Senior Software Engineer, Core Systems

About the job

The company is a public benefit corporation headquartered in Portland, Oregon, and backed by leading venture capitalists, philanthropic investors, university endowments, and private investment offices. We operate as an idea meritocracy in which the best ideas change the company’s direction on a regular basis.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain the network-facing software layers that enable Node to communicate reliably with shore – from low-level connection handling to higher-level data exchange protocols.
• Design egress telemetry pipelines that use bandwidth efficiently, weighing tradeoffs between data fidelity, timeliness, and link constraints.
• Collaborate on APIs and schemas for command, control, and telemetry exchanges between subsystems, ensuring reliability is built in from the start.
• Partner with network engineers to ensure a cohesive strategy for how bandwidth is divided and prioritized among competing data streams – telemetry, command and control, diagnostics, etc. – ensuring consistent allocation and fulfillment of bandwidth budget.
• Ensure that software degrades gracefully during connectivity loss or link degradation – including buffering, retry logic, and prioritized retransmission – so critical data isn't lost when links drop.
• Work with network and security engineers to review onboard software for vulnerabilities, harden network-facing services, and ensure telemetry and control interfaces meet the company's security standards before deployment.
• Analyze system performance and implement optimizations for latency, throughput, and resource efficiency.
• Extend and improve existing unit testing frameworks, integration tests, and CI/CD pipelines.
• Strengthen code review, documentation, and general software engineering practices within the team.
• Participate in design reviews, architecture discussions, and cross-team technical collaborations.

Required Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience developing software.
• 3+ years of experience with data-intensive or mission-critical systems.
• Proficiency in a systems programming language (Rust, C++, or similar).
• Proficiency with version control (we use git).
• Competency with CI/CD pipelines for automated tests and deployment.
• Experience building or maintaining network-facing software – handling connection lifecycles, protocol implementation, or communication reliability in production systems.
• Understanding of fundamentals in computer networking (L2–L4), transport protocols, congestion control, and distributed systems.
• Experience designing systems for constrained, high-latency, intermittent, and/or expensive links (e.g., satellite, maritime, remote ops).
• Familiarity with security principles for networked systems (authentication/authorization, encryption, key management).
• Ability to work in a fast-paced and self-starting atmosphere.
• Ability to communicate thoughtfully and empathetically with people from many different educational and professional backgrounds.
• Motivation and curiosity to learn a wide variety of concepts across many disciplines, not just software engineering!

Desired Qualifications

• Experience with Rust, particularly in building reliable, high-performance software systems.
• Experience with real-time or safety-adjacent systems where reliability is critical.
• Background in robotics, aerospace, or marine systems with a focus on data processing.
• Familiarity with time-series databases, streaming analytics, and data pipelines for telemetry and monitoring applications.
• Experience with containerized build environments for developing, testing, and deploying software.

Additional Requirements

• Intermittently able to work longer hours and weekends to support critical needs.

Compensation and Benefits

• Cash compensation of $175,000–$230,000.
• Equity in the company. We’re all owners and if we’re successful, this equity should be far and away the most valuable component of your compensation.
• A benefits package that helps you take care of yourself and your family, including:
• Flexible paid time off
• Health insurance (the company pays 100% of gold level PPO plan for full time employees, their partners, and dependents)
• Dental insurance (the company pays 33% for full time employees and 100% for their partners and dependents)
• Vision insurance (the company pays 100% for full time employees, their partners, and dependents)
• Disability insurance (the company pays 100% for a policy to provide long term financial support if you become disabled)
• Ability to contribute to tax-advantaged accounts, including 401(k), health FSA, and dependent care FSA
• Relocation assistance to facilitate your move to Portland (if needed).

Location

This can be a remote position. Our offices, lab, and shop are located in Portland, Oregon.