Senior Instrument Control Software Engineer - Python / Robotics / Hardware Integration

Programming.com; San Carlos (CA); Sur place; USD 180 000 - 250 000; Plein temps

Résumé du poste

Programming.com in San Carlos, CA is seeking a Senior Instrument Control Software Engineer to join a Python-driven instrument-control platform coordinating robotics, imaging and sensors. You will work across hardware, firmware and software teams on a high-visibility, complex scientific instrument.

The role involves developing, debugging, and stabilizing software that interfaces with real hardware systems, cameras, telemetry, and custom electronics.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of software engineering experience.
• Hands-on Python development in production systems.
• Strong Linux experience with debugging and device interaction.
• Experience integrating software with physical hardware or embedded systems.

Responsabilités

• Develop, maintain, debug, and improve Python-based instrument-control software.
• Quickly understand and take ownership of portions of a large codebase.
• Diagnose failures involving software and multiple hardware subsystems.
• Debug integration issues across robotics, motion control, sensors, imaging, microfluidics, and electronics.
• Investigate intermittent instrument failures and improve stability and observability.
• Integrate Python applications with hardware devices and firmware interfaces.
• Collaborate with firmware, electrical, mechanical, systems, and software engineers.

Connaissances

Python development

Linux

Debugging

Telemetry

Asynchronous programming

Hardware integration

Distributed systems

Outils

Serial interfaces

CAN bus

Modbus

Ethernet

Description du poste

Position: Senior Instrument Control Software Engineer - Python / Robotics / Hardware Integration

Engagement: Full-Time / Contract

The Opportunity

We are looking for a highly experienced Instrument Control Software Engineer to join a sophisticated scientific instrumentation program for one of our clients. The engineer will work closely with the client's software, hardware, firmware, and scientific teams in San Carlos, California. You will work on a large Python-based instrument-control platform responsible for orchestrating multiple physical subsystems within a complex scientific instrument, including:

• Multi-axis robotic motion and 3-axis + tilt positioning systems.
• Cameras and imaging systems.
• Sensors and telemetry.
• Custom electronics and firmware.
• Scientific workflows.
• Image capture and lifecycle management.
• Communication between instrument and external software systems.

The platform is currently in an important system integration and stabilization phase. As previously independent subsystems come together, the engineering focus is increasingly on identifying cross-system failure modes, debugging complex interactions, and improving overall instrument reliability.

This is a hands-on engineering role for someone comfortable working at the intersection of Python software, hardware, firmware, robotics, and real-world physical systems.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop, maintain, debug, and improve Python-based instrument-control software.
• Quickly understand and take ownership of portions of a large existing codebase.
• Diagnose failures involving interactions between software and multiple hardware subsystems.
• Debug complex integration issues across robotics, motion control, sensors, imaging, microfluidics, and custom electronics.
• Investigate intermittent and difficult-to-reproduce instrument failures.
• Improve stability, reliability, observability, and fault handling throughout the instrument-control platform.
• Integrate Python applications with hardware devices and custom firmware interfaces.
• Work with real-time or near-real-time telemetry generated by multiple instrument components.
• Analyze logs, telemetry, device state, and system behavior to identify root causes.
• Develop robust error recovery and fault-management mechanisms.
• Collaborate directly with firmware, electrical, mechanical, systems, scientific, and software engineers.
• Support instrument integration, testing, and troubleshooting on physical hardware.
• Improve documentation and engineering knowledge transfer within the instrument-control codebase.
• Contribute to architectural improvements as the platform matures.

Required Skills

• 7+ years of software engineering experience, with significant hands-on Python development.
• Advanced proficiency with Python in production systems.
• Strong Linux experience, including command-line debugging, processes, permissions, networking basics, logs, and device interaction.
• Demonstrated experience integrating software with physical hardware or embedded systems.
• Experience controlling or coordinating multiple hardware components simultaneously.
• Strong debugging skills across complex distributed or hardware-integrated systems.
• Experience consuming, processing, or troubleshooting real-time/streaming telemetry.
• Understanding of asynchronous/concurrent programming and event-driven systems.
• Experience interfacing Python applications with firmware, embedded controllers, device APIs, serial interfaces, network-connected devices, or similar systems.
• Ability to understand unfamiliar, complex codebases quickly.
• Strong software engineering fundamentals, including testing, version control, code review, and maintainable architecture.
• Excellent communication skills and comfort working across software and hardware engineering disciplines.

Strongly Preferred

• Scientific instrumentation, laboratory automation, robotics, medical devices, semiconductor equipment, industrial automation, motion-control systems, machine vision/imaging systems, microfluidics, or hardware-in-the-loop systems.
• Experience with motion controllers, motors, stages, actuators, or robotic positioning systems.
• Experience with cameras, sensors, or imaging pipelines.
• Experience with serial communication, USB, Ethernet-connected devices, CAN, Modbus, or similar hardware protocols.
• Experience with custom firmware interfaces, state machines, and device orchestration.
• Experience with hardware-in-the-loop testing, simulation, or digital-twin environments.
• Experience with telemetry, observability, logging, and failure analysis.
• Experience with AWS or cloud-connected instrumentation.