Senior Engineering Leader: Developer SDKs for Embedded Markets

Key Responsibilities

• Define the end-to-end SDK architecture for several key functionalities such as:
  • Video analytics pipelines (decode/encode, pre/post-processing, inference, tracking, streaming, metadata).
  • A high-speed graph runtime for heterogeneous sensor dataflow and orchestration (CPU/GPU/NPU scheduling, memory movement, zero-copy).
  • Real-time communication and sensor data passing, including distributed compute patterns (pub/sub, RPC, shared memory, DDS-like concepts).
  • Multimedia framework integration (GStreamer-like pipelines, plug-in models, caps negotiation, timestamps, jitter buffering).
  • Vision pipelines and integration with OpenCV-like ecosystems; accelerate critical primitives while maintaining developer portability.
  • ROS2-like SDK abstractions to support distributed autonomy stacks and multi-node execution.
• Own the system design for heterogeneous sensor ingestion, including:
  • Time synchronization (PTP/IEEE-1588 concepts, timestamp domains, clock drift, latency accounting).
  • Deterministic pipeline behavior under load (bounded latency, scheduling, backpressure, QoS).
• Ensure the SDKs support mixed-criticality systems: best-effort analytics + hard real-time control paths coexisting safely.
  • Build the runtime with attention to:
    • Real-time determinism (priority inversion, CPU affinity, lock contention, bounded queueing).
    • Isolation, safety patterns, and fault containment (watchdogs, health monitors, graceful degradation, recovery).
    • Memory + bandwidth efficiency across CPU/GPU and DMA/zero-copy paths.
• Deliver SDKs that feel “effortless” to adopt:
  • Simple APIs, consistent abstractions, strong defaults.
  • Excellent documentation, tutorials, reference apps, and performance playbooks.
  • Strong tooling: profiling, tracing, pipeline visualization, graph debugging, log/metric correlation, replay tools.
  • Establish a packaging and distribution strategy: versioning/compatibility policy, semantic versioning, long-term support (LTS).
  • Container images, Debian/RPM/conda/pip (where relevant), cross-compile toolchains, reproducible builds.
  • Multi-OS support where market requires (Linux-first, others based on business priorities).
• Own and drive the SDK roadmap, feature prioritization, and release trains.
  • Create and enforce quality gates: CI/CD, unit/integration/performance tests, fuzzing (where appropriate), security scanning, ABI/API stability testing.

Ecosystem & Market Competitiveness

• Conduct competitive analysis and translate insights into differentiation.
• Partner with ISVs, OEMs, robotics/autonomy stack providers, and framework communities to ensure adoption.
• Work closely with product management and field teams to gather requirements and ensure readiness (samples, solution blueprints, deployment guides).
• Build and scale a high-performing global team.
• Hire, mentor, and scale engineering teams across runtime, multimedia, DX/tooling, and integration.
• Establish an operating rhythm: quarterly planning, roadmap reviews, release health dashboards, and customer/partner feedback loops.

Preferred Experience

• Experience building cohesive developer SDKs.
• Experience leading engineering organizations with global teams.
• Proven track record delivering production-grade developer SDKs: APIs, samples, docs, packaging, release management.
• Deep technical expertise in the following areas:
• Video analytics pipelines (decode/encode, streaming, metadata, inference orchestration).
• Multimedia frameworks (GStreamer-like architecture, plugins, buffer management, timestamps).
• Graph runtimes/dataflow execution engines (scheduling, backpressure, zero-copy, memory pools).
• Distributed systems & communication middleware (DDS-like pub/sub concepts, QoS, reliability).
• Real-time systems (determinism, bounded latency, RT scheduling, mixed-criticality patterns).
• Computer vision and pipeline integration (OpenCV ecosystem; performance-critical primitives).
• Heterogeneous compute optimization across CPU/GPU/NPU (kernel scheduling, memory movement, batching).
• Experience building developer SDKs for embedded/edge markets: robotics, industrial, automotive, medical (one or more).
• Experience with ROS2 ecosystems and autonomy stack integration (perception → fusion → planning → actuation).
• Expertise in time synchronization and multi-sensor fusion plumbing (timestamp propagation, replay, latency budgeting).
• Background in safety and certification adjacent practices (process maturity, traceability, safety case thinking).
• Track record creating developer tooling (profilers, trace analyzers, graph visualizers, pipeline debuggers).
• Experience collaborating tightly with silicon/hardware teams to drive platform entitlement.