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Senior Staff, Software Engineer

DELFI Diagnostics

Job Location:

Palo Alto, CA - USA

Monthly Salary: Not provided by the employer

Posted: 15 May 2026 (30+ days ago)

Application Deadline: 11 September 2026

Vacancies: 1 Vacancy

The job posting is outdated and position may be filled

Job Summary

DELFI Diagnostics Inc. (DELFI Diagnostics) is developing next-generation blood-based tests that are reliable accessible and deliver a new way to help detect cancer. Employing advanced machine-learning methods to whole-genome sequencing data the DELFI (DNA EvaLuation of Fragments for early Interception) platform is built to address the highest-burden health challenges. DELFI Diagnostics prioritizes solutions that have the potential to save lives on a global scale including for historically underserved populations. DELFI Diagnostics platform relies on fragmentomics the discovery that cancer cells are more chaotic than normal cells and when they die leave behind tell-tale patterns and characteristics of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) fragments. FirstLook Lung for individuals eligible for lung cancer screening is DELFI Diagnostics first laboratory-developed screening test and can be part of routine blood work. FirstLook Lung uses millions of data points to reliably identify individuals who may have cancer detected through low-dose CT including early stage disease with a negative predictive value of 99.8 percent. This test has not been cleared or approved by the FDA.

In our passionate pursuit to radically improve health outcomes we serve humanity when we:

Lead with Science Anchor in Pragmatism: We pioneer life-changing science by ensuring quality transparency and rigor at all times. We explore thoughtfully experiment smartly and deliver impact with conviction.
Build With & For All: We embrace diverse backgrounds to innovate and achieve together. We are not just building a product - we aim to disrupt the path of cancer for all - no matter geography or socioeconomic class
Put We over I: We are a home for high-performing people. Through teamwork we build collective intelligence. Each of us wins when those we serve and those who serve with us--win. We show up with empathy humility and integrity at every step of the journey.

DELFI has 1-2 designated in-office working days each week for employees who live within within 50 miles of Palo Alto CA

About the role

In this role youll be a senior technical leader on our bioinformatics pipeline team contributing to long-term technical direction and architectural decisions for major systems with a focus on software and cloud architecture. Youll partner across Engineering Data Science R&D Regulatory and Project Management to translate strategy into executable technical plans.

This role sits at the intersection of deep technical expertise design control rigor and cross-functional leadership. We seek a leader who can hold the long view while still going deep on the hardest technical problems and who elevates the team through the standards and systems they build.

What youll do

Strategy & Architecture

Set long-term technical strategy and architectural vision for our bioinformatics pipeline systems ensuring todays decisions support tomorrows product roadmap.
Lead system architecture and high-stakes design reviews end-to-end guiding the team through the most complex technical tradeoffs.
Design and own data hand-off and integration architecture between software systems.

Engineering Standards & Process

Serve as a leader in engineering best practicesestablishing standards driving software-development lifecycle (SDLC) rigor and setting the bar for code quality testing and design across the team.
Drive requirements engineering risk analysis and verification strategies for regulated software components.
Partner with staff engineers on test design and execution driving excellence in SDLC process implementation.

Operations & Delivery

Architect and own the DevOps strategy for the pipeline team including cybersecurity CI/CD infrastructure-as-code deployment automation observability and environment management ensuring reliability and compliance in a regulated context.
Work with data scientists lab staff and other stakeholders to implement production software for diagnostic applications.

Leadership

Partner with our Program Management team and engineering leadership on roadmap planning milestone definition resourcing dependency management and risk tracking across multi-quarter initiatives.
Mentor and develop staff and senior engineers raising the teams technical ceiling and cultivating the next generation of technical leaders.
Serve as a recognized technical authority across the organization influencing product and platform direction without direct authority over teams or roadmaps.

What youll bring

Required

Bachelors degree in Computer Science Mathematics Data Science or related field
Relevant professional experience dependent on level of education:
- BS: 10 years MS: 8 years Ph.D: 5 years
Excellent verbal and written communication skills including proficiency in public speaking and technical presentation
Exposure to the life sciences industry including DNA sequencing quantitative genetics bioinformatics or data science
Demonstrated experience setting long-term technical strategy and architectural standards across multi-team or multi-system scope
Advanced knowledge of cloud computing infrastructure design and implementation for scalable high-performance computing applications (AWS preferred)
Expertise in Python and strong proficiency in at least one compiled language (Rust Java C or C#)
Strong software design skills
Experience designing data integration patterns and contracts between software systems
Strong command of agile development practices Jira Git and modern CI/CD pipelines

Preferred

Working knowledge of regulated software development standards (IEC 62304 ISO 13485 FDA 21 CFR Part 11 and ISO 14971)
Experience working at an early-stage or high-growth company where the environment moves fast

$185000 - $260000 a year

Actual base pay will consider experience skillset education and role may be eligible for other forms of compensation including an annual bonus and a new hire equity grant subject to the terms of the applicable plans and Company discretion. All employees are also eligible for DELFIs comprehensive and competitive benefits package including but not limited to: a flexible time-off policy; a 401(k) retirement plan; an extremely competitive medical dental and vision coverage; onsite lunch 3 days a week; and other wellness related offerings.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race religion color national origin gender sexual orientation age marital status veteran status or disability status.

Required Experience:

Senior IC

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