Staff Software Engineer

What if the work you did every day could impact the lives of people you know? Or all of humanity?

At Illumina, we are expanding access to genomic technology to realize health equity for billions of people around the world. Our efforts enable life-changing discoveries that are transforming human health through the early detection and diagnosis of diseases and new treatment options for patients.

Working at Illumina means being part of something bigger than yourself. Every person, in every role, has the opportunity to make a difference. Surrounded by extraordinary people, inspiring leaders, and world changing projects, you will do more and become more than you ever thought possible.

What if the work you did everyday could impact the lives of people you know? Or all of humanity?  At Illumina, we are expanding access to genomic technology to realize health equity for billions of people around the world. Our efforts enable life-changing discoveries that are transforming human health through the early detection and diagnosis of diseases and new treatment options for patients.  Working at Illumina means being part of something bigger than yourself. Every person, in every role, can make a difference. Surrounded by extraordinary people, inspiring leaders, and world-changing projects, you will do more and become more than you ever thought possible.

We are searching for a software engineer who is ready to join us in this important mission. 

Illumina’s Primary Analysis team specializes in designing algorithms and developing software to detect genomic data from signals contained within images.  Implementation challenges include managing parallel tasks, optimizing memory accesses, and improving the speed and accuracy of genomic base calling. We develop methods to address these challenges by focusing on high reliability, speed, and completeness of results.  We are seeking an exceptional individual to join our team in developing analysis solutions for use by researchers and clinicians worldwide.

Responsibilities:

• Define software architecture solutions for our high-performance signal processing pipelines
• Design, develop, debug, and integrate C/C++ software on Linux for multi-threaded applications
• Optimize and accelerate software executed on Illumina instruments
• Closely interact with the bioinformatics team, instrument design team, test and quality teams
• Collaborate in an agile environment to maintain high quality software against established processes
• Maintain awareness of industry trends and evaluate applicability of new software and hardware technologies to platform development efforts
• Provide technical leadership where needed

Requirements:

• Extensive knowledge and experience with C/C++, Java or C#
• Experience in multi-threading, and memory management techniques
• Proficient with tools for software debugging and troubleshooting (GDB, etc.)
• Proficient with tools for software performance analysis and optimization
• Proficient with source control management repositories (such as GIT, SVN, etc.)
• Extensive experience writing high quality unit tests against mock objects
• Good understanding of object-oriented analysis and design
• Strong problem-solving skills

Desired:

• Extensive knowledge and experience in developing software for real-time systems
• Experience with image processing algorithms and techniques
• Experience with time-series analysis and interpretation of temporal data
• Experience with Python and Python visualization libraries
• Be customer-focused, team-oriented, and motivated, taking ownership of assigned tasks
• Have proven ability to self-manage, as well as manage interdisciplinary relationships
• Have proven verbal and written communication skills

Education & Experience:

• BS/MS in Computer Science, EE, Bioinformatics, or related field
• 8+ years of professional software development experience

#LI-HYBRID

The estimated base salary range for the Staff Software Engineer role based in the United States of America is: $155,600 - $233,400. Should the level or location of the role change during the hiring process, the applicable base pay range may be updated accordingly. The range reflects long‑term growth in the role; therefore, most candidates are hired between the minimum and middle of the range. Placement depends on experience, skills, location, and internal equity. Additionally, all employees are eligible for one of our variable cash programs (bonus or commission) and eligible roles may receive equity as part of the compensation package. We offer a wide range of benefits as innovative as our work, including access to genomics sequencing, family planning, health/dental/vision, retirement benefits, and paid time off.

We are a company deeply rooted in belonging, promoting an inclusive environment where employees feel valued and empowered to contribute to our mission. Built on a strong foundation, Illumina has always prioritized openness, collaboration, and seeking alternative perspectives to propel innovation in genomics. We are proud to confirm a zero-net gap in pay, regardless of gender, ethnicity, or race. We also have several Employee Resource Groups (ERG) that deliver career development experiences, increase cultural awareness, and offer opportunities to engage in social responsibility. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer committed to providing employment opportunity regardless of sex, race, creed, color, gender, religion, marital status, domestic partner status, age, national origin or ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, sexual orientation, pregnancy, military or veteran status, citizenship status, and genetic information. Illumina conducts background checks on applicants for whom a conditional offer of employment has been made. Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with applicable local, state, and federal laws. Background check results may potentially result in the withdrawal of a conditional offer of employment. The background check process and any decisions made as a result shall be made in accordance with all applicable local, state, and federal laws. Illumina prohibits the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in the application and interview process. If you require accommodation to complete the application or interview process, please contact . To learn more, visit: The position will be posted until a final candidate is selected or the requisition has a sufficient number of qualified applicants.