Principal Software Engineer

advantestcareers; Lake Forest (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Advantest is seeking a Hands-on Principal Software Engineer in Lake Forest, CA to drive architecture, design, and implementation for SLT, Burn-In, and HPC test platforms. You will work across gear, software drivers, firmware, and data services, delivering robust, secure on-prem software.

The role emphasizes ~70% hands-on coding, test-driven development, and mentoring while collaborating with global teams to ensure production-ready solutions.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of software engineering experience with strong hands-on technical leadership.
• Deep expertise in C#/.NET, distributed systems, multithreading, asynchronous programming, APIs, and debugging.
• Experience integrating software with physical equipment, firmware, drivers, or semiconductor/industrial test systems.
• Experience owning architecture through implementation, integration, and production deployment.
• Strong knowledge of TCP/IP, UDP, HTTP, and gRPC.
• Bachelor's degree in computer science, computer engineering, electrical engineering, or related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• Must be willing to work onsite at our Lake Forest, CA office.

Responsibilities

• Architect, design, and develop software for SLT, Burn-In, and HPC test platforms, test orchestration, equipment integration, messaging, and data services.
• Drives test driven development in Hardware-Centric Environments with high focus on unit and integration tests.
• Remain approximately 70% hands-on in coding, integration, testing, debugging, and technical design.
• Develop cross-platform applications, SDKs, drivers, APIs, test programs, and equipment-control software using C#, .NET 10+, ASP.NET10+, Python, Blazor, and xUnit.
• Develop distributed messaging, telemetry, data pipelines, and orchestration using Apache Pulsar and PostgreSQL.
• Implement secure on-premises platform services using OIDC/OAuth 2.0 and related identity technologies.
• Integrate software with test hardware, firmware, electrical, mechanical, thermal, and instrumentation systems.
• Develop and integrate ActivATE/ActivATE360, device/instrumentation drivers, and test execution workflows.
• Implement SCAN, pattern execution, and vector-conversion workflows.
• Debug system-level issues across software, communications, firmware, hardware, and DUT execution.
• Work directly with customers and global engineering teams during integration and deployment.
• Gather requirements from customers, internal departments, and cross-BU partners; communicate tradeoffs and deliver solutions from design through production.
• Design for reliable execution, test-data integrity, fault recovery, and compatibility across independently evolving components.
• Mentor engineers and lead design/code reviews while remaining hands-on.
• All other duties as assigned.

Skills

C#/.NET

Distributed systems

Multithreading

APIs

Debugging

HTTP/gRPC

Education

Bachelor's degree in computer science/engineering

Tools

ASP.NET

Python

Blazor

xUnit

Job description

Principal Software Engineer

Position Overview

Hands-on Principal Software Engineer responsible for software architecture, design, coding, system integration, and debugging across SLT, Burn-In, and HPC Semiconductor test platforms. The role works directly across semiconductor testers, automated handlers, software drivers, firmware, instrumentation, thermal systems, test programs, and distributed software platforms.

Key Responsibilities

• Architect, design, and develop software for SLT, Burn-In, and HPC test platforms, test orchestration, equipment integration, messaging, and data services.
• Drives test driven development in Hardware-Centric Environments with high focus on unit and integration tests
• Remain approximately 70% hands-on in coding, integration, testing, debugging, and technical design.
• Develop cross-platform applications, SDKs, drivers, APIs, test programs, and equipment-control software using C#, .NET 10+, ASP.NET10+, Python, Blazor, and xUnit.
• Develop distributed messaging, telemetry, data pipelines, and orchestration using Apache Pulsar and PostgreSQL.
• Implement secure on-premises platform services using OIDC/OAuth 2.0 and related identity technologies.
• Integrate software with test hardware, firmware, electrical, mechanical, thermal, and instrumentation systems.
• Develop and integrate ActivATE/ActivATE360, device/instrumentation drivers, and test execution workflows.
• Implement SCAN, pattern execution, and vector-conversion workflows.
• Debug system-level issues across software, communications, firmware, hardware, and DUT execution.
• Work directly with customers and global engineering teams during integration and deployment.
• Gather requirements from customers, internal departments, and cross-BU partners; communicate tradeoffs and deliver solutions from design through production.
• Design for reliable execution, test-data integrity, fault recovery, and compatibility across independently evolving components.
• Mentor engineers and lead design/code reviews while remaining hands-on.

• All other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications

• 12+ years of software engineering experience with strong hands-on technical leadership.
• Deep expertise in C#/.NET, distributed systems, multithreading, asynchronous programming, APIs, and debugging.
• Experience integrating software with physical equipment, firmware, drivers, or semiconductor/industrial test systems.
• Experience owning architecture through implementation, integration, and production deployment.
• Strong Knowledge of TCP/IP, UDP, HTTP, and gRPC.
• Bachelor's degree in computer science, computer engineering, electrical engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• Must be willing to work onsite at our Lake Forest, CA office.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with SLT, Burn-In, ATE, HPC, ActivATE/ActivATE360, or Advantest 93000.
• Experience with digital tests, test programs, device drivers, instrumentation, and hardware-in-the-loop testing.
• Experience delivering cross-platform and on-premises software in semiconductor production environments.

Additional Requirements

• Willingness to work in an on-prem and on-site setup (No Hybrid) in Lake Forest, CA.
• Ability and willingness to travel domestically and internationally, sometimes on short notice
• Strong written and verbal communication skills