Lead Software Engineer V

Job Title: Lead Software Engineer V

Department: Engineering

Reports To: Chief Product Officer

Location: Santa Barbara, CA or Beverly, MA (preferred); Remote considered when the architecture bar is clearly met

Position Type: Full-Time, Exempt, On-site, M1 or 2

Definition:

SIONYX is seeking a highly experienced and hands-on Lead Software Engineer V to join our engineering team. This role will be responsible for designing, developing, integrating, testing, debugging, and maintaining embedded software for SIONYX's advanced imaging products.

The Lead Software Engineer V will serve as both a technical leader and people leader , contributing directly to complex software development while providing mentorship, guidance, and management to other software engineers. The ideal candidate brings strong embedded software expertise, sound engineering judgment, excellent problem-solving skills, and the ability to develop and motivate a high-performing engineering team.

This is a hands‑on leadership role. The successful candidate will balance individual technical contributions with project leadership, mentoring, team development, and people‑management responsibilities.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Lead the development of complex embedded software solutions and serve as a technical resource for the engineering team.
• Own architecture for the embedded Linux / ARM video pipeline that takes SIONYX's proprietary ultra-lowlight image sensor or thermal sensor data to a usable color night‑vision image.
• Lead sensor bring‑up, FPGA/MIPI CSI‑2 integration, and the interfaces between image sensor, SoC, and the rest of the camera.
• Design, write, and debug C/C++ for microcontrollers, ARM SoCs, and embedded Linux, using AI coding assistants (Cursor, Claude, and peers) as a normal part of the workflow. Drivers, BSPs, and the application layer when the path from photon to pixel is on you.
• Sit with EE, FPGA, optics, and image‑processing on board bring‑up. Read the schematic. Use the scope. Close the loop on hardware/software together.
• Set the technical bar: design reviews, code reviews, performance/memory/power/real‑time tradeoffs.
• Independently investigate and resolve complex technical issues involving software, firmware, hardware interfaces, and system performance.
• Mentor and develop less‑experienced engineers through technical guidance, code reviews, knowledge sharing, and coaching.
• Take products from prototype through production and into the field.
• Evaluate new SoCs, sensors, and pipeline approaches. Recommend the next move.
• Lead technical projects or significant components of larger projects, coordinating priorities and deliverables with engineering and cross‑functional partners.
• Work effectively with hardware, systems, product, manufacturing, and other teams to deliver reliable, high‑quality products.
• Manage assigned engineers, including regular one‑on‑ones, goal setting, feedback, performance management, career development, and workload prioritization.
• Promote disciplined development, testing, documentation, and continuous improvement practices to ensure robust embedded software.
• Identify opportunities to improve development processes, tools, architecture, and team effectiveness.

Required:

• 10+ years shipping embedded software / firmware, including real architecture ownership.
• Expert C/C++ on constrained systems.
• Embedded Linux on ARM, including bring‑up, BSP, and debugging a running board.
• Shipped at least one camera, imaging, or real‑time video pipeline product (sensor → pipeline → output).
• Comfortable with MIPI CSI‑2, I2C, SPI, UART, USB, Ethernet, and reading electrical schematics.
• Board bring‑up with JTAG, oscilloscope, logic analyzer. You have found the bug that was actually hardware.
• Can set architecture and explain it clearly to EE, FPGA, and a VP.
• Fluent with modern AI coding assistants (Cursor, Claude, Copilot‑class tools). You already use them to move faster on real embedded work, and you can teach that practice to others.
• Demonstrated experience developing software for embedded systems.
• Experience working with microcontrollers, processors, hardware interfaces, and embedded operating systems or real‑time operating systems.
• Strong understanding of software development lifecycle, debugging, testing, version control, and code review practices.
• Demonstrated ability to troubleshoot complex software and system‑level issues.
• Experience providing technical leadership, mentoring, or management of other engineers.
• Strong communication, organizational, and problem‑solving skills.
• Ability to work effectively in a collaborative, cross‑functional engineering environment.
• US Citizen or permanent resident.

Preferred:

• CMOS / low‑light / NIR / IR imaging, or electro‑optical products.
• FPGA processor integration, Qualcomm or similar mobile/embedded SoC, RTOS (FreeRTOS, Zephyr).
• Bootloaders, secure boot, firmware update, power/thermal on a sealed camera.
• Python (or similar) for test harnesses, HIL, and factory bring‑up.
• You hunt, fish, boat, or already use night vision.
• Time in the Goleta IR / camera cluster (FLIR/Teledyne, Moog, Umbra, or similar), marine electronics, drone/FPV firmware, or camera‑module houses.
• Experience developing software for safety, quality or reliability‑critical products.
• Previous formal people‑management experience.
• Experience working in a fast‑paced product development environment.

Required Education:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical field.

Leadership Expectations:

The Embedded Software Engineer V is expected to lead by example and demonstrate:

• Technical excellence and sound engineering judgment.
• Accountability for commitments, decisions, and results.
• Clear and respectful communication.
• A collaborative and team‑oriented approach.
• Commitment to developing and supporting other engineers.
• Willingness to provide and receive constructive feedback.
• A focus on continuous improvement and problem solving.
• Alignment with SIONYX's values and commitment to delivering high‑quality products.

Physical Requirements:

• Ability to work in an office and engineering/laboratory environment.
• Ability to sit, stand, walk, and work at a computer for extended periods.
• Must be able to access and navigate the production facility.
• Must be able to lift up to 25 pounds at times.
• Travel up to 25%. We have locations around the country, including Beverly, MA, Santa Barbara, CA and Whitefish, MT, so you will need to have the ability and willingness to travel, including internationally.

Salary Range: $190,000 - $240,000

Bonus Potential:10% - 15%