ZipRecruiter

Log In

1

Software Engineer Research Assistant Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Ayar Labs

Sr. Engineer, Research Software

San Jose, CA

$170K - $192K/yr

Sr. Engineer, Research Software Location: San Jose, CA (on-site) Ayar Labs is shattering AI data bottlenecks by moving data at the speed of light. As pioneers of co-packaged optics (CPO), we are ...

Ayar Labs

Sr. Engineer, Research Software

San Jose, CA · On-site

$170K - $192K/yr

Sr. Engineer, Research Software Location: San Jose, CA (on-site) Ayar Labs is shattering AI data bottlenecks by moving data at the speed of light. As pioneers of co-packaged optics (CPO), we are ...

NorthEastern

Research Assistant

Boston, MA · On-site

$48K - $66K/yr

About the Opportunity The Research Assistant (Neuroinformatics) in the Computational Optics and ... The candidate should have hands-on experience in programming and software development, with ...

Northeastern University

Research Assistant

Boston, MA · On-site

$48K - $66K/yr

About the Opportunity The Research Assistant (Neuroinformatics) in the Computational Optics and ... The candidate should have hands-on experience in programming and software development, with ...

Northeastern University

Research Assistant

Boston, MA · On-site

$48K - $66K/yr

About the Opportunity The Research Assistant (Neuroinformatics) in the Computational Optics and ... The candidate should have hands-on experience in programming and software development, with ...

Massgeneralbrigham

Research Assistant

Somerville, MA · On-site

$20.16 - $29.01/hr

Computer programing experience, including experience with Linux/UNIX systems, python/bash scripting ... or scientific computing software (e.g. MATLAB, Python, R) is preferred but not required.

next page

Showing results 1-20

People also search for

All JobsSoftware Engineer Research JobsSoftware Engineer Research Assistant Jobs

Software Engineer Research Assistant information

See salary details

$33K

$88.8K

$134.5K

How much do software engineer research assistant jobs pay per year?

As of Jun 6, 2026, the average yearly pay for software engineer research assistant in the United States is $88,754.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $70,500.00 and $104,500.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a Software Engineer Research Assistant, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Software Engineer Research Assistant, you need a solid background in computer science fundamentals, programming languages such as Python or Java, and a related degree or ongoing coursework. Familiarity with version control systems like Git, data analysis libraries, and research tools such as MATLAB or TensorFlow is typically required. Strong analytical thinking, attention to detail, and effective communication skills help you collaborate with research teams and convey technical findings clearly. These competencies are crucial for contributing to innovative research projects, ensuring reliable results, and supporting the advancement of technology.

What does a Software Engineer Research Assistant do?

A Software Engineer Research Assistant supports research projects by developing, testing, and maintaining software tools and applications. They often collaborate with researchers and engineers to implement experimental algorithms, analyze data, and document findings. The role may involve coding, debugging, and adapting software to meet the needs of specific research objectives. Additionally, they help ensure that research code is efficient, reproducible, and well-documented for future use.

How do Software Engineer Research Assistants typically collaborate with both engineering and research teams?

Software Engineer Research Assistants often serve as a bridge between software development and research teams, translating research concepts into functional prototypes or tools. They regularly participate in joint meetings, contribute to code reviews, and align their tasks with the goals of both groups. Effective communication skills are essential, as they need to understand academic research requirements while adhering to engineering best practices. This collaborative environment offers exposure to cutting-edge technology and the opportunity to contribute to innovative projects.
More about Software Engineer Research Assistant jobs
What cities are hiring for Software Engineer Research Assistant jobs? Cities with the most Software Engineer Research Assistant job openings:
What are the most commonly searched types of Software Engineer Research jobs? The most popular types of Software Engineer Research jobs are:
What states have the most Software Engineer Research Assistant jobs? States with the most job openings for Software Engineer Research Assistant jobs include:
What job categories do people searching Software Engineer Research Assistant jobs look for? The top searched job categories for Software Engineer Research Assistant jobs are:
Software Engineer Research Assistant jobs near you
Infographic showing various Software Engineer Research Assistant job openings in the United States as of May 2026, with employment types broken down into 73% Full Time, 23% Part Time, 1% Temporary, and 3% Contract. Highlights an 98% Physical, 1% Hybrid, and 1% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $88,754 per year, or $42.7 per hour.
Sr. Engineer, Research Software

Sr. Engineer, Research Software

Ayar Labs

San Jose, CA

$170K - $192K/yr

Full-time

Posted 12 days ago

Job description

Sr. Engineer, Research Software
Location: San Jose, CA (on-site)
Ayar Labs is shattering AI data bottlenecks by moving data at the speed of light. As pioneers of co-packaged optics (CPO), we are using light instead of electricity to move data faster, further, and with a fraction of the energy needed to fuel the explosive growth of AI models.
Backed by industry giants like NVIDIA, AMD, Mediatek and Intel and manufactured in partnership with the world's leading semiconductor ecosystem, Ayar Labs' co-packaged optics solution is key to unleashing next-generation AI scale-up architectures.
Joining our Link Design and Architecture team, you will play a pivotal role in shaping the modeling and simulation backbone behind our silicon photonics optical I/O platform. Our team models our optical links end-to-end. This comprehensive approach spans the physics of individual photonic devices, the circuits and signal processing that drive them, and the statistical analyses used to set product specifications and predict manufacturing yield. To support this, we process large volumes of multi-source measurement and simulation data using a combination of industry-standard and in-house tools.
As a Research Software Engineer, you will work side-by-side with domain experts in photonics, circuit design, and signal processing to turn scientific code into robust, tested, and scalable infrastructure. You'll own the schemas, pipelines, and shared software that let our modeling stack grow with the product — making simulations faster to run, results easier to trust, and insights transparent to engineering teams and executive stakeholders alike.

Essential Functions
  • Partner with photonics and circuits engineers on their modeling code — review, refactor, and help evolve prototypes into well-tested, versioned, and properly packaged tools that teams across the company can depend on.
  • Design and maintain the data schemas and interfaces that describe devices, measurements, model parameters, and simulation results across the modeling stack.
  • Build and operate data ingestion, cleaning, and curation pipelines that turn raw measurement and simulation outputs into trusted inputs for link analysis and yield prediction.
  • Scale simulation and analysis workloads across HPC and AWS cloud environments, so link studies and statistical sweeps run reliably and reproducibly at product-relevant scale.
  • Integrate AI and ML tooling into engineering workflows — both to accelerate the software development lifecycle and to augment the team's modeling and data analysis capabilities.
  • Bring modern software engineering practice to the group: testing, documentation, CI/CD, reproducible environments, and code review, applied pragmatically in a research setting.
  • Collaborate closely with the Photonic Device Design and Analog/Mixed Signal teams to ensure modeling infrastructure evolves with the product roadmap.

Required Qualifications
  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Physics, Optics/Photonics, Electrical Engineering, or a related field.
  • 2+ years of experience building scientific or engineering software in a research, product, or modeling context.
  • Strong Python skills, including hands-on experience with the scientific stack (NumPy, SciPy, pandas, networkx, or similar).
  • Experience owning and maintaining a codebase with real users — internal teams, collaborators, or an external community — through multiple release cycles.
  • Experience designing data schemas and APIs used by other engineers or scientists.
  • Experience running large-scale compute workloads in AWS and/or HPC environments (SLURM or equivalent).
  • Comfortable working on Linux/UNIX systems and with modern developer tooling (Git, CI, containers).
  • Excellent communication skills and a collaborative working style, with the ability to engage deeply with domain experts across disciplines.

Preferred Qualifications
  • Master's degree or Ph.D.
  • Experience with modern data management architectures (e.g., data lakehouse patterns), metadata standards, and query engines.
  • Hands-on experience applying AI tools and agentic workflows to engineering or data pipelines.
  • Proficiency in C/C++ or another compiled language used alongside Python in scientific codebases.
  • Working knowledge of at least one of: photonic device physics, circuits, signal processing, or statistical analysis.
  • Prior work on compact models, SPICE-like simulators, or link/yield statistical modeling.
Salary range: $170,000 - $192,000
NOTE TO RECRUITERS:
Principals only. We are not accepting resumes from recruiters for this position. Remuneration for recruiting activities is only applicable subject to a signed and executed agreement between the parties. Please don’t send candidates to Ayar Labs, and do not contact our managers.
Ayar Labs is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is strongly committed to all policies which will afford equal opportunity employment to all qualified persons without regard to age, sex, national origin, race, color, ethnicity, creed, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. It is the policy of Ayar Labs to provide reasonable accommodation when requested by a qualified applicant or employee with a disability, unless such accommodation would cause an undue hardship. Veterans are more than welcome and encouraged to apply.

Apply