Scientific Software Engineer – Algorithms

About the role

About Pendar Technologies

Pendar Technologies develops advanced optical sensing and chemical identification technologies that bring sophisticated laboratory analysis into real-world environments. Our instruments combine innovative optical hardware, spectroscopy, imaging, and computational methods to enable rapid, reliable identification of chemical substances.

Our technologies support applications in public safety, chemical threat detection, and scientific analysis. We are a multidisciplinary team of scientists and engineers working at the intersection of physics, chemistry, optics, and software.

The Opportunity

We are seeking a Scientific Software Engineer – Algorithms to develop the algorithms and software that power our next generation of analytical instruments.

This is a hands-on, software-intensive position for someone with a strong scientific background, excellent programming skills, and a passion for solving complex technical problems. You will work closely with scientists and engineers to develop new analytical approaches and turn them into robust, high-performance software integrated into our products.

The position offers substantial technical ownership, opportunities to work across different scientific disciplines, and the satisfaction of seeing your solutions deployed in real-world applications.

What You'll Do

• Develop, implement, and optimize algorithms for processing and interpreting scientific data, including images and spectroscopic measurements.
• Design approaches to feature extraction, signal processing, pattern recognition, classification, and quantitative analysis.
• Apply mathematical modeling, statistical methods, and machine learning where appropriate to solve challenging measurement and analysis problems.
• Write high-quality, maintainable Python code, taking solutions from initial concept through validation, optimization, and product integration.
• Leverage AI-assisted development tools to accelerate algorithm design, software implementation, and problem-solving, while applying sound scientific and engineering judgment to evaluate and validate results.
• Collaborate with scientists, optical engineers, and software developers to understand instrument behavior, establish performance requirements, and develop effective solutions.
• Evaluate algorithm performance using experimental data, troubleshoot failures, and improve accuracy, speed, and robustness.

What We're Looking For

Required qualifications

• Ph.D. in a scientific, mathematical, or technical discipline. Recent graduates are particularly encouraged to apply.
• Excellent Python programming skills, demonstrated through substantial hands-on software development experience.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities, with a foundation in mathematics and statistics.
• Ability to develop original algorithmic solutions, rather than relying exclusively on existing software packages or established techniques.
• Experience working with complex scientific or technical datasets.
• Ability to develop structured, maintainable, well-tested software and independently troubleshoot difficult technical problems.

Particularly valuable experience

• Scientific computing, numerical methods, or computational modeling.
• Image analysis, computer vision, or processing of large image datasets.
• Signal processing, spectroscopy, or inverse problems.
• Statistical modeling, optimization, machine learning, or feature extraction.
• Software development for scientific instrumentation or other technically demanding applications.
• Experience using AI-assisted coding and analytical tools to improve productivity in scientific or software development workflows.
• Collaborative software development practices, including version control, code review, and automated testing.

Prior experience in Raman spectroscopy or any specific application area is not required.

Who Will Thrive Here

We are looking for someone who is intellectually curious, driven, autonomous, and resourceful. Someone who enjoys understanding difficult problems, finding creative solutions, and taking ownership of their implementation.

The ideal candidate combines scientific rigor with excellent software development skills and the flexibility to work across different technical domains. You should be comfortable learning new concepts, challenging assumptions, and making progress even when the path forward is not immediately obvious.

We value demonstrated ability, initiative, and the capacity to learn and grow over expertise in any particular application area.

Why Join Pendar?

• Challenging technical problems. Apply scientific reasoning, mathematics, and computation to develop solutions for sophisticated optical and chemical sensing systems.
• Ownership and impact. Work on algorithms from concept through implementation and see your contributions become part of real products.
• Multidisciplinary environment. Collaborate with scientists and engineers across optics, spectroscopy, instrumentation, and software.
• Meaningful applications. Contribute to technologies used in chemical identification, public safety, and other demanding real-world environments.
• Opportunity to grow. Take on diverse technical challenges in a collaborative environment that values curiosity, initiative, and independent thinking.

Compensation and Location

This is a full-time position based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The anticipated base salary range is$100,000–$130,000 annually, depending on qualifications and relevant experience.