Senior Staff Software Engineer

Senior Staff Software Engineer

Location: Santa Clara, CA (Onsite)

Group: Analyzer Product Group (APG), Engineering

Role Summary

Picarro is seeking a Senior Staff Software Engineer to take a leading role in architecting and developing the low-level software that powers our advanced Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy (CRDS) instrumentation.

In this role, you'll serve as a hands-on technical leader—defining system architecture, driving implementation of software on multi-compute platforms, and ensuring seamless integration between FPGA and microcontroller firmware and higher-level software. Your focus will be on PCIe driver development to enable communication between the Linux operating systems and Picarro’s proprietary mixed analog and digital hardware devices, utilizing Linux kernel-level tools to manage hardware registers, DMA, and interrupts, to enable highly performant continuous spectrometer operation. You'll influence design decisions across teams, mentor engineers, and help shape the future of Picarro's firmware and software stack.

This position is ideal for an experienced engineer who thrives at the intersection of hardware, firmware, and software—someone who brings both strategic vision and strong technical execution.

Key Responsibilities

Technical Leadership Architecture

Lead the architecture, design, and implementation of Linux-based systems, including device drivers, services, and communication interfaces

Define and maintain system-level interfaces between firmware, FPGA modules, and high-level applications

Drive platform-level decisions related to performance, reliability, scalability, and maintainability

Champion best practices for software design, code quality, and modular architecture

Hands-On Software Development

Develop robust, high-performance C/C++ code for Linux.

Experience with real-time operating systems is desirable.

Contribute to board bring-up, hardware abstraction layers, and low-level device integration

Troubleshoot complex system-level issues spanning hardware, firmware, and software boundaries

Implement comprehensive unit and system-level testing to ensure high product reliability

Cross-Functional Collaboration

Work closely with hardware, firmware, and application teams to deliver cohesive system solutions

Partner with product and systems engineering teams to evaluate trade-offs and optimize designs

Engage with external vendors or consultants for specialized firmware and driver components

Mentorship Technical Influence

Mentor engineers in advanced embedded development techniques and system design principles

Serve as a subject matter expert and thought leader within the embedded systems domain

Influence technical direction and elevate engineering standards across the organization

Engineering Process Quality

Drive adoption of modern embedded development practices, including CI/CD, automated testing, and version control

Participate in and lead technical reviews—ensuring architectural integrity and alignment with long-term goals

Ensure compliance with internal quality metrics and external regulatory standards

Qualifications

Education Experience

BS/MS in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field

12+ years of experience in embedded systems software design and development, with proven success delivering complex, production-grade systems

Demonstrated experience leading major technical initiatives or system architectures within embedded platforms or instrumentation

Technical Expertise

Expert in C/C++ programming for embedded Linux and/or real-time systems

Deep understanding of Linux kernel, device drivers, and hardware bring-up

Experience with communication with embedded HW and FW, including microcontrollers and FPGAs

Experience with Python, including bindings to C / C++, middleware development, and scripting for automation and testing

Extensive experience with PCIe device driver development, including FW integration, register mapping, DMA, and interrupts.

Experience with system-level performance tuning, debugging, and optimization

Proficient with modern tools: Git, Jira, CI/CD pipelines, and embedded debugging environments

Soft Skills Leadership

Strong ability to lead by influence—aligning teams around technical direction without formal management authority

Excellent communication and documentation skills across technical and non-technical stakeholders

Strategic thinker with a hands-on approach to problem-solving

Preferred Qualifications

Experience developing software for laser-based systems, analytical instrumentation, or similar complex hardware platforms

Knowledge of software compliance and regulatory requirements

Prior experience improving system-level design processes and mentoring teams on scalable low-level and mixed firmware/software architectures

The base salary range for this full-time position is $200K to $220K. Our total compensation packages include base salary, bonus eligibility, and eq…