Senior Software Engineer, Spectroscopy & Instrumentation

Picarro, Inc; Santa Clara (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance

401K

Paid Time Off

On-site Health & Wellness programs

Employee Referral Program

Life Insurance

Paid Holidays

Job summary

Picarro, Inc. in Santa Clara, CA, is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to architect, develop, and deploy software for next-generation Spectroscopy instruments.

You will work with systems, electrical, firmware, optical, and manufacturing teams to build robust embedded Linux, instrument control, data acquisition, and cloud-connected applications. The ideal candidate has 8+ years of experience in software development, strong Python and C/C++, and a track record in complex instrumentation.

Qualifications

• BS/MS/PhD in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field, or equivalent experience.
• 8+ years of professional software development experience.
• Strong proficiency in Python, C, and modern C++.
• Familiarity with computer architecture fundamentals and low-level hardware interactions.
• Experience developing software on Linux platforms.
• Experience with multi-threaded and distributed systems.
• Experience interfacing software with hardware, embedded systems, or scientific instrumentation.
• Strong understanding of software architecture, OO design, and design patterns.
• Experience with Git and modern development workflows.
• Excellent debugging, problem-solving, and analytical skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead software architecture, design, implementation, and maintenance for instrument control and data acquisition systems.
• Develop high-reliability software on Linux-based embedded platforms.
• Design interfaces between instrument hardware, FPGA/firmware, and higher-level applications.
• Develop APIs, drivers, services, and libraries for spectrometer platforms.
• Collaborate with systems, optical, electrical, and manufacturing engineers to define software requirements.
• Drive software quality through reviews, testing, CI, and validation.
• Investigate and resolve complex system integration issues across software/hardware.
• Lead architectural decisions to improve scalability and maintainability.
• Develop tools and automation for manufacturing, calibration, testing, and diagnostics.
• Participate in product planning, risk assessment, and design reviews.
• Mentor junior engineers and establish best practices.
• Contribute to cloud connectivity and data management capabilities where applicable.

Skills

Python

C

C++

Linux

Embedded

Multithreading

Debugging

Communication

Education

BS/MS/PhD in CS/CE or related field

Tools

Git

Buildroot

CI/CD

Docker

Job description

Picarro, Inc. in Santa Clara, CA, is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to architect, develop, and deploy software for next-generation Spectroscopy instruments.

You will work with systems, electrical, firmware, optical, and manufacturing teams to build robust embedded Linux, instrument control, data acquisition, and cloud-connected applications. The ideal candidate has 8+ years of experience in software development, strong Python and C/C++, and a track record in complex instrumentation.