Staff Systems Engineer

Activate; San Leandro (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

SirenOpt is seeking a Staff Systems Engineer to define, integrate, and validate our plasma-based sensing platform for deployment in advanced manufacturing environments. You will shape system-level behavior and ensure coherence across hardware, software, and experiments while building a scalable technical foundation for the company.

This role emphasizes documenting experiments, designs, interfaces, and decisions with traceability, and requires close collaboration with cross-functional teams to

Qualifications

• 7+ years of hands-on systems engineering experience.
• Experience developing automated metrology, inspection, or diagnostic systems.
• Proficiency with data analysis and modeling tools.

Responsibilities

• Define and own system-level architecture, integration, and validation.
• Guide decisions through experimentation, data analysis, and cross-disciplinary evaluation.
• Lead investigations to resolve complex performance issues with structured experiments.
• Document experiments, designs, interfaces, and decisions for traceability.
• Collaborate with mechanical, electrical, and software teams to ensure seamless integration.
• Support on-site installation and validation at customer sites as needed.

Skills

Cross-disciplinary collaboration

Data-driven analysis

Technical communication

Education

Bachelor's or higher in Engineering or Physics

MS in Engineering or Physics

PhD in Engineering or Physics

Tools

Python

MATLAB

C

LabVIEW

Job description

About the job

Job Title: Staff Systems Engineer

Location: On-Site (San Leandro, CA)

Job Type: Full-Time

About SirenOpt

SirenOpt helps manufacturers make better, safer, and more reliable micro- and nano-materials. These materials are the building blocks of critical sectors of the global economy such as batteries, computer chips, aircraft components, and power systems. But, surging material demand and growing complexity are pushing production to unprecedented scales and speeds, leaving manufacturers effectively flying blind. Small, undetected variations during production lead to wastage, lower performance, higher costs, and safety risks.

SirenOpt is changing this by developing a manufacturing intelligence platform that non-destructively probes materials during production, revealing critical internal information without damaging them. Using a novel combination of cold atmospheric plasma, physics-informed machine learning, and predictive analytics, SirenOpt generates unique, real-time material fingerprints that capture material signals not accessible through conventional measurement techniques. These insights give manufacturers unprecedented visibility into how materials behave as they are made.

We turn hidden data into actionable intelligence to help manufacturers reduce variability and thus increase yield and performance. The technology can be deployed as a standalone tool or integrated directly into factory production lines. SirenOpt is currently deploying early versions of its platform with some of the largest industrial manufacturers in the world across North America, Europe, and Asia. Our first commercial product will be released in 2026.

Role Overview

We are seeking a Staff Systems Engineer to define, integrate, and validate SirenOpt’s plasma-based sensing platform for deployment into advanced manufacturing environments. As an early-stage member of the SirenOpt team, you will play a key role in shaping system-level behavior and ensuring technical coherence across hardware, software, and experimental domains, helping establish a strong and scalable technical foundation for the company.

This role carries responsibility both for system-level technical ownership and for shaping how technical work is documented across the organization. You will define and evolve the structure used to document experiments, system designs, interfaces, and technical decisions, ensuring clarity, consistency, and traceability as the company grows. These documentation practices are expected to be tightly coupled to hands‑on engineering work, including experimentation, data analysis, and system validation.

The ideal candidate applies sound systems engineering judgment to complex, cross-disciplinary problems and is comfortable operating in areas of ambiguity. You will drive system-level trade studies, guide experimental strategy, and resolve non‑trivial integration and performance issues, while remaining deeply engaged in day‑to‑day technical execution. This role offers an opportunity to operate at a high level of technical impact in a collaborative and fast‑moving engineering environment.

What You’ll Do

• Define and own system-level architecture, integration, and validation of SirenOpt’s plasma-based sensing platform
• Guide system-level technical decisions through experimentation, data analysis, and cross‑disciplinary evaluation
• Lead investigation and resolution of complex system performance issues through structured experimentation, data analysis, and root cause analysis
• Establish and evolve the structure used to document experiments, system designs, interfaces, and technical decisions across the organization
• Ensure technical documentation is clear, consistent, and traceable, and tightly integrated with hands‑on engineering and validation activities
• Work closely with cross‑functional engineering teams to guide system integration and resolve non‑trivial cross‑disciplinary issues
• Incorporate customer and application feedback into system‑level design evolution and validation strategy
• Support on‑site installation, validation, and system upgrade activities at customer sites as needed
• Domestic and international travel of approximately 10–15% is expected.

What We’re Looking For

• B.S. in Engineering or Physics with 7+ years of relevant industry experience, M.S. with 5+ years, or Ph.D. with 3+ years of hands‑on systems experience
• Experience developing automated metrology, inspection, or diagnostic systems across system definition, integration, validation, deployment, and customer support
• Experience working in early‑stage or ambiguous R&D environments, using experimentation and data analysis to evaluate concepts and guide system‑level decisions
• Proficiency with tools such as Python, MATLAB, C, LabVIEW, or similar for data analysis, modeling, and evaluation of system performance
• Extensive hands‑on experience developing, integrating, and validating prototypes, subsystems, and complete systems
• Experience working across mechanical, electrical, software, and experimental domains to resolve complex integration and performance issues
• Demonstrated ability to guide technical direction through experimentation, data‑driven analysis, and cross‑disciplinary evaluation
• Experience establishing or evolving technical documentation practices, ensuring clarity, consistency, and traceability of experimental results and system decisions
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, particularly in documenting complex technical work clearly for diverse audiences

Nice to Have

• Experience with manufacturing metrology equipment and sensors used for characterization or fabrication of advanced materials
• Experience with requirements and test management tools (e.g., Jama or similar) and data analysis software such as JMP
• Experience with early‑stage R&D and/or new product introduction (NPI) in complex technical systems
• Exposure to high‑precision, high‑throughput industrial systems for material handling, metrology, or process automation
• Prior work or research experience in one or more of the key industrial markets that SirenOpt addresses, including batteries, semiconductors, power generation, energy, or electronics
• Familiarity with high‑voltage devices; exposure to plasma‑based systems
• Experience with capital equipment designed for integration into manufacturing environments, particularly roll‑to‑roll and piece‑to‑piece processes

Actual compensation within the pay range listed will be decided based on factors including skills and prior relevant experience.