Contract, AI Software Engineer

PTC Therapeutics is a global commercial biopharmaceutical company. For over 25 years our team has been deeply committed to a unified purpose: Extending life’s moments for children and adults living with a rare disease.

At PTC, we cultivate an inclusive culture where everyone feels valued, respected, and empowered. We welcome candidates from all backgrounds to join our team, fostering a strong sense of belonging.

Visit our website to learn more about our company and culture!
Site: www.ptcbio.com

Job Description Summary:

We are seeking an experienced and innovative AI Software Enginer to join our artificial intelligence team. The ideal candidate will possess a deep passion for leveraging the transformative capabilities of artificial intelligence to redefine critical aspects of the pharmaceutical industry, including drug discovery, development, clinical trials, and commercialization. Your contributions will play a key role in accelerating our mission to bring life-saving treatments to market more efficiently.
The AI Software Engineer will undertake the design, implementation, and maintenance of AI solutions, encompassing databases, data processing systems, model development, testing protocols, and user interfaces when necessary. The focus of this role is to deliver autonomous solutions that accelerate business initiatives, while ensuring that solutions are maintainable and built-to-last.
The AI Software Engineer ensures adherence to all relevant regulatory requirements and Company Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) as appropriate.Job Description:

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Design, develop, and maintain LLM-powered services, including prompt pipelines, embeddings, vector indexing, and retrieval logic.

• Build and maintain Python backend services with scalable, reliable architecture.

• Integrate internal and external APIs to support end-to-end AI workflows.

• Implement and optimize RAG pipelines, chunking, reranking, and text-processing components.

• Collaborate with engineers and cross-functional partners to turn requirements into solutions.

• Write clean, tested, well-documented code and participate in high-quality code reviews.

• Ensure security, privacy, and compliance in all data-handling and code practices.

• Troubleshoot and optimize existing AI/ML pipelines for performance and maintainability.

KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS/ABILITIES REQUIRED

• 1+ years of strong Python engineering (OOP, typing, testing, clean architecture, PEP-8 discipline), with at least 2 years building production LLM applications.

• Proven experience deploying LLM-powered applications in production.

• Hands-on experience with LLM frameworks: LangChain, LlamaIndex, Sentence Transformers, vector stores, and rerankers.

• Understanding of embeddings / vector search techniques (cosine similarity, semantic scoring).

• Backend API engineering: FastAPI or similar frameworks (Flask, Starlette), RESTful design, authentication flows.

• SQL proficiency: schema design, indexing, query optimization. SQLAlchemy experience preferred.

• Cloud experience: Azure preferred (App Services, Storage, Cognitive Search, Key Vault).

• Production-grade code practices: error handling, logging, documentation, and maintainability.

• Strong Git workflow discipline (PR quality, branching strategies, code review).

• Excellent problem-solving and communication skills, comfortable working independently and asynchronously across time zones.

• Familiarity with React/TypeScript and frontend API integration is a plus.

• Experience with logging/telemetry/observability tools (Application Insights, structured logging) is a plus.

* Minimum level of education and years of relevant work experience.

• Minimum of 1 year work experience in a role focused on developing AI / software solutions.

* Travel requirements

• 0-10%

Expected Hourly Range:

$35 - $45/hour.  The hourly salary offered will be contingent on assessment of candidate education level, background, and experience relative to the requirements of the position they are being considered for, as well as review of internal equity.

EEO Statement:

PTC Therapeutics is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome applications from all individuals, regardless of race, color, national origin, gender, age, physical characteristics, social origin, disability, religion, family status, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, veteran status or any unlawful criterion under applicable law. We are committed to treating all applicants fairly and avoiding discrimination.

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