Software Engineer Contractor, Instrument Control

Here’s what you’ll be doing:
• You will provide on-call support for our instrument control software, root-causing
complex technical issues reported by company-internal partners, using logs,
sensor data, and images to trace and resolve problems through an interconnected
robotic system.
• You will develop software features that improve the stability and maintainability of
our instrument software stack.
• You will write a variety of automated tests and perform hands-on hardware-in-the
loop testing of our instruments in our lab space.
• You will manage software installation and configuration across Linux and Windows
platforms.
• You will build automated tools for diagnostics and common support operations,
making instrument support faster and more reliable.
• You will participate in team sprint meetings and standups, tracking issue reports in
Jira and regularly reporting on status.
• You will write clear technical documentation that helps non-engineers use our
instruments effectively and serves as a knowledge base for AI-assisted support
tools.

We need to see:
• 5+ years of professional experience in software engineering, plus a relevant 4-year
degree or equivalent experience.
• Experience developing robust, well-tested software in Python.
• Comfort reading and understanding C/C++ in embedded systems and RTOS
contexts.
• Experience developing software and automated tests for robotics or other
integrated hardware-software systems.
• Knowledge of state machines and other mechanisms for modeling hardware state.
• Proficiency with git and with Python dependency management tools such as pipenv,
poetry, or uv.
• Comfort working in both Linux and Windows environments, including scripting in
Bash and PowerShell.
• Strong analytical skills. You can synthesize multiple data streams to identify the
root cause of user-reported issues in interconnected systems.
• Experience with agile methodologies for project management.
• The ability to ramp-up quickly in unfamiliar codebases and work independently with
minimal onboarding.
• Excellent communication and cross-functional collaboration skills. You’re
comfortable reading and writing technical documentation, interpreting user error
reports, and explaining solutions to non-software audiences.

It’s a plus if:
• You have experience with databases and cloud technologies, especially AWS.
• You have experience with low-level communication protocols (e.g. TCP/UDP, RS
232/422/485).
• You have worked in biotechnology before.