and development timelines.
Key Responsibilities:
• Design, develop, deploy, and operate production-grade AI/ML systems and data pipelines in an agile environment.
• Build, maintain, and optimize CI/CD pipelines using GitHub Actions to enable automated testing and deployment.
• Deploy and operate applications on Kubernetes using GitOps practices (e.g., ArgoCD).
• Develop user-facing applications through APIs and/or graphical interfaces.
• Deploy predictive models into production environments with a strong focus on reliability, scalability, and observability.
• Build and optimize compute pipelines supporting data processing and model training.
• Collaborate closely with data scientists, computational biologists, and vaccine researchers to translate scientific needs into robust digital solutions.
• Actively participate in agile ceremonies and contribute to continuous improvement of team practices.
• Ensure high standards for code quality, documentation, and knowledge transfer.
• Communicate complex technical concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Qualification & Experience:
• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Data Science, or a related field. Advanced degrees are valued but not required.
• Minimum of 5 years of professional software engineering experience.
• Demonstrated delivery of production-level systems with measurable impact.
• Strong experience working in agile environments with a customer-oriented mindset.
• Proven experience deploying and operating applications in production.
• GitHub Actions and CI/CD pipeline implementation.
• Kubernetes-based container orchestration.
• GitOps practices (ArgoCD or equivalent).
• Strong Python programming skills.
• API and/or web application development.
• Production deployment of machine-learning models and MLOps practices.
• Familiarity with major cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP).
• English: fluent (mandatory). French: nice to have.
Working Conditions & Physical Demands (If Applicable):
• Hybrid working model with a minimum of three days per week on site in Waltham, MA.
• Agile and fast-paced team environment focused on rapid iteration and delivery.
• Strong cross-functional collaboration across Vaccines R&D, Digital, and CMC.
Additional Information (If Applicable):
Our organization values demonstrated impact, collaboration, and scientific curiosity. For the right candidate, depth of expertise and delivery track record are more important than the number of years of experience. The ideal candidate is a strong collaborator, comfortable working with scientific users, and motivated to build impactful digital products that advance mRNA vaccine development.
Contribute at the forefront of mRNA vaccine innovation and AI-enabled pharmaceutical R&D.
Collaborate with world-class scientists and engineers in a purpose-driven organization.
Make a direct impact on global public health.
Live our organization’s values: Aim Higher, Act for Patients, Be Bold, and Lead Together.
Access state-of-the-art R&D facilities and digital platforms.
Applicant Notices & Disclaimers
- For information on benefits, equal opportunity employment, and location-specific applicant notices, click here
At SPECTRAFORCE, we are committed to maintaining a workplace that ensures fair compensation and wage transparency in adherence with all applicable state and local laws. This position’s starting pay is: $ 75.00/hr.