Principal Software Engineer (Framework)

Cadence Design Systems, Inc.; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Cadence Design Systems, Inc. is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to lead UI and application framework development for engineering desktop platforms. You will guide architecture, UI composition, and framework services to deliver scalable, reusable components.

You will mentor teams, optimize performance, and drive cross‑functional collaboration with product, QA, and engineering to meet complex workflows. Strong C++/C# expertise is essential.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of software engineering experience delivering enterprise desktop applications.
• Deep expertise in UI Framework and Application Framework architecture.
• Strong hands-on experience with C++ and C# in large-scale desktop app development.
• Experience with charting/plotting components (SciChart, Gigasoft, or equivalents).
• Avalonia experience is a significant plus for cross‑platform UI development.
• Experience with AI-assisted development tools (e.g., GitHub Copilot).

Responsibilities

• Architect, design, and develop reusable UI Framework and Application Framework components for desktop apps.
• Provide technical leadership for shell architecture, UI composition, docking/layout, and data binding.
• Design charting/plotting components using SciChart, Gigasoft, or equivalents.
• Serve as senior technical authority for architecture decisions and performance optimization.
• Collaborate with product, architecture, QA, and engineering teams to translate needs into framework capabilities.
• Mentor engineers on framework design, UI patterns, and testing practices.
• Contribute to roadmaps and clearly communicate design tradeoffs and risks.

Skills

UI Framework design

Application Framework

C++ & C#

MVVM / MVC / MVP

Data binding / Event routing

Performance optimization

Cross‑platform UI

Charting/Visualization

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree

Tools

SciChart

Gigasoft

Avalonia

WPF/WinForms

Qt

Job description

HOME CHINA

SHANGHAI

Full time

R56777

At Cadence, we hire and develop leaders and innovators who want to make an impact on the world of technology. Position Summary We are seeking a Principal Software Engineer with deep expertise in UI Framework, Application Framework, and reusable desktop application infrastructure to provide technical leadership for MSC Apex and related engineering software platforms. This role is responsible for designing, developing, and guiding framework-level capabilities including application architecture, UI composition, component integration, charting and plotting frameworks, performance, extensibility, reliability, and developer productivity. The successful candidate will act as a senior individual contributor and technical authority, partnering across product, architecture, and engineering teams to deliver robust framework components.

Key Responsibilities

• Architect, design, and develop reusable UI Framework and Application Framework capabilities for engineering desktop applications, ensuring scalability, maintainability, responsiveness, and long-term extensibility.
• Provide technical leadership for application shell architecture, UI composition, command frameworks, docking/layout systems, state management, data binding, component integration, and framework service layers.
• Design and guide implementation of charting and plotting components, including integration or customization of commercial charting libraries such as SciChart, Gigasoft, or equivalent technologies.
• Serve as a senior technical authority for framework design reviews, feasibility analysis, risk assessment, debugging, performance optimization, and long-term architecture decisions.
• Collaborate with product management, architecture, QA, program management, and engineering teams to translate product workflow needs into reusable framework capabilities.
• Guide and mentor engineers on framework architecture, UI patterns, C++ and C# design practices, component ownership, testing strategy, and engineering best practices.
• Contribute to technical roadmaps and communicate design tradeoffs, technical risks, and implementation plans clearly to stakeholders and leadership.

Required Qualifications

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, Computational Engineering, Computer-Aided Engineering, Applied Mathematics, or a related engineering discipline.

Experience

• 12+ years of software engineering experience delivering commercial or enterprise desktop applications, preferably in engineering, CAD/CAE, scientific, visualization, or data-intensive software domains.
• Deep expertise in UI Framework and Application Framework architecture, including reusable component design, application shell design, command frameworks, layout/docking systems, UI state management, and extensible framework services.
• Strong hands‑on experience with C++ and C# in large-scale, production-quality desktop application development.
• Experience designing and implementing framework-level components that support multiple product workflows, teams, and application modules.
• Experience with charting, plotting, or data visualization components, including commercial libraries such as SciChart, Gigasoft, or equivalent charting technologies.
• Strong background in UI architecture patterns such as MVVM, MVC, MVP, data binding, event routing, command patterns, dependency injection, and modular application design.
• Experience diagnosing UI responsiveness issues, memory leaks, threading problems, rendering defects, framework integration issues, and performance bottlenecks in complex desktop applications.
• Experience with Windows desktop application development and cross‑platform UI considerations.
• Avalonia experience is a significant plus, especially for modern cross‑platform desktop UI development using C# and XAML‑style UI patterns.
• Practical experience using AI‑assisted software development tools such as GitHub Copilot, Cursor, or similar tools to improve coding productivity, code review efficiency, documentation, and engineering workflows.

Technical Skills

• Strong proficiency in C++ and C# for framework-level desktop application development.
• Required experience designing reusable UI Framework and Application Framework components, including application shell services, command systems, layout managers, docking frameworks, property grids, toolbars, menus, dialogs, view models, and shared UI infrastructure.
• Hands‑on experience with charting and plotting frameworks, including SciChart, Gigasoft, or comparable commercial/open‑source charting components.
• Strong understanding of desktop UI patterns, asynchronous programming, threading models, event‑driven architecture, data binding, rendering/update cycles, and responsive UI design.
• Experience with WPF, WinForms, Qt, Avalonia, or equivalent desktop UI frameworks; Avalonia experience is strongly preferred.
• Strong debugging skills using tools such as Visual Studio Debugger, WinDbg, GDB, LLDB, crash dump analysis, stack traces, logging frameworks, and diagnostic instrumentation.
• Experience with memory, performance, and concurrency diagnostics using tools such as Valgrind, AddressSanitizer, ThreadSanitizer, Intel VTune, Windows Performance Analyzer, Linux perf, and similar profiling tools.
• Familiarity with automated testing strategies for framework components, including unit testing, integration testing, UI automation, regression testing, and API compatibility validation.

Soft Skills

• Strong communication and collaboration skills.
• Problem‑solving and analytical thinking.
• Ability to work independently and in a team environment.
• Strong organizational and time‑management skills.

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Cadence plays a critical role in creating the technologies that modern life depends on. We are a global electronic design automation company, providing software, hardware, and intellectual property to design advanced semiconductor chips that enable our customers create revolutionary products and experiences.

Thanks to the outstanding caliber of the Cadence team and the empowering culture that we have cultivated for over 25 years, Cadence continues to be recognized by Fortune Magazine as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For. Our shared passion for solving the world’s toughest technical challenges, our dedication to pushing the limits of the industry, and our drive to do meaningful work differentiates the people of Cadence.

Cadence is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a veteran, basis of disability, or any other protected class.

Cadence is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a veteran, basis of disability, or any other protected class.