1

Scientific Programmer Jobs in Seattle, WA (NOW HIRING)

In this role, you will collaborate closely with scientists, engineers, and product teams to develop and deploy production-ready solutions. You will conduct experiments, analyze large-scale data sets ...

NOAA Fisheries, Northwest Fisheries Science Center Fish Ecology Division 2725 Montlake Boulevard East Seattle, Washington 98112 Brief Summary: NOAA is seeking an experienced Senior C++ Programmer to ...

New

About this Opportunity Reporting to the professor, the Research Scientist/Engineer 1 purpose is ... Experience reading and using scientific literature to develop new protocols in consultation with ...

Senior C++ Programmer

Seattle, WA · On-site

$120 - $160/hr

NOAA Fisheries, Northwest Fisheries Science Center Fish Ecology Division 2725 Montlake Boulevard East Seattle, Washington 98112 Brief Summary: NOAA is seeking an experienced Senior C++ Programmer to ...

NOAA Fisheries, Northwest Fisheries Science Center Fish Ecology Division 2725 Montlake Boulevard East Seattle, Washington 98112 Brief Summary: NOAA is seeking an experienced Senior C++ Programmer to ...

NOAA Fisheries, Northwest Fisheries Science Center Fish Ecology Division 2725 Montlake Boulevard East Seattle, Washington 98112 Brief Summary: NOAA is seeking an experienced Senior C++ Programmer to ...

Senior Applied Scientist

Seattle, WA · On-site

$104K - $142K/yr

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • Vision

  • Life

  • Retirement

  • PTO

Success requires scientific rigor, strong engineering judgment, clear writing, and the ability to make progress when requirements, model access, data, or infrastructure are still evolving. You will ...

Data Science Engineer

Seattle, WA

$130K - $156K/yr

We seek a data scientist to join theCreativity & Productivityfinance team to refine and implement ... Analyze data toidentifyor resolve operational problems to create processes to reverse engineer ...

... scientific programming languages such as Matlab, Python, C++, or R - Master's degree or equivalent experience in Computational Neuroscience, Cognitive Science, Electrical Engineering, Perception ...

Data Scientist, SPX AI Lab, SPX Science

Seattle, WA · On-site

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • Vision

  • Life

  • Retirement

  • PTO

Do you want to join an innovative group of scientists, engineers, and product managers who use advanced analytical, statistical, and machine learning techniques to help Amazon create a delightful ...

Showing results 21-40

Scientific Programmer information

See Seattle, WA salary details

$12

$45

$81

How much do scientific programmer jobs pay per hour?

As of Aug 17, 2026, the average hourly pay for scientific programmer in Seattle, WA is $45.37, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $17.50 and $65.38 per hour, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a scientific programmer, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Scientific Programmer, you need a solid background in computer science, mathematics, or a related field, along with strong programming skills in languages like Python, C++, or R. Familiarity with scientific computing libraries (such as NumPy, SciPy), data analysis tools, and version control systems like Git is typically required, and experience with high-performance computing or parallel processing is a plus. Strong problem-solving abilities, attention to detail, and effective communication are key soft skills that distinguish top performers in this role. These skills and qualities are crucial for developing reliable, efficient code to support complex scientific research and for collaborating effectively within multidisciplinary teams.

What is the difference between Scientific Programmer vs Data Analyst?

AspectScientific ProgrammerData Analyst
Required CredentialsBachelor's or higher in Computer Science, Physics, or related fields; programming skillsBachelor's or higher in Statistics, Data Science, or related fields; analytical skills
Work EnvironmentResearch labs, scientific institutions, academia, industry R&DBusiness, finance, healthcare, marketing sectors
Employer & Industry UsageResearch organizations, universities, scientific companiesCorporations, consulting firms, government agencies
Common Search & Comparison IntentUnderstanding technical roles in scientific computingAnalyzing data to inform decisions

Scientific Programmers focus on developing software and algorithms for scientific research, often working with complex simulations and data modeling. Data Analysts interpret data sets to generate insights and support decision-making. While both roles require strong programming skills and analytical thinking, Scientific Programmers are more involved in software development for scientific purposes, whereas Data Analysts focus on data interpretation and reporting.

Is scientific programming a good career?

Scientific programming is a viable career that involves developing software for research, data analysis, and simulation in scientific fields. It requires strong programming skills, knowledge of scientific concepts, and often proficiency in languages like Python, C++, or MATLAB. The demand for scientific programmers is steady in academia, industry, and government research organizations.

What is a scientific programmer?

Scientific programmers are professionals who develop, implement, and optimize software solutions for scientific research and data analysis. They work closely with scientists and researchers to translate complex scientific problems into computational algorithms, scripts, and tools. Their work often involves programming in languages like Python, C++, or R, and may include tasks such as data processing, simulation, modeling, and visualization. Scientific programmers play a crucial role in advancing research by making scientific computations more efficient and reproducible.

What does a scientific programmer do?

The duties of a scientific programmer are to design a variety of tools for researchers to perform statistical and mathematical modeling on large datasets. They often work within a specific framework or software, and their responsibilities are to script tools that make it easier for scientists to use the programs or models. Their duties may include designing a new user interface or creating shell scripts for the UNIX or Linux operating systems. A scientific programmer also conducts code review and quality assurance tasks to ensure that programs are ready to be used. Qualifications include a bachelor’s degree in computer science, bioinformatics, or computational biology. If you want to specialize in a particular discipline, you may need additional experience or advanced qualifications.

How does a scientific programmer typically collaborate with researchers and other technical staff on projects?

Scientific Programmers often work closely with research scientists, data analysts, and IT teams to develop and optimize software tools for scientific studies. They participate in project meetings to understand research goals, translate scientific requirements into code, and troubleshoot issues that arise in computational workflows. Effective communication and teamwork are essential, as Scientific Programmers must ensure their solutions align with both technical standards and the scientific objectives of the research team.

What are popular job titles related to Scientific Programmer jobs in Seattle, WA?

For Scientific Programmer jobs in Seattle, WA, the most frequently searched job titles are:

What job categories do people searching Scientific Programmer jobs in Seattle, WA look for?

The top searched job categories for Scientific Programmer jobs in Seattle, WA are:

Infographic showing various Scientific Programmer job openings in Seattle, WA as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 4% Internship, 75% Full Time, 4% Part Time, and 17% Contract. Highlights an 83% In-person, 4% Hybrid, and 13% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $94,364 per year, or $45.4 per hour.

Applied Scientist

Microsoft

Redmond, WA • On-site

Full-time

Re-posted 11 days ago


Microsoft rating

8.5

Company rating: 8.5 out of 10

Based on 132 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

79th of 244 rated software companies


Job description

Overview
The Copilot Search Multimedia Index Selection team is looking for a Data and Applied Scientist II to help build the next generation platform for Bing and Microsoft AI.Our mission is to construct the most comprehensive, rich, clean, diverse, and fresh image index that serves as the foundation for image-related experiences across Microsoft. We develop advanced AI and machine learning solutions for image content discovery, selection, ranking, and processing to improve the quality and relevance of our multimedia products.Maintaining a comprehensive, diverse, and up-to-date image index presents unique technical challenges. We continuously innovate to improve quality, scalability, and efficiency while supporting billions of images and balancing performance, freshness, cost, and latency requirements.Some of the key challenges you will work on include:Image Content Discovery: Developing approaches to efficiently discover and understand image content across the web.Machine Learning for Selection and Ranking: Building, training, and evaluating machine learning, deep learning, and multimodal models for content understanding, selection, and ranking using both text and image signals.Freshness and Real-Time Systems: Contributing to data pipelines and models that support near real-time indexing and content freshness.AI-Powered Platform Innovation: Exploring and implementing new AI capabilities that improve platform intelligence and operational efficiency.This is an exciting opportunity for someone who enjoys solving challenging technical problems using data, machine learning, and AI. In this role, you will collaborate closely with scientists, engineers, and product teams to develop and deploy production-ready solutions. You will conduct experiments, analyze large-scale data sets, build and evaluate machine learning models, and translate insights into impactful improvements for Microsoft AI products.As a Data and Applied Scientist II, you will apply statistical, machine learning, and deep learning techniques to analyze and interpret multimodal content, develop features and models that improve system capabilities, and help scale AI solutions to large-volume production environments. You will contribute to advancing state-of-the-art approaches while delivering measurable impact to products used by millions of customers.
Responsibilities
  • Develop expertise in relevant machine learning, deep learning, and multimodal AI techniques, and apply them to solve challenging problems in image indexing, content understanding, selection, and ranking.
  • Partner with scientists, engineers, and product managers to understand business and product requirements, translate them into data-driven solutions, and deliver measurable product impact.
  • Design, implement, and evaluate machine learning and deep learning models, including Large Language Models (LLMs), Small Language Models (SLMs), and multimodal models for document understanding, content discovery, parsing, clustering, selection, and ranking.
  • Conduct large-scale data analysis and experimentation to identify opportunities for improving image index quality, freshness, relevance, and diversity.
  • Develop robust evaluation methodologies and analyze experiment results to drive model improvements and support data-informed decision making.
  • Contribute to near real-time indexing systems and AI-powered platform capabilities that improve multimedia content discovery and user experiences.
  • Work with petabyte-scale datasets and Big Data technologies to build, validate, and optimize machine learning solutions for production environments.
  • Document experiments, model performance, methodologies, and key learnings, and communicate findings effectively with teammates and stakeholders.
  • Follow responsible AI, privacy, security, and data governance best practices throughout the model development lifecycle.
  • Collaborate across Microsoft with engineers, scientists, and product teams to develop, deploy, and operate scalable AI solutions that serve billions of multimedia documents.
  • Stay current with advancements in machine learning, deep learning, generative AI, and multimodal systems, and apply relevant innovations to improve product capabilities.
  • Contribute to the delivery of state-of-the-art models and data-driven features that enhance the Microsoft AI Multimedia Index platform.

Qualifications
Required Qualifications:
  • Bachelor's Degree in Statistics, Econometrics, Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related field AND 2+ years related experience (e.g., statistics, predictive analytics, research)
    • OR Master's Degree in Statistics, Econometrics, Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related field AND 1+ year(s) related experience (e.g., statistics, predictive analytics, research)
    • OR Doctorate in Statistics, Econometrics, Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related field
    • OR equivalent experience.

Preferred Qualifications:
  • Bachelor's Degree in Statistics, Econometrics, Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related field AND 5+ years related experience (e.g., statistics, predictive analytics, research)
    • OR Master's Degree in Statistics, Econometrics, Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related field AND 3+ years related experience (e.g., statistics, predictive analytics, research)
    • OR Doctorate in Statistics, Econometrics, Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related field AND 1+ year(s) related experience (e.g., statistics, predictive analytics, research)
    • OR equivalent experience.
  • Solid machine learning / computer vision / natural language processing experience and results in academy or industry. Publications in major ML/IR/NLP/CV conferences. Examples: ICML, NIPS, SIGIR, ACL, EMNLP, CVPR, KDD.
  • Experience in open source (spark, hbase, hadoop etc) or microsoft internal tech (cosmos, autopilot, azure) are big plus as well as most of our project/scenario is across system and AI areas.
  • Good communication skills and ability to work in collaborative environment.
  • Good design and problem-solving skills and an ability to innovate and solve challenging technical problems.
  • Passion and self-motivation.
  • Embrace engineering excellence and delivering quality results at scale.

#MicrosoftAI
Applied Sciences IC3 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $102,100 - $202,200 per year. There is a different range applicable to specific work locations, within the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, and the base pay range for this role in those locations is USD $133,800 - $219,200 per year.
Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here:
https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/us-corporate-pay
This position will be open for a minimum of 5 days, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled.
Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, immigration status, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran or military status, race, ethnicity, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance with religious accommodations and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, read more about requesting accommodations.

What Microsoft employees say

Pay

Benefits

Hours and flexibility

Workplace

Get the full story on Breakroom


Microsoft logo

About Microsoft

Sourced by ZipRecruiter

Our infrastructure is comprised of a large global portfolio of more than 100 datacenters and 1 million servers. Our foundation is built upon and managed by a team of subject matter experts working to support services for more than 1 billion customers and 20 million businesses in over 90 countries worldwide. With environmental sustainability and optimization at the forefront of our datacenter design and operations, we continue to grow and evolve as we meet the ever-changing business demands that hold Microsoft as a world-class cloud provider.

Industry

Computer and computer peripheral equipment and software wholesalers

Company size

10,000+ Employees

Headquarters location

Redmond, WA, US

Year founded

1975

Social media