Software Engineering Lead

Are you a collaborative Software Engineering Lead looking to work for a mission driven global organization? About the Team The AI Platform (US) team builds and operates shared AI capabilities that power more than 13 products across the company. Our mission is to enable product teams to safely, reliably, and efficiently embed generative AI into their workflows — without each team reinventing core infrastructure, patterns, or controls. We focus on building reusable, production-grade AI services, developer tooling, and platform abstractions that allow downstream teams to move fast while maintaining high standards for scalability, security, and observability. About the role We are seeking a Software Engineering Lead to provide hands-on technical leadership for the AI Platform (US) team. In this role, you will guide the design and delivery of shared AI services, lead a group of engineers, and act as a key technical partner to product, research, and platform stakeholders. You will balance writing high-quality code with leading technical execution, shaping designs, unblocking delivery, and ensuring the platform scales across many consumers and use cases. This role sits between senior engineers and principal-level leadership, with strong ownership of outcomes and day-to-day technical direction. Responsibilities Providing technical leadership for the AI Platform team, guiding design and implementation of shared AI services and components. Owning the technical delivery of platform initiatives, ensuring solutions meet requirements for scalability, reliability, security, and maintainability. Designing, developing, and maintaining backend services and APIs, primarily in Python, with some Java. Translating architectural guidance into concrete, well-structured implementations and iterative delivery plans. Partnering with product managers, research, and downstream engineering teams to turn AI prototypes into production-ready platform capabilities. Establishing and enforce engineering best practices across the team, including testing, CI/CD, observability, and operational readiness. Reviewing designs and code, providing clear, constructive feedback and maintaining a high-quality bar. Mentoring and support engineers through pairing, code reviews, and technical coaching. Operating within a Kubernetes (EKS) environment, contributing to deployment, scaling, and runtime stability of AI services. Proactively identifying technical risks, dependencies, and bottlenecks, and drive them to resolution. Contributing to cross-team alignment, ensuring the AI Platform integrates cleanly with broader platform and product ecosystems. What We’re Looking For Extensive professional software engineering experience. Demonstrated experience acting as a technical lead on complex backend or platform systems. Proficiency in Python, with working knowledge of Java. Solid backend engineering fundamentals: API design, data modelling, concurrency, and distributed systems. Experience building or integrating AI/LLM-powered systems, and familiarity with modern AI frameworks (e.g., LangChain, LangGraph). Hands-on experience with Kubernetes (EKS) and cloud-native application development. Proven ability to balance hands-on development with technical leadership and coordination. Experience working in Agile or Kanban teams, collaborating across functions. Elsevier is a renowned global information analytics company that primarily focuses on providing scientific, technical, and medical (STM) research content, tools, and services. It is one of the largest publishers of academic journals and scholarly literature in the world. Elsevier operates in various domains, including science, technology, medicine, social sciences, and more. They publish a vast number of peer-reviewed journals covering a wide range of disciplines. These journals act as platforms for researchers and academics to share their findings and contribute to the advancement of knowledge in their respective fields. In addition to publishing, Elsevier offers a suite of digital solutions and services to support researchers, scientists, and professionals in their work. They provide online platforms like ScienceDirect, Scopus, and Mendeley, which offer access to a vast repository of scholarly articles, research papers, and other scientific content. These platforms often serve as essential resources for software developers seeking to stay updated with the latest scientific advancements. U.S. National Base Pay Range: $115,400 - $192,300. Geographic differentials may apply in some locations to better reflect local market rates. If performed in Maryland, the base pay range is $121,200 - $201,900.If performed in New York, the base pay range is $126,900 - $211,500.If performed in New York City, the base pay range is $138,400 - $230,700.If performed in Rochester, NY, the base pay range is $115,400 - $192,300.If performed in New Jersey, the base pay range is $130,284 - $208,116. This job is eligible for an annual incentive bonus. We know your well-being and happiness are key to a long and successful career. We are delighted to offer country specific benefits. Click here to access benefits specific to your location. We are committed to providing a fair and accessible hiring process. If you have a disability or other need that requires accommodation or adjustment, please let us know by completing our Applicant Request Support Form or please contact 1-855-833-5120. Criminals may pose as recruiters asking for money or personal information. We never request money or banking details from job applicants. Learn more about spotting and avoiding scams here. Please read our Candidate Privacy Policy. We are an equal opportunity employer: qualified applicants are considered for and treated during employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, citizenship status, disability status, protected veteran status, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law. USA Job Seekers: EEO Know Your Rights. Elsevier is a global leader in advanced information and decision support for science and healthcare. We believe that by working together with the communities we serve, we can shape human progress to go further, happen faster, and benefit all. We support continuous discovery and uphold the highest standards of content integrity, reliability, and reproducibility so the communities we serve can advance their field of science, healthcare or innovation with confidence. By combining high-quality content with powerful analytics, we transform complexity into clarity and deliver mission-critical insights that help professionals make better decisions when it matters most. We deliver insights that help research institutions, governments, and funders achieve their goals. We help researchers discover and share knowledge, collaborate, and accelerate innovation. We help librarians provide verified, quality information to universities. We help innovators turn knowledge into new products. We help health professionals improve patient care and educators train the next generation of doctors and nurses. Connecting quality content and innovative technologies, we make progress go further and happen faster. And by championing inclusion and sustainability, we ensure progress benefits all. With 9,500 employees, over 2,300 technologists in 5 major tech hubs, and more than 60 locations across the globe, we are committed to supporting the scientific and healthcare communities around the world. We offer a diverse range of opportunities across technology, commercial, business, and early career jobs. If you are looking for a career that inspires progress in science, innovation and health, and allows you to grow every day, find your team at Elsevier. Elsevier is part of RELX Group. Let’s shape progress together. Join us. elsevier.com/about/careers