Research Software Engineer
Job details
- Pay
- $90,320 – $122,080 a year
- Employment
- Full-time
- Education
- Bachelor's degree
- Posted
- Nov 12, 2026
- Last confirmed open
- Nov 12, 2026
- Job function
- Software/Internet/AI
About this role
Working at MIT offers opportunities that just aren’t found anywhere else, including generous and unique benefits that help to ensure that MIT employees are healthy, supported, and enjoy a fulfilling work/life balance.
We welcome people from all walks of life to bring their talent, ideas, and experience to our community. We strongly encourage applications from individuals from all identities and backgrounds – like yours. If you want to be part of our exceptional, multicultural, collaborative, and inclusive community, then take a look at this opportunity.
MIT provides pay ranges representing its good faith estimate of what the Institute reasonably expects to pay for a full time position at the time of posting (if you are applying for a part time salaried job, you will need to prorate the posted pay range).
The pay offered to a selected candidate during hiring will be based on factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the candidate's work experience and education/training, internal peer equity, and applicable legal requirements. This pay range represents base pay only and does not include any other benefits or compensation.
Research Software Engineer
- Job Number: 26235
- Functional Area: Research - Scientific
- Department: McGovern Institute for Brain Research
- School Area: Office of Provost
- Pay Range Minimum: $90,320
- Pay Range Maximum: $122,080
- Employment Type: Full-Time
- Employment Category: Exempt
- Visa Sponsorship Available: No
- Schedule:
- Pay Grade: 9
Posting Description
RESEARCH SOFTWARE ENGINEER, McGovern Institute for Brain, to work on the Connectome Annotation Versioning Engine (CAVE) infrastructure and projects that interface with it. This involves defining requirements, iterating architectural specifications, and building robust, scalable systems that meet the needs of biological and artificial intelligence research.
Responsibilities include programming, deploying, and maintaining software and infrastructure; identifying user requirements; engaging in planning and architecture discussions; writing thorough operational documentation; and debugging and testing code. The Dorkenwald Lab works on synapse-resolution connectomics.
CAVE is a widely adopted software infrastructure for hosting connectomics datasets for proofreading, annotation, and analysis. This position provides the opportunity to make significant contributions to a project foundational to many efforts across the field, collaborate with multiple institutions, and to work closely with neuroscientists.
Job Requirements
REQUIRED: Bachelor’s degree and a minimum of five years of experience; very strong Python programming skills; experience with software development practices, including git-based version control and CI/CD; experience with SQL databases; good project management, analytical, problem-solving, organizational, decision-making, and written and verbal English communication skills; and ability to work effectively and productively in a dynamic environment across all levels with faculty, staff, and students; curiosity about how the brain works.
We are highly collaborative and seek team members who share our commitment to excellence, curiosity, openness, respect, belonging, and community.
PREFERRED
Experience with Kubernetes and Terraform workflows; experience with microservice architectures; experience with Google Cloud and Bigtable.
This appointment is for two years with the possibility of extension.
Please include a cover letter outlining why you are interested in this position.
11/12/2026