Gilead Sciences, Inc. Posted September 15, 2026

Staff Software Engineer, Research Systems

Foster City, United States Full time
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Gilead Sciences, Inc. is the source of truth for this posting and owns the application process. We surface normalized context and market comparison you won't find on the original listing.

About this opportunity

At Gilead, we’re creating a healthier world for all people. For more than 35 years, we’ve tackled diseases such as HIV, viral hepatitis, COVID-19 and cancer – working relentlessly to develop therapies that help improve lives and to ensure access to these therapies across the globe. We continue to fight against the world’s biggest health challenges, and our mission requires collaboration, determination and a relentless drive to make a difference.

Every member of Gilead’s team plays a critical role in the discovery and development of life-changing scientific innovations. Our employees are our greatest asset as we work to achieve our bold ambitions, and we’re looking for the next wave of passionate and ambitious people ready to make a direct impact.

We believe every employee deserves a great leader. People Leaders are the cornerstone to the employee experience at Gilead and Kite. As a people leader now or in the future, you are the key driver in evolving our culture and creating an environment where every employee feels included, developed and empowered to fulfil their aspirations. Join Gilead and help create possible, together.

Job Description

At Gilead, therapeutic projects rely on timely, high-quality scientific data to drive decisions throughout drug discovery. The Staff Software Engineer, Research Systems partners directly with scientists to design, develop, deploy, and support informatics solutions that enable interpretation, integration, and use of research data.

This role is a senior individual contributor position within Research Informatics. The individual owns software projects from concept through deployment, leads technical workstreams, and exercises independent technical judgment while remaining hands-on. The role combines software engineering, scientific data management, workflow analysis, and user engagement to improve scientific productivity across research programs.

Key Responsibilities

Scientific Software Development

Design, develop, test, deploy, and support scientific software applications and data solutions.

Own complete software projects from requirements through production support.

Create applications, dashboards, workflows, integrations, and data visualization tools supporting drug discovery.

Maintain and enhance existing Research Informatics platforms and applications.

Scientific Partnership

Work directly with scientists to understand scientific questions, workflows, and data requirements.

Translate research needs into technical requirements and implement solutions.

Prioritize features and enhancements with scientific stakeholders.

Support both small-molecule and large-molecule discovery efforts through data-focused applications and workflows.

Technical Leadership

Lead technical workstreams and coordinate contributions from other developers, analysts, and stakeholders.

Evaluate alternative technical approaches, platforms, and vendor solutions.

Participate in application architecture and design decisions.

Mentor less experienced developers through informal technical leadership.

Data Stewardship

Curate, integrate, and manage scientific data across research platforms.

Design and maintain data views, dashboards, and analytical tools.

Ensure scientific data remains accessible, interpretable, and actionable.

Perform complex ad hoc data analyses that support scientific decision-making.

Platform Operations

Support research cloud environments and informatics infrastructure.

Monitor application performance, reliability, and adoption.

Identify opportunities to improve usability, scalability, and operational effectiveness.

Contribute to documentation, training materials, and operational procedures.

Expected Behaviors

Acts as a senior individual contributor rather than a people manager.

Exercises independent technical judgment.

Leads projects without requiring day-to-day direction.

Balances scientific needs against technical constraints.

Influences technical direction through expertise and delivery.

Identifies gaps and proactively proposes solutions.

Coordinates others through technical leadership rather than organizational authority.

Minimum Qualifications

B.S. in a scientific or technical discipline and relevant industry experience with 5+ years of experience.

M.S. in a scientific or technical discipline and relevant industry experience.

Experience developing software applications used in scientific or research environments.

Experience working with databases, data integration, and scientific data management.

Working knowledge of drug discovery workflows, laboratory processes, or scientific research workflows.

Strong communication skills and ability to partner directly with scientific users.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience supporting Research Informatics platforms.

Experience with cloud-based research environments such as AWS.

Experience developing dashboards, reporting tools, or scientific data applications.

Experience integrating vendor and internally developed research systems.

Experience working in Agile software development environments, platform, or scientific domain

The salary range for this position is: $126,820.00 - $164,120.00. Gilead considers a variety of factors when determining base compensation, including experience, qualifications, and geographic location. These considerations mean actual compensation will vary. This position may also be eligible for a discretionary annual bonus, discretionary stock-based long-term incentives (eligibility may vary based on role), paid time off, and a benefits package. Benefits include company-sponsored medical, dental, vision, and life insurance plans*.

For additional benefits information, visit:

https://www.gilead.com/careers/compensation-benefits-and-wellbeing

* Eligible employees may participate in benefit plans, subject to the terms and conditions of the applicable plans.

For jobs in the United States:

Gilead Sciences Inc. is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment, and is dedicated to fostering an inclusive work environment comprised of diverse perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences. Employment decisions regarding recruitment and selection will be made without discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex , age, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, genetic information or characteristic, gender identity and expression, veteran status, or other non-job related characteristics or other prohibited grounds specified in applicable federal, state and local laws. In order to ensure reasonable accommodation for individuals protected by Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Act of 1974, and Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, applicants who require accommodation in the job application process may contact ApplicantAccommodations@gilead.com  for assistance.

For more information about equal employment opportunity protections, please view the  'Know Your Rights' poster.

NOTICE: EMPLOYEE POLYGRAPH PROTECTION ACT

YOUR RIGHTS UNDER THE FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT

Gilead Sciences will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, (c) consistent with the  legal duty to furnish information; or (d) otherwise protected by law.

Our environment respects individual differences and recognizes each employee as an integral member of our company. Our workforce reflects these values and celebrates the individuals who make up our growing team.

Gilead provides a work environment free of harassment and prohibited conduct. We promote and support individual differences and diversity of thoughts and opinion.

For Current Gilead Employees and Contractors:

Please apply via the Internal Career Opportunities portal in Workday.

Job details

Seniority
Not listed
Function
Information Technology
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Foster City, United States
Employment type
Full time

How this role compares

Computed from every other active Information Technology role in our database, not just this employer's listings.

We currently track 1131 comparable Information Technology roles across 70 biopharma companies.

1131Comparable roles tracked
1092Currently active
70Companies hiring similar roles
35Countries represented

Salary context

161 of 1131 peers report a salary range (USD, annualized)

Peers share this role's job function. This posting doesn't list a seniority level, so peers aren't narrowed by seniority either -- the range below may span more levels than usual.

This roleSubject $126,820/yr – $164,120/yr
Lowest disclosed · 2027 Business Technology Solutions Intern - Cybersecurity (Undergraduate) · AbbVie $21/hr – $37/hr (≈ $43,680–$76,960/yr)
Peer group range $60,320 – $400,000 (median $185,500)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 1131 comparable roles

India491
United States293
Spain85
Poland68
Portugal20
China17

+ 29 more countries

Seniority mix

639 of 1131 peers have a known seniority level

Senior266
Manager132
Principal63
Associate Director55
Associate50
Director35
Intern/Fellow/Postdoc19
Senior Director14
Executive/VP5

Therapeutic area mix

2 of 1131 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Vaccines & Infectious Disease1
Oncology1

Similar opportunities

The closest matches from our peer group, ranked by how similar they are, not how well you'd qualify for them -- treat this as market context, not a guaranteed shortlist; a weak match is labeled as one below.

40%similar
Roche Santa Clara, California, United States of America Principal
Same function Same country
40%similar
Roche Santa Clara, California, United States of America
Same function Same country
40%similar
Gilead Sciences, Inc. Foster City, United States Manager
Same function Same country
40%similar
Gilead Sciences, Inc. Raleigh, United States Associate Director
Same function Same country
40%similar
Gilead Sciences, Inc. Raleigh, United States
Same function Same country
40%similar
Gilead Sciences, Inc. Foster City, United States Director
Same function Same country

Notify me about similar jobs

Get an email when we spot other openings like this one – same job function, comparable seniority, roles you'd actually want to see.

How we calculate "similar"

No black box, no LLM guesswork: a deterministic score built from four normalized attributes. Here's this role's own peer group at different match levels, so you can see the mechanism, not just the result.

Every comparison starts from the same 100-point budget: 25 for working in the same function, 40 for the same therapeutic area, 20 for the same or adjacent seniority, 15 for the same country. A dimension we can't confirm on both sides contributes nothing, never a guess, never a free pass.

40%
Principal Software Development Engineer
Roche · Santa Clara, California, United States of America · Principal
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
Associate Director, Data/AI Solution Architect, US Commercial Digital Marketing
Gilead Sciences, Inc. · Raleigh, United States · Associate Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
Assoc Director, IT SAP, Product Life Cycle
Gilead Sciences, Inc. · Foster City, United States · Associate Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
Director, IT Data & AI Product Owner – PDM & Tech Ops
Gilead Sciences, Inc. · Foster City, United States · Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
Unmatched or unknown dimensions score exactly the same: 0 points, never a partial guess. A role we know almost nothing about beyond its function bottoms out at 25%; it never inflates to 100% just because there's little to compare against. Seniority uses a defined ladder (Associate → Manager → Associate Director → Senior → Principal → Director → Senior Director → Executive/VP) so "Director" and "Senior Director" count as adjacent, but "Director" and "Executive/VP" do not.