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

Location: San Carlos, CA – Onsite

Role Overview

We are seeking a Senior Instrument Control Software Engineer with strong hands-on experience in Python, hardware integration, robotics, and scientific/industrial instrumentation.

You will work on a sophisticated Python-based instrument-control platform integrating robotic motion systems, microfluidics, cameras, sensors, telemetry, custom electronics, firmware, and scientific workflows.

This is a highly hands-on role focused on system integration, debugging, reliability, and troubleshooting across software and physical hardware systems.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop, maintain, debug, and enhance Python-based instrument-control software.
• Integrate software with hardware devices, embedded controllers, firmware, and device APIs.
• Debug complex cross-system issues involving robotics, motion control, sensors, imaging, microfluidics, and electronics.
• Analyze logs, telemetry, device states, and system behavior to identify root causes.
• Troubleshoot intermittent and difficult-to-reproduce hardware/software failures.
• Implement robust error handling, recovery, observability, and fault-management mechanisms.
• Work with real-time/streaming telemetry and event-driven systems.
• Support instrument integration, testing, and troubleshooting on physical hardware.
• Collaborate with software, firmware, electrical, mechanical, systems, and scientific engineering teams.
• Contribute to architecture, testing, documentation, and reliability improvements.

Required Qualifications

• 7+ years of software engineering experience with significant Python development.
• Advanced proficiency in Python and production software development.
• Strong Linux experience, including CLI debugging, processes, networking, logs, and device interaction.
• Hands-on experience integrating software with physical hardware or embedded systems.
• Experience coordinating or controlling multiple hardware components.
• Strong debugging skills across distributed and hardware-integrated systems.
• Experience with real-time or streaming telemetry.
• Strong understanding of asynchronoconcurrent and event-driven programming.
• Experience with firmware interfaces, device APIs, serial communication, or network-connected devices.
• Strong software engineering fundamentals including testing, Git/version control, code reviews, and maintainable architecture.
• Strong communication and cross-functional collaboration skills.

Preferred Experience

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