Salary :
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About Subsense
The Opportunity
We are looking for a hands-on Scientific Instrumentation Software Engineer to build the systems that connect advanced laboratory hardware, experimental workflows, and scientific data into a reliable, usable platform. In this role, you will design and develop Python-based software for instrument control, experiment orchestration, data acquisition, visualization, and desktop tools used directly by hardware, research, and data teams.
You will work at the intersection of software, hardware, and science, helping transform early laboratory prototypes into robust systems that can support repeatable experiments and scalable development. This includes building abstraction layers over vendor SDKs and device APIs, coordinating multiple instruments with precise timing and triggers, creating user interfaces for technical operators, and developing logging and validation tools that improve confidence in experimental results.
Key Responsibilities
- Design and build Python-based software to control, coordinate, monitor, and visualize signals from sophisticated laboratory hardware.
- Design and build desktop user interfaces and internal tools to this end
- Develop software abstraction layers over vendor SDKs, PyVISA/SCPI, serial, USB/Ethernet, DAQ systems, analog/digital I/O, and equipment-specific APIs.
- Implement experiment orchestration software that coordinates multiple instruments, manages timing, handles triggers, and supports synchronized data acquisition.
- Work with hardware engineers to define and document hardware/software interface specifications
- Build reliable data acquisition and logging pipelines for raw signals, instrument state, metadata, calibration information, and experimental outputs in collaboration with data scientists/engineers.
- Manage software environments, drivers, dependencies, and deployment across laboratory computers and hardware-connected systems.
- Write tests, simulations, and validation tools to improve reliability, maintainability, and confidence in hardware/software behavior.
- Troubleshoot issues spanning device communication, hardware integration, data acquisition, user interfaces, and experiment workflows.
- Partner with hardware, research, data science, and product teams to turn early prototypes into robust, usable laboratory systems.
- Help establish engineering patterns, documentation practices, and code quality standards as the team grows.
What You'll Bring
Must Have Experience
- Strong Python experience, especially in scientific, hardware-adjacent, or data acquisition contexts.
- Experience building software for laboratory instruments, test systems, robotics, automation, imaging systems, embedded systems, or other hardware-integrated environments.
- Familiarity with instrument communication and control patterns such as PyVISA/SCPI, serial communication, vendor SDKs, DAQ APIs, analog/digital I/O, TTL triggers, or hardware synchronization.
- Experience building user interfaces for technical users, ideally with PyQt(Graph), PySide, Qt, or similar desktop GUI frameworks (e.g. ScopeFoundry).
- Comfort working across the boundary between software, hardware, and data science, including debugging with incomplete documentation, ambiguous prototypes, and evolving system requirements.
- Practical understanding of data acquisition, signal handling, timing, logging, metadata capture, and reproducible experiment workflows.
- Ability to write maintainable, testable code and document systems clearly for both software and hardware collaborators.
- Strong communication skills and ability to partner across hardware, research, data science, engineering, and product teams.
- Self-directed, resourceful, and comfortable operating in an early-stage environment.
Nice to Have
- Experience with NI-DAQmx, Measurement Computing, LabJack, Digilent, or similar DAQ systems.
- Experience with NumPy, SciPy, pandas, visualization tools, and scientific data formats (zarr, hdf5, etc).
- Familiarity with concurrency, multiprocessing, async/event-driven programming, or streaming data pipelines.
- Experience with C++, microcontrollers, firmware, embedded Linux, or real-time control systems.
- Experience with cameras, microscopes, optical systems, electrophysiology systems, motion stages, signal generators, oscilloscopes, or other scientific instrumentation.
- Experience in packaging/deploying software across multiple lab machines, including systems with hardware drivers and OS-specific dependencies.
- Location: Palo Alto, CA
$120,000 - $160,000 a year
Subsense is an equal-opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.
We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.
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