Software Engineer

Claims is looking to expand its engineering team with a remote Software Engineer who is ready to tackle the intersection of artificial intelligence and scientific research. This startup is on a mission to transform the way scientific literature is ingested and structured, building a foundational data layer that allows researchers and AI models to communicate more effectively. By joining this team, you will be instrumental in building the pipelines and tools that turn academic findings into actionable, structured data.

About the role

This position is ideal for an engineer who thrives in the startup environment and enjoys a mix of backend architecture, data processing, and front-end development. You will be operating in a fully remote capacity, requiring a high degree of self-motivation and the ability to operate within an established, though evolving, codebase. The work centers on building out the infrastructure that supports document processing and AI workflows, ensuring that everything from research paper ingestion to automated evaluation is stable and scalable.

Because the company is focused on the research space, the role demands more than just rote coding; you will need to collaborate closely with research scientists and other engineers to translate experimental concepts into production-ready software.

What you’ll do

Your daily responsibilities will revolve around the end-to-end lifecycle of software development. You will be responsible for maintaining the integrity of the data pipelines while ensuring the internal tools remain intuitive for the research team.

• Design and maintain robust Python backend services, APIs, and CLI tools.
• Develop and polish web-based dashboards and review interfaces using React and TypeScript.
• Engineer and monitor pipelines that ingest complex research documents and extract structured information.
• Manage integrations with various AI model providers and external APIs, ensuring fault tolerance regarding rate limits, retries, and costs.
• Oversee database operations, including schema design, migrations, and data integrity maintenance.
• Perform root cause analysis on production incidents and implement regression tests to prevent future issues.
• Contribute to operational tasks like deployment automation, logging, and infrastructure monitoring.

What they're looking for

The team is seeking a candidate with a strong foundation in professional software delivery. While they are open to varying levels of experience, they typically look for individuals with 1 to 5 years of practical, hands-on experience building and maintaining production systems.

• Proficiency in Python, particularly in writing testable code and managing complex dependencies.
• Solid experience working with SQL and relational databases (designing schemas and performing migrations).
• Front-end development competency, specifically using TypeScript or JavaScript within the React ecosystem.
• Comfort working in Linux-based environments and managing version control via Git.
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines and a proactive approach to secure engineering.
• Excellent communication skills, as you will be working across disciplines to bridge the gap between abstract research and technical implementation.

For South African developers, a remote role in a niche startup like this offers an excellent opportunity to gain global experience while earning in a competitive currency. In the local market, software engineers with this specific blend of Python, TypeScript, and data-pipeline experience often move toward roles as Senior Backend Engineers or Data Engineers. Compensation for remote technical roles in the South African tech ecosystem is increasingly benchmarked against global standards; you can generally expect a market-related package that reflects the high level of responsibility required for a production-facing engineering position. Successful candidates in this sector often progress into lead roles or specialize further in MLOps and AI infrastructure as they grow with the company.

• Typically 1–5 years of professional software engineering experience, or equivalent practical experience delivering and maintaining production software.
• Strong Python skills, including building maintainable services or data processing applications, managing dependencies, and writing automated tests.
• Experience designing, consuming, and troubleshooting HTTP APIs.
• Working knowledge of TypeScript or JavaScript and experience contributing to React applications.
• Practical SQL and relational database experience, including data modelling and migrations.
• Confidence working in Linux environments.
• Experience with Git and continuous integration.
• An understanding of secure engineering practices.
• Ability to navigate an existing codebase and make focused changes.
• Clear communication and practical problem-solving skills.