Director of Software Engineering

Director of Software Engineering

Please note that the Director of Software Engineering role is a Boston-based onsite position. We offer flexible Fridays that allow you to work from home if needed.

Work Authorization: Candidates must be authorized to work in the U.S. without the need for employer sponsorship, now or in the future.

Emulate is actively seeking a collaborative and experienced Director of Software Engineering to lead and grow our team of software engineers in delivering high-quality, scalable solutions for our Organ‑Chip platforms. In this role, you will work closely with product, R&D, and engineering leaders to help shape and execute the software roadmap across robotic systems, embedded platforms, and supporting data infrastructure. You will serve as a senior technical leader and people manager, setting strong engineering standards and mentoring teams to support Emulate’s mission of revolutionizing human biology and health through innovation.

This is a highly hands‑on leadership role, where the Director is expected to remain deeply involved in technical design, code quality, and implementation alongside the team.

• Promote a culture of technical curiosity and innovation across software engineering teams.
• Encourage exploration of new technologies, frameworks, and architectures that enhance Emulate’s robotics and instrumentation platforms.
• Stay informed about emerging trends in software engineering, robotics integration, AI, and biomedical tooling.
• Foster an environment where engineers feel empowered to experiment, learn, and improve continuously.

• Drive engineering excellence with a strong emphasis on reliability, performance, scalability, and maintainability.
• Champion continuous improvement of development practices, tools, testing frameworks, and infrastructure.
• Identify and remove bottlenecks that hinder engineering productivity and velocity.
• Set and uphold high standards for quality, security, and delivery across software initiatives.

• Lead and grow a high-performing team of software engineers, managers, and technical leads.
• Partner with product, R&D, and operations leaders to help shape and execute a software roadmap aligned with company priorities.
• Ensure projects are delivered on time and on budget with clear KPIs and success metrics.
• Support hiring, onboarding, performance management, and career development within the team.
• Collaborate with hardware, biology, product, and operations leaders to align software execution with cross-functional priorities.
• Serve as the primary technical authority for the team, including performing detailed code reviews and setting standards for code quality and maintainability.
• Lead and actively participate in code generation, refactoring, and refinement, particularly for complex or high-impact components.
• Own and drive software architecture and design decisions, partnering closely with product and R&D to translate requirements into robust technical solutions.

• Inspire and mentor teams through clear communication, empathy, and a focus on professional development.
• Foster a diverse and inclusive engineering culture.
• Provide coaching, feedback, and career growth opportunities tailored to individual team members.

• Lead close collaboration across hardware, software, test, and product teams.
• Facilitate transparency and alignment through effective planning and reporting.
• Encourage shared ownership and collaboration across projects and disciplines.

• 10+ years of experience in software engineering with 3+ years in a people‑management or senior technical leadership role.
• Demonstrated success building and leading engineering teams in high‑growth, complex technical environments.
• Demonstrated ability to remain hands‑on in a director‑level role, including architecture design, code review, and direct technical contribution.
• Experience with full-stack development, embedded systems, or robotics software is a strong plus.
• Solid understanding of modern software practices including CI/CD, test automation, Dev Ops, and cloud infrastructure.
• Experience…