VP of Engineering

Every day, people are waiting for a diagnosis, for a treatment, for a chance. Our mission is to help life-saving treatments reach patients faster.

That isn’t an abstraction to us. It’s the reason Unlearn exists, and it’s why the pace and rigor of our work matter so much.

Unlearn is transforming clinical development by making every trial smarter. We partner with biopharmaceutical companies to redesign how clinical trials are planned, conducted, and analyzed. We use data, AI, and digital twins to make studies faster and more robust.

A digital twin is a comprehensive prediction of a patient’s expected outcomes under a defined standard of care. It is generated by machine learning models built on our proprietary technology. Leading pharma and biotech companies trust us to deliver scientifically rigorous work on studies where the stakes are high and the timelines impact patients.

Our goal is to become the gold standard for AI-driven clinical development. Getting there takes disciplined execution and data, models, and AI that is implemented with partners using a strong engineering foundation that holds up in a regulated, compliance-heavy environment. We’re building durable advantages rooted in science and innovative technologies, and that foundation is what will make our leadership last.

Accountability, Agility, and Acceleration describe how we work with each other every day. Fulfilling our mission depends on all of us doing our best work, and it’s on all of us to build and protect the culture that makes that possible.

Accountability: We own outcomes, not just tasks
We take responsibility for results, make decisions with urgency, and follow through on our commitments. When things don’t go as planned, we say so. We surface issues early, learn, iterate quickly, and move forward without blame. We give and receive feedback that is clear, direct, and actionable.

Agility: We follow the evidence
Drug development and AI evolve rapidly. We stay curious, embrace new information, and change course when the evidence changes. We keep a close eye on where the industry is heading and build technology flexible enough to adapt when new data or opportunities arise. We value speed of learning over being right.

Acceleration: We create momentum
Our mission is to accelerate the development of new medicines, and that starts with how we work. We simplify, prioritize, and execute with urgency. Unlearners own the problems in front of them and are empowered to solve them. That helps our customers, our teammates, and our company move faster without sacrificing scientific rigor.

Unlearn was founded in 2017 by a team of world-class machine learning scientists and is headquartered in San Francisco. We’re backed by top-tier investors including Altimeter, Insight Partners, Radical Ventures, 8VC, and DCVC. We have substantially advanced AI technology for clinical trials, including regulatory-grade applications, and are embedded in multiple clinical trials with top Pharma and Biotech companies.

Leading Pharma and Biotech companies trust Unlearn to deliver scientifically rigorous work using digital twins on studies where the stakes are high and the timelines are real. A digital twin of a patient is a comprehensive prediction of expected outcomes under a defined standard of care, made by a machine learning model built using our proprietary technology. Working at scale across the industry requires a strong engineering foundation built around data, models, and AI in a regulated, compliance-heavy environment.

As the VP of Engineering, you will lead our engineering function, an organization of engineers spanning core engineering, applications, ML/AI Ops, and infrastructure. The team includes engineers across experience levels, anchored by strong senior technical leaders. Engineering plays a critical role in our ability to deliver AI technology through models, applications, and agentic systems, and this role will ensure the potential of AI systems are realized across that technical stack.

This is an execution-focused leadership role, focused on the core engineering systems, software applications, infrastructure, and forward deployment that drive AI-heavy, tech-enabled services. You will work with your teams on scoping and delivery, and lead an engineering organization known for shipping what it commits to. You will partner closely with Product, Delivery, and R&D teams to understand requirements, integrate engineering with our customer delivery teams, and build the platform and tools they use to do their best work.

Just as importantly, you will connect engineering to the company's direction, understanding company strategy, translating it into a concrete engineering roadmap that integrates a workflow across data, modeling, applications, compliance, and security, and holding the team accountable for delivering to that roadmap on timeframes that match company objectives. You will work as a member of the leadership team, maintaining consistent communication and clear expectations in both directions, so that leadership always knows where engineering stands, and engineering always knows why its work matters.

• Lead Unlearn's engineering function across technical disciplines, owning the quality, reliability, compliance, and security of the systems that power our work. Ensure AI tools and systems are used heavily for efficiency and impact.

• Drive execution: define projects, partner with teams on scoping and estimation, and run delivery practices that turn commitments into shipped work. Partner with Product, R&D, and Delivery leadership to understand requirements, shape technical approaches, and deliver on value for customers.

• Translate company strategy to sequence and prioritize work so that engineering output directly advances company objectives, and hold teams accountable for delivering to that roadmap on the timeframes the business requires.

• Operate as a member of the leadership team: report clearly and consistently on engineering progress, capacity, and risk; maintain aligned expectations between leadership and the engineering team; and communicate priorities and context down into the organization.

• Establish an AI-centric engineering culture, one that scales the impact of the organization and likewise equips team members with strong, modern toolsets to help them grow and succeed in their careers at and beyond Unlearn.

• Own hiring and team design for engineering, deliberately growing the organization aligned with company needs.

• 10+ years in software engineering with significant experience leading engineering organizations at the Senior Director or VP level, including managing managers and senior technical leaders across multiple engineering disciplines.

• A track record of strong execution in highly collaborative and cross-functional environments where engineering has delivered on timelines that mattered to the business.

• Experience leading across the stack: infrastructure/DevOps, backend or platform engineering, and application/front-end development, with experience in regulated environments where compliance is a key factor on system design.

• Demonstrated ability to translate company strategy into an engineering roadmap, communicate the "why" behind priorities, and hold teams accountable for delivering against commitments.

• Experience partnering closely with Product, R&D, and customer-facing delivery teams; you have built internal tools and platforms that made technical teams measurably more effective.

• Experience in growth-stage or early-stage companies where you built engineering processes and delivery discipline in small teams while shipping. Experience in life sciences, healthcare, or another regulated, data-intensive domain is a plus.

The following benefits and perks are for full time roles only.

• Meaningful equity participation

• 100% company-covered medical, dental, & vision insurance plans for you and your dependents

• 401(k) plan with matching

• Flexible PTO plus company holidays

• Annual company-wide break December 24 through January 1

• Commuter and Wellness benefits

• Tech stipend

• Paid Parental Leave

Unlearn is an equal opportunity employer. 

At Unlearn, we are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace, because inclusion and diversity are essential to achieving our mission. If you’re excited about this role, and your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply nevertheless.