# Senior Software Engineer

**Company:** [Astera](https://hotfix.jobs/companies/astera)
**Location:** Emeryville, CA
**Role:** ML Engineering
**Salary:** $100k – $400k/yr
**Skills:** Python, Reinforcement Learning, Distributed Systems, High-Performance Computing, System Architecture, Low-Level Optimization, Scalable Production Systems, Rl Environments
**Posted:** 2026-01-29

> Builds high-performance infrastructure for brain reverse-engineering via large-scale AI models and neuroscience-informed simulations. Architects systems, optimizes RL environments, and scales research prototypes to production.

## Job Description

## Responsibilities
- Architect high-performance infrastructure for training large-scale models and running complex simulations.
- Design and optimize custom RL environments informed by neuroscience.
- Write clean, fast, production-grade code that boosts research velocity.
- Turn research prototypes into scalable production systems.
- Tackle technical bottlenecks from low-level optimization to high-level system design.

## Qualifications
- Produce clean, maintainable, well-tested code at startup pace, balancing rigor with quick iteration.
- Deep experience architecting complex systems from scratch, understanding trade-offs.
- Extreme adaptability to dive into new domains like neuroscience.
- Track record tackling difficult engineering challenges like massive scale distributed systems or low-level optimization.

## Similar roles

- [Sr. Applied AI Engineer](https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/7a6b5cc5-dc8a-485b-b536-5bfc45b42dcd) - Zapier - Remote - $102k – $287k/yr
- [Automation Lead, AI Operations](https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/7060e745-ee31-4b28-9ebe-8c503703bfd4) - Fetch - Remote - $97k – $114k/yr
- [Senior Software Engineer, AI](https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/f5373a65-e352-47d7-87cb-80e609ab7454) - Navan - New York, NY - $113k – $252k/yr
- [Machine Learning Operations (MLOps) Architect - Generative Al Focus](https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/9e70326f-737f-4aac-bc22-bc9b9e1645cb) - Kapitus - Arlington, VA - $118k – $189k/yr
- [Sr Application Engineer](https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/ee005b29-7322-4779-9f2b-b99ad1f5a8ef) - PointClickCare - Remote - $120k – $135k/yr

**Apply:** https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/4c99a2b5-fd8f-4ff5-8406-933272a4dd44
**Canonical:** https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/4c99a2b5-fd8f-4ff5-8406-933272a4dd44