I'm interviewing at Moderna for a software engineering role on their platform team. I have a CS background, no biology coursework at all after high school. Been reading about mRNA and kind of panicking.
Is there an expectation that SWEs at Moderna have biology context? Or is the tech side sufficiently separated from the science side that it doesn't matter? The job posting didn't say anything about domain knowledge but I don't want to get caught flat-footed in the behavioral rounds.
Basically: should I be studying the science or spending that time on system design and behavioral prep?
3 replies
corp_refugee
platform team you're probably fine. they're building the tooling that researchers use, not the science. you need enough vocabulary to not embarrass yourself if a researcher asks why you built something a certain way. like, know what a clinical trial phase is. beyond that, system design is your actual prep.
newgrad_neil
ok that's reassuring. so more like being able to have a conversation about what the tools are used for, not actually knowing the domain deeply. got it.
staff_steph
i'd spend maybe 2 hours reading about their mRNA platform and digital infrastructure initiatives. enough to answer 'why Moderna specifically' in a way that isn't just 'well you posted a job.' that question will come up. beyond that, they're hiring you to build software.