About Elio

Elio is building next-generation sensing systems that combine advanced optics and AI to transform light into structured, actionable information. Our platform uses real-time machine learning to extract rich physical signals beyond traditional imaging, enabling deeper insight and better decision making. While our first applications are in biology and drug discovery, the technology is designed to extend across industries including robotics, where understanding complex physical environments is critical.

At Elio, you’ll join a team of curious, driven builders working at the intersection of optics, AI, and real world impact. We thrive on solving complex challenges, moving quickly, and pushing the boundaries of how machines understand the physical world. If you’re excited by cutting edge technology, hands-on problem solving, and the opportunity to help shape a rapidly growing company, we’d love to hear from you.

Job Description

Elio is looking for a strong hands-on software engineering lead to own and scale the company’s software activity.

This role is responsible for building production-quality software while also setting the technical direction, engineering culture, infrastructure, and development processes for the software team. The person in this role will work closely with leadership, product, AI, algorithms, hardware, and research teams to define the software roadmap, track execution, and make sure the software organization can support both product development and fast-moving research.

The role requires someone who can write high-quality code, make strong architectural decisions, guide other engineers, and operate comfortably across cloud systems, data pipelines, AI workflows, hardware-integrated systems, and research tools. A key part of the role is building a modern software organization that uses AI agents, coding assistants, automation, and agentic infrastructure as a core part of how software is developed.

This is a full-time, on-site position based in Elio’s San Mateo office.

Core Responsibilities

• Software Architecture & Infrastructure: Design and build the core software systems, services, tools, and infrastructure required to support Elio’s platform across production, research, and internal development environments.
• Hands-On Development: Write, review, and maintain production-quality code, with a focus on reliability, scalability, performance, and maintainability.
• Technical Leadership: Serve as the central technical lead for software engineering, guiding architecture, implementation decisions, code quality, engineering standards, and development processes.
• Roadmap & Execution: Work with leadership, product, AI, algorithms, hardware, and research teams to define the software roadmap, prioritize work, track progress, and ensure execution against company goals.
• AI-Native Engineering: Build and adopt AI-assisted development workflows, coding agents, automation tools, and agentic infrastructure as a core part of Elio’s software development process.
• Research & Product Enablement: Develop software that supports both production systems and fast-moving research workflows, including data collection, analysis, model integration, internal tools, and rapid prototyping.
• Data, Cloud & AI Systems: Build systems for large-scale data collection, storage, processing, retrieval, compression, and integration with local and cloud-based AI and algorithmic pipelines.
• Hardware-Integrated Software: Support software integration with cameras, sensors, imaging pipelines, lab instrumentation, and other hardware systems.
• Engineering Culture & Process: Establish practical engineering procedures, including design reviews, code reviews, documentation, testing, release processes, and development workflows.
• Mentorship: Guide other software engineers and help raise the team’s technical quality, speed, and decision-making.

Qualifications

• Degree in Computer Science, engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.
• Strong software engineering background with 5+ years experience designing, building, and maintaining complex software systems.
• Ability to operate as both a hands-on engineer and a technical lead.
• Strong programming skills in Python and/or C++, with the ability to write clean, reliable, production-quality code.
• Experience with system architecture, cloud infrastructure, data pipelines, databases, APIs, and scalable software design.
• Experience with AI/ML systems, model inference, computer vision, image processing, or algorithmic pipelines is highly desirable.
• Experience integrating software with hardware, cameras, sensors, lab systems, or edge devices is a strong advantage.
• Practical experience using AI-powered development tools, coding agents, automation frameworks, or agentic software workflows.
• Ability to work effectively across software, AI, algorithms, hardware, product, research, and leadership teams.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to turn technical decisions into clear plans and execution priorities.
• Comfortable operating in a fast-moving startup environment with significant ownership, ambiguity, and autonomy.

Our ideal candidate loves working in a fast paced startup environment, has the urge to solve problems and is eager to learn and grow with the company. If you believe you are that kind of person - Elio is looking for you!

Benefits

Elio offers a fast-paced, creative, and inspiring environment with talented teammates, competitive salary and benefits package including medical, dental & vision.

Chance to make a significant impact in the field of advanced sensing and AI