Research Engineer

Who is Sonar

Sonar enables organizations to ship agentic code with confidence. Code creation is abundant, but confidence is scarce. Our core platform, SonarQube, verifies over 750 billion lines of code every day, delivering agentic verification and governance for all code. Trusted by more than 7 million developers and 75% of the Fortune 100, including teams at Nvidia, ServiceNow, Booking.com , Goldman Sachs, AstraZeneca, and Ford Motor Company, Sonar enables organizations to reduce outages, improve security, and lower the cost and risk of agentic software development.

Founded in Geneva and now headquartered in Austin, Texas, Sonar has a global team working across offices and hubs, including Silicon Valley, London, Bochum, Barcelona, Singapore, Tokyo, and the Washington, D.C. area. At Sonar, we're enabling enterprises to build agentic software factories that can move quickly while maintaining the control, consistency and evidence required to ship with confidence.

Position Description

You will work on pioneering projects that advance the application of AI within the realm of software engineering. This role offers the opportunity to conduct cutting-edge research, develop novel algorithms and contribute to the development of software tools that enhance system performance, reliability, and flexibility. Your work will directly impact the efficiency and effectiveness of our AI products, enabling developers to spend less time fixing issues and more time innovating. You will contribute to the creation of accessible, user-friendly, and performant solutions that integrate seamlessly with our existing infrastructure.

What You Will Do:

• Conduct applied research in integrating AI/ML techniques with software engineering practices to improve code quality, testing, and software maintenance.
• Design and implement experimental prototypes to demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of new methodologies.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including AI researchers, software engineers, and product managers, to translate research findings into practical applications.
• Stay informed about the latest advancements in AI/ML and software engineering to identify emerging trends and opportunities for innovation.
• Publish research findings in leading academic conferences and journals, and present innovative work to the broader research community.
• Participate in code reviews and provide constructive feedback to other developers/researchers.
• Implement best practices from DevOps to maintain a readable codebase, testable infrastructure and documented research artifacts.
  
  

Experience And Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree (or equivalent) in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field.
• At least 2 years of experience as a Research Engineer, ideally in Software Engineering.
• Strong research background in AI, ML, and SE
• Experience working with Agentic technologies (e.g. Astra, Opus, Vertex)
• Experience in developing and prototyping in Python which utilize AI/ML
• Understanding of software development processes and terminology.
• Familiarity with techniques for automated code generation, program synthesis, or software testing using AI/ML
• Strong problem-solving skills and ability to work independently and collaboratively
• Excellent communication skills for conveying complex technical concepts
  
  

In-office culture

We're intentional about this. We believe the best teams are built in the room together. Three anchor days — Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays — create the collaboration rhythm that makes a hub office worth having.

Candidates need to be genuinely based in the location the role is posted — if that's not where you are today, we're happy to support relocation for the right person.

We value diversity, equity, and inclusion

At Sonar, we believe that our diversity is our strength. We are a global company that values and respects different backgrounds, perspectives, and cultures. We are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment where everyone feels valued and empowered to contribute their best. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and welcome all qualified applicants, regardless of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.

If you need any accommodation, please reach out to us at [email protected] .

All offers of employment at Sonar are contingent upon the results of a comprehensive background check and reference verification conducted before the start date.

Applications that are submitted through agencies or third party recruiters will not be considered.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.