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About This Role
The Department of Neurology \& Neurological Sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine is building a world\-class program at the intersection of artificial intelligence and brain health. The laboratory of Dr. M. Brandon Westover develops and deploys AI systems that interpret brain data at scale — EEG, sleep studies, wearable recordings, neuroimaging, and the electronic health record — to improve diagnosis and treatment in epilepsy, neurocritical care, sleep medicine, and neurology broadly.
We are seeking a Research and Development Scientist and Engineer 1 to serve as a core software engineer for the Sleep Health Data Science Platform, a major component of our Brain Data Science Platform. This is a hands\-on engineering role at the center of a rapidly growing clinical research data ecosystem. You will build the pipelines that bring in EEG, polysomnography, wearable, imaging, and EHR data from Stanford and partner hospitals; make that data safe and usable through automated de\-identification and standardization; and help build the AWS\-based platform that turns it into a research resource for investigators across Stanford and beyond. You will also help move AI models out of the lab and into clinical use, with particular emphasis on AI\-assisted EEG interpretation.
This role suits an engineer who wants to go deep on a domain. You will be expected to become a genuine expert in medical data — how it is generated, what it means clinically, and where it goes wrong — and to bring that expertise to bear on the architecture.
DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- Master's degree or PhD preferred, in Computer Science, Biomedical Informatics, Electrical Engineering, Data Science, or a related technical field.
- Experience working with electronic health record (EHR) data strongly preferred, including extraction, structuring, and analysis of clinical data from systems such as Epic, and familiarity with clinical data warehouses.
- Three or more years building production data pipelines and backend services, with strong proficiency in Python.
- Experience with cloud infrastructure, preferably AWS (S3, Lambda, Batch/ECS, RDS, IAM), and with infrastructure\-as\-code.
- Experience with workflow orchestration (Airflow, Prefect, Nextflow, Snakemake, or similar), containerization (Docker), and version control and CI/CD (Git, GitHub Actions).
- Experience with healthcare data standards and formats — EDF/EDF\+, DICOM, HL7/FHIR, OMOP/OHDSI — and with de\-identification of protected health information.
- Experience working with large physiological time\-series data (EEG, PSG, ECG, actigraphy, or wearable sensor streams) strongly preferred.
- Familiarity with HIPAA, IRB, and data use agreement requirements governing human subjects research data.
- Experience deploying machine learning models into production or clinical settings, including model serving, monitoring, and EHR integration, desirable.
- Demonstrated ability to work independently, scope ambiguous problems, and deliver reliable systems.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, and genuine interest in becoming a domain expert in clinical neurophysiology and medical data.
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PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS\*:
- Frequently grasp lightly/fine manipulation, perform desk\-based computer tasks, lift/carry/push/pull objects that weigh up to 10 pounds.
- Occasionally stand/walk, sit, twist/bend/stoop/squat, grasp forcefully.
- Rarely kneel/crawl, climb (ladders, scaffolds, or other), reach/work above shoulders, use a telephone, writing by hand, sort/file paperwork or parts, operate foot and/or hand controls, lift/carry/push/pull objects that weigh \>40 pounds.
*\* \- Consistent with its obligations under the law, the University will provide reasonable accommodation to any employee with a disability who requires accommodation to perform the essential functions of his or her job.*
WORKING CONDITIONS:
- May be exposed to high voltage electricity, radiation or electromagnetic fields, lasers, noise \> 80dB TWA, Allergens/Biohazards/Chemicals /Asbestos, confined spaces, working at heights ?10 feet, temperature extremes, heavy metals, unusual work hours or routine overtime and/or inclement weather.
May require travel.
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WORK STANDARDS:
- Interpersonal Skills: Demonstrates the ability to work well with Stanford colleagues and clients and with external organizations.
- Promote Culture of Safety: Demonstrates commitment to personal responsibility and value for safety; communicates safety concerns; uses and promotes safe behaviors based on training and lessons learned.
- Subject to and expected to comply with all applicable University policies and procedures, including but not limited to the personnel policies and other policies found in the University's Administrative Guide, http://adminguide.stanford.edu .
Core Duties :
- Design and develop complex and specialized equipment, instruments, or systems; coordinate detailed phases of work related to responsibility for part of a major project or for an entire project of moderate scope.
- Develop technical and methodological solutions to complex engineering/scientific problems requiring independent analytical thinking and advanced knowledge.
- Develop creative new or improved equipment, materials, technologies, processes, methods, or software important to the advancement of the field.
- Contribute technical expertise, and perform basic research and development in support of programs/projects; act as advisor/consultant in area of specialty.
- Contribute to portions of published articles or presentations; prepare and write reports; draft and prepare scientific papers.
- Provide technical direction to other research staff, engineering associates, technicians, and/or students, as needed.
Minimum Education and Experience
Bachelor’s degree and three years of relevant experience, or combination of education and relevant experience.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities :
- Thorough knowledge of the principles of engineering and related natural sciences.
- Demonstrated project management experience.
Role Details
About This Role
AI Software Engineers build the applications and systems that AI models run inside. They own the API layers, data pipelines, frontend integrations, and infrastructure that turn a model into a product users interact with. Every AI company needs engineers who can build the software around the AI.
The challenge is building reliable systems around inherently unreliable components. Models are probabilistic. They'll give different answers to the same question. They hallucinate. They're slow. They're expensive. Your job is to build an application layer that handles all of this gracefully while delivering a product that users trust and enjoy.
Across the 4,317 AI roles we're tracking, AI Software Engineer positions make up 7% of the market. At Stanford University, this role fits into their broader AI and engineering organization.
AI Software Engineer roles are among the most numerous in the AI job market. Every company deploying AI needs software engineers who understand AI integration patterns. The demand is broad, spanning startups to enterprises, across every industry adopting AI capabilities.
What the Work Looks Like
A typical week includes: building API endpoints that serve model inference with caching and fallback logic, designing the data pipeline that feeds context to a RAG system, implementing streaming responses in the frontend, debugging a race condition in the async inference pipeline, and optimizing database queries for the vector search layer. It's full-stack engineering with AI at the center.
AI Software Engineer roles are among the most numerous in the AI job market. Every company deploying AI needs software engineers who understand AI integration patterns. The demand is broad, spanning startups to enterprises, across every industry adopting AI capabilities.
Skills Required
Full-stack engineering skills with AI integration experience. Python and TypeScript are the most common requirements. You'll need to understand API design, database architecture, and how to build reliable systems around probabilistic outputs. Experience with streaming, async processing, and caching patterns is increasingly important as real-time AI applications proliferate.
Knowledge of vector databases, embedding APIs, and LLM integration patterns (function calling, structured outputs, retry logic) differentiates AI software engineers from general software engineers. Understanding cost optimization (caching strategies, model routing, batched inference) is valuable since inference costs can dominate application economics.
Strong postings describe the product you'll be building, the AI integration patterns you'll work with, and the scale requirements. Look for companies that have existing AI features and need engineers to improve and expand them, not companies that are 'planning to add AI' someday.
Compensation Benchmarks
AI Software Engineer roles pay a median of $218,500 based on 729 positions with disclosed compensation. Mid-level AI roles across all categories have a median of $194,400.
Across all AI roles, the market median is $215,000. Top-quartile compensation starts at $266,300. The 90th percentile reaches $320,790. For comparison, the highest-paying categories include AI Safety ($287,500) and Research Engineer ($272,100). By seniority level: Entry: $110,000; Mid: $194,400; Senior: $227,400; Director: $274,554; VP: $241,000.
Stanford University AI Hiring
Stanford University has 3 open AI roles right now. They're hiring across AI Software Engineer, Research Scientist, Data Scientist. Based in Stanford, CA, US. Compensation range: $199K - $199K.
Location Context
Across all AI roles, 15% (635 positions) offer remote work, while 3,657 require on-site attendance. Top AI hiring metros: New York (1,650 roles, $220,000 median); San Francisco (1,335 roles, $265,000 median); Los Angeles (708 roles, $214,112 median).
Career Path
Common paths into AI Software Engineer roles include Software Engineer, Full-Stack Developer, Backend Engineer.
From here, career progression typically leads toward Staff Engineer, AI Architect, Engineering Manager.
If you're a software engineer, you're already 80% there. Learn the AI integration patterns: RAG, streaming inference, function calling, structured outputs. Build a project that demonstrates you can wrap an AI model in a production-quality application with proper error handling, caching, and user experience. That's the portfolio piece that gets you hired.
What to Expect in Interviews
Technical screens look like standard software engineering interviews with an AI twist. Expect system design questions about building reliable applications around probabilistic models: handling streaming responses, implementing retry logic for API failures, and designing caching strategies for LLM outputs. Coding rounds test standard algorithms plus practical integration patterns like async processing and rate limiting.
When evaluating opportunities: Strong postings describe the product you'll be building, the AI integration patterns you'll work with, and the scale requirements. Look for companies that have existing AI features and need engineers to improve and expand them, not companies that are 'planning to add AI' someday.
AI Hiring Overview
The AI job market has 4,317 open positions tracked in our dataset. By seniority: 138 entry-level, 2,071 mid-level, 1,655 senior, and 453 leadership roles (Director, VP, C-Level). Remote roles make up 15% of the market (635 positions). The remaining 3,657 roles require on-site or hybrid attendance.
The market median for AI roles is $215,000. Top-quartile compensation starts at $266,300. The 90th percentile reaches $320,790. Highest-paying categories: AI Safety ($287,500 median, 34 roles); Research Engineer ($272,100 median, 227 roles); AI Engineering Manager ($244,000 median, 23 roles).
AI Software Engineer roles are among the most numerous in the AI job market. Every company deploying AI needs software engineers who understand AI integration patterns. The demand is broad, spanning startups to enterprises, across every industry adopting AI capabilities.
The AI Job Market Today
The AI job market spans 4,317 open positions across 15 role categories. The largest categories by volume: AI/ML Engineer (3,004), Data Scientist (345), AI Software Engineer (309). These three account for the majority of open positions, though smaller categories often have higher per-role compensation because of specialized skill requirements.
The seniority mix tells a story about where AI teams are in their maturity. Entry-level roles (138) are outnumbered by mid-level (2,071) and senior (1,655) positions, reflecting that most companies are past the 'build a team from scratch' phase and need experienced engineers who can ship production systems. Leadership roles (Director, VP, C-Level) total 453 positions, representing the bottleneck between technical execution and organizational strategy.
Remote work availability sits at 15% of all AI roles (635 positions), with 3,657 requiring on-site or hybrid attendance. The remote share has stabilized after the post-pandemic correction. Senior and specialized roles (Research Scientist, ML Architect) are more likely to be remote-eligible than entry-level positions, partly because experienced hires have more negotiating power and partly because these roles require less hands-on mentorship.
AI compensation is structured in clear tiers. The market median sits at $215,000. Top-quartile roles start at $266,300, and the 90th percentile reaches $320,790. These figures include base salary with disclosed compensation. Total compensation (including equity, bonuses, and sign-on) runs 20-40% higher at companies that offer those components.
Category matters for compensation. AI Safety roles lead at $287,500 median, while Prompt Engineer roles sit at $145,000. The spread between highest and lowest-paying categories reflects the premium on specialized technical skills versus broader analytical roles.
The most in-demand skills across all AI postings: Python (2,249 postings), Aws (1,224 postings), Azure (938 postings), Rag (915 postings), Gcp (660 postings), Pytorch (640 postings), Prompt Engineering (624 postings), Kubernetes (559 postings). Python dominates, appearing in the vast majority of role descriptions regardless of category. Cloud platform experience (AWS, GCP, Azure) is the second most common requirement. The newer entrants to the top skills list (RAG, vector databases, LLM APIs) reflect the shift from traditional ML toward generative AI applications.
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