Staff Software Engineer

Crop Science
Chicago, IL

At Bayer we’re visionaries, driven to solve the world’s toughest challenges and striving for a world where 'Health for all Hunger for none’ is no longer a dream, but a real possibility. We’re doing it with energy, curiosity and sheer dedication, always learning from unique perspectives of those around us, expanding our thinking, growing our capabilities and redefining ‘impossible’. There are so many reasons to join us. If you’re hungry to build a varied and meaningful career in a community of brilliant and diverse minds to make a real difference, there’s only one choice.

Staff Software Engineer

The Digital Farming Solutions (DFS) division of Bayer has a mission to transform agriculture and drive a more sustainable food system by helping the world’s farmers sustainably increase their productivity and crop yields with digital tools. Within DFS, the Digital Value Chain Solutions enterprise is creating Business-to-Business digital services that unlock value across the agri-food ecosystem. We are looking for a Staff Engineer to lead customer-focused prototyping and full-stack software development of digital solutions across the agri-food value chain.

You are ideal for this role if you:

  • Are a self-starter who thrives in ambiguous, early-stage environments driving incomplete requirements to clarity while contributing as a member of a high-functioning, agile, and independent team.
  • Enjoy collaborating with other engineers and architects to create a vision where all the pieces of the software ecosystem fit together and provide value to Bayer and our B2B customers.
  • Can design and architect well-factored, extensible, and performant software, considering the broader architecture of the ecosystem, while aligning technical execution with product and business needs.
  • Passionate about user experience and building outcome-focused solutions.
  • Work in an open and inclusive way, empowering team members to own their portion of the design while still driving excellence.
  • Enjoys sharing knowledge, mentoring junior team members, and contributing to the overall skill development and quality improvement of the entire team.
  • Handle ambiguity with grace and excitement.
  • Proactively identify systemic risks and collaborate cross-functionally to ensure the platform scales reliably, sustainably, and consistently across customers and services

YOUR TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The primary responsibilities of this role are to:

  • Operate in an early-stage environment with limited prior context and end to end ownership for what you build.

  • Collaborate with business leads to identify customer challenges, ideate solutions, define technical requirements, and shape MVP solutions.

  • Rapidly prototype and iterate on digital products using Python (backend).

  • Lead full-stack feature development, including cloud infrastructure using Azure and Terraform.

  • Build systems that are fault-tolerant and resilient, can recover from events with no loss of data, and satisfy service-level objectives with ease.

  • Build and scale RESTful APIs and backend services.

  • Integrate AI tools (e.g., LLMs, Azure AI) and third-party services where relevant.

  • Produce well-written, understandable, and technically correct system specifications.

  • Read, modify, and constructively review existing and developing code bases.

  • Manage trade-offs between functionality, speed, and scalability in early-stage builds.

WHO YOU ARE

Bayer seeks an incumbent who possesses the following:

Required:

  • 10+ years (MS 8+ or PhD 6+) of hands-on experience in software development.

  • Full-stack development experience with Python, and/or Java.

  • Cloud deployment experience with Azure (required); AWS is a plus.

  • Infrastructure-as-code proficiency with Terraform.

  • Experience developing RESTful APIs and backend services.

  • Strong grasp of software engineering best practices, including CI/CD and Git.

  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related technical field, or equivalent experience.

Preferred:

  • Familiarity with Azure AI services or LLMs

  • Experience with AI agent orchestration frameworks such as Langchain, Autogen, Semantic Kernel, or a willingness to learn them deeply.

  • Offer management experience on Azure or AWS Marketplace

  • Entrepreneurial drive and ownership mindset

  • Ability to navigate ambiguity and iterate quickly

  • Strong communication and cross-functional collaboration

  • User-focused and outcome-oriented problem solver

  • Interest in working with a team that values testing & learning

  • Interest in being a technical leader who has influence well beyond the software development, collaboratively driving the architectural vision of Digital Value Chain Solutions

Employees can expect to be paid a salary of approximately $140-210k. Additional compensation may include a bonus or incentive program (if relevant). Additional benefits include health care, vision, dental, retirement, PTO, sick leave, etc.. This salary (or salary range) is merely an estimate and may vary based on an applicant’s location, market data/ranges, an applicant’s skills and prior relevant experience, certain degrees and certifications, and other relevant factors.

This posting will be available for application until at least June 30, 2026.

YOUR APPLICATION

Bayer offers a wide variety of competitive compensation and benefits programs. If you meet the requirements of this unique opportunity, and want to impact our mission Science for a better life, we encourage you to apply now. Be part of something bigger. Be you. Be Bayer.
To all recruitment agencies: Bayer does not accept unsolicited third party resumes.

Bayer is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Disabled/Veterans

Bayer is committed to providing access and reasonable accommodations in its application process for individuals with disabilities and encourages applicants with disabilities to request any needed accommodation(s) using the contact information below.

Bayer is an E-Verify Employer. Location:United States : Residence Based : Residence Based || United States : Illinois : Chicago || United States : Missouri : Creve Coeur || United States : Missouri : St. Louis Division:Crop Science Reference Code:850833 Contact Us Email:hrop_usa@bayer.com
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