
We have an excitingopportunity foraLead Software EngineeratUL Research Institutes, within our Digital Safety Research Institute (DSRI) This isa REMOTE opportunity
The Lead Software Engineeris a major contributortothe development and maintenance of complex software systems of Digital Safety. The Lead Software Engineerprovidestechnical guidance, mentorship, and leadership to the team while collaborating with stakeholders to deliver high-quality software solutions.
ULResearch Institutes:
At UL Research Institutes(ULRI),weexpand the boundaries of safety science tocreate a more secure and sustainable world. Formore thana century, we have studied the unintended consequences of innovation, designed solutions to mitigateriskand shared our findings with academia, scientists, manufacturers, and policymakers across industries.Weidentifycritical safety and sustainability issues, askingtoughquestions because we believe a safer world begins with knowledge.
Build a safer, more secure, and sustainable future with us.Join us and work with our Fire Safetyteamswho conduct the researchrequiredto produce that knowledgeandput itintopractice.
Digital Safety Research Institute:
The Digital Safety Research Institute (DSRI) addresses unresolved safety risks and emerging dangers in the world’s digital ecosystem. We aim to help protect people from unwanted access to personal devices and privacy,algorithms, and disinformation threats by working to create a new digital safety ecosystem.
DSRI is committed to sharing digital safety insights, collaborating with key stakeholders, and offering extensive outreach and education to help support safer digital environments for people everywhere.
Whatyou’lllearnandachieve:
As theLead SoftwareEngineer, youwill play a key role in the rapid growth ofULas you:
Lead, define, and develop full-stack software systems and platforms that enable large-scale research, evaluation, and dissemination of safety insights
Implement service boundaries, data model evolution, integration patterns between our platforms, and the pipelines and evaluation frameworks they feed
Set technical direction across projects, aligning architecture and data frameworks with DSRI’s evolving research priorities and the broader AI evaluation ecosystem
Iterative design of complex, ambiguous, cross-cutting systems where the problemisn’tfully understood
Ensure consistency in engineering practices and set the standard for AI-assisted engineering on the team, including the use of Claude Code on large refactors, greenfield work, and adopted code from external organizations; developing patterns and documentation to accelerate software engineering.
Provide feedback to teams using AI coding tools in a dangerous, inappropriate, or inefficient way.
Provide guidance and informal mentorship to junior engineers to support skill development and knowledge sharing.
Foster a collaborative and positive work environment, promote knowledge sharing and professional growth within the team.
Assistin hiring, onboarding, and training new software engineers, ensuring a smooth integration into the team.
Represent technical work across the organization and in select external settings
Contribute to and/or lead other department specific and cross-functional initiatives.
What makes you a great fit:
While no one candidate will embody every quality, the successful candidate will bring many of the following professional competencies and personal attributes
Deep expertise in software engineering, applied across the systems that support research and data-driven analysis (i.e., React in production at meaningful scale or complexity, Python services, async patterns, careful data handling, sensible API design, PostgreSQL, designing and implementing complex data structures, and working knowledge of the systems layer underneath, including containers, deployment, and observability).
Architectural judgment built onreal experience(i.e., able to make choices from experience and articulate trade-offs, and able to know when not to introduce a new service, abstraction, or dependency).
Sophisticated use of AI coding tools, including integrating Claude Code or similar tools into substantial, non-trivial work and the ability to structure context, decompose problems, review generated code, and recover when the tools do not function properly.
Track recordof technical leadership without formal authority, with experience raising the level of teams through what you build and how you work.
Clear, direct written communication and the ability to translate complex technical work for varied audiences (i.e., design documents, RFCs, post-mortems, asynchronous code reviews, and internal and external presentations).
Genuine interest in AI safety, test & evaluation, or one of specific harm domains (e.g., synthetic media, chatbot safety
Professional education and experience requirements for the role include:
Bachelor’s degree in computer science, or equivalent combination of education and experience. Master’s degree preferred.
Minimum 8 years of experience in software development, with a focus on platform security andproficiencyin multiple programming languages and frameworks.
Experience deploying several complex software products andunderstandsthe nuances of the software development life cycle.
AboutUL Research Institutes and UL Standards & Engagement
UL Research Institutes and UL Standards & Engagement arenonprofit organizationsdedicated to advancing safety science research through the discovery and application of scientific knowledge. We conduct rigorous independent research and analyze safety data,conveneexperts worldwide to address risks, share knowledge through safety education and public outreach initiatives, and develop standards to guide safe commercialization of evolving technologies. We foster communities of safety, from grassroots initiatives for neighborhoods to summits of world leaders. Our organization employs collaborative and scientific approaches with partners and stakeholders to drive innovation and progress toward improving safety, security, and sustainability,ultimately enhancingsocietal well-being.
To learn more, visitour websitesUL.organd ULSE.org
Salary Range:
$131,186.31-$180,381.17
Pay Type:
Salary

UL Research Institutes is a leading independent safety science organization with global reach. Dedicated to exploring vital questions related to public safety, we sense and act on risks to humanity and our planet.
Since 1894, our trusted research has engaged the ingenuity of top minds across scientific disciplines to engineer a safer and more sustainable world. Science builds the knowledge required to mitigate increasingly urgent safety problems like environmental and chemical pollution and artificial intelligence inequities — and our rigorous, objective investigations uncover and develop that knowledge.
In collaboration with a global network of scientists and safety professionals, we define the safe and sustainable use of things ranging from legacy materials and devices to new and emerging technologies. Our discoveries support the development of practical standards and policies by UL Standards & Engagement. Together, we are advancing safety science for the greater good.
Discover more at UL.org.