at Unlearn
Full TimeAt Unlearn, our purpose is to advance artificial intelligence (AI) to eliminate trial and error in medicine. We are innovating advanced machine learning methods to leverage generative AI in forecasting patient outcomes, starting with the domain of clinical trials. We produce AI-generated digital twins of individual trial participants, enabling smaller and more efficient clinical trials to bring effective medicines to patients sooner.
Our innovative work in AI today will reinvent how AI is applied in medicine tomorrow — and we have a top secret plan for how to get there. We won’t be able to achieve this mission just by applying technologies created by others; the future must be invented.
Unlearn is a technology company, not a biotech company. We use computers, not pipettes. We make and use software, we don’t discover or make drugs. We believe that AI will define the future of medicine, and we aren’t deterred by naysayers or skeptics.
We come from a variety of backgrounds ranging from machine learning to marketing—but regardless of where we come from, Unlearners share some common traits:
Unlearners are ambitious; we aren’t intimidated by big, challenging goals.
Unlearners are disciplined experimenters; we break down our big goals into smaller chunks and meet as often as necessary to track our velocity and iterate quickly.
Unlearners are gritty; we never give up, setbacks just make us try harder.
Unlearners are receptive to new ideas; in fact, we hate being stuck with the status quo
Unlearners are storytellers; sharing information with each other and with the world is super important, too important to be boring. And, last but not least,
Unlearners are team-oriented; we put the mission first, the company second, the team third, and individuals last.
Headquartered in San Francisco, Unlearn was founded in 2017 by a team of world-class machine learning scientists. We have raised venture capital from top tier investors such as Altimeter, Insight Partners, Radical Ventures, 8VC, DCVC, and DCVC Bio, and recently completed our $50 million Series C in January 2024.
If our purpose and culture resonate with you, we invite you to apply.
About the Role
We are seeking a Senior Director of Engineering to lead and manage the Core Platform Engineering team, driving technical strategy, execution, and innovation to align with business objectives. This role is responsible for scalability, efficiency, and high-impact solution delivery while fostering a strong engineering culture and mentoring leaders. The ideal candidate will be a strategic thinker, a strong people leader, and a hands-on technical executive who thrives in a fast-paced, high-growth environment.
Responsibilities
Leadership & Management: Lead, mentor, and grow engineering teams, ensuring alignment with company goals and fostering a culture of excellence.
Technical Strategy: Define and drive the technical vision, architecture, and roadmap, ensuring scalable, efficient, and high-performing solutions.
Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with Product, Data Science, ML, and other teams to drive innovation and successful product delivery.
Execution & Delivery: Oversee engineering execution and project delivery, ensuring high-quality outcomes while balancing speed and technical debt.
Scalability & Efficiency: Implement best practices, tools, and processes to enhance system performance, reliability, and scalability.
Talent Development: Hire, mentor, and retain top engineering talent, fostering leadership growth within the team.
Innovation & Continuous Improvement: Stay ahead of emerging technologies and industry trends, driving continuous improvements in engineering processes and architectures.
Stakeholder Engagement: Effectively communicate engineering priorities, challenges, and progress to executives and key stakeholders.
Requirements
10+ years of engineering leadership experience, with a proven track record of managing high-performing teams.
Strong background in scalable, high-performance systems architecture and cloud technologies (AWS or GCP).
Hands-on experience with modern programming languages (e.g., Python, Typescript, Go, or similar).
Experience working with ML/AI-driven applications or data-intensive systems is a plus.
Deep understanding of software development methodologies, DevOps, and CI/CD best practices.
Strong strategic thinking, problem-solving skills, and ability to make data-driven decisions.
Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to influence across functions and leadership levels.
Preferred Qualifications
Experience leading distributed, or remote engineering teams.
Expertise in microservices, containerization (Docker, Kubernetes), and big data processing.
Background in high-growth startups or scaling engineering organizations from mid to large size.
Generous equity participation
100% company-covered medical, dental, & vision insurance plans
401k plan with matching
Flexible PTO plus company holidays
Annual company-wide break December 24 through January 1
Commuter benefits
Paid Parental Leave
Support for H1B, TN, and E-3 Visa change of employer transfers
Unlearn is an equal opportunity employer.
At Unlearn, we are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace, because inclusion and diversity are essential to achieving our mission. If you’re excited about this role, and your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply nevertheless.
Yearly based
San Francisco
