Senior/Staff Software Engineer, Robotic Manufacturing Systems

Atomic Machines is building the Matter Compiler™, the first in a new class of AI-native, all-digital manufacturing systems that build working machines directly from code. The Matter Compiler™ is aimed at micro-machines: motors and gears the size of a grain of sand, robots small enough to work inside the body, cooling built directly into the chips that run AI, and the many devices like them that have been waiting on a way to build them. Its first product is PrimeSwitch™, an electromechanical power relay the size of a button battery that carries 150 amps continuous current and opens in 50 microseconds, about a thousand times faster than a conventional contactor. Founded by Jeff Holden — serial entrepreneur, ex-Amazon SVP and Uber’s first Chief Product Officer — the company has raised $250 million to date. Atomic Machines is based in the San Francisco Bay Area, with offices in Emeryville and Santa Clara. Why This Role Matters Right Now We are building the hardened execution layer for a new kind of fab. The team already has deep expertise in data engineering and algorithms. We need a hands-on software engineer with deep architectural experience and systems thinking to work directly with these experts and turn that expertise into simple, dependable software. The primary responsibility is managing software complexity: defining clear responsibilities and interfaces, limiting coupling, and making the system easier to understand, test, operate, and change. Fluency in data and optimization, and a willingness to work with hardware support that responsibility. What You’ll Do: • Design and build the distributed software systems that coordinate state, timing, and behavior across manufacturing hardware; write, test, and debug sensors, actuators, and process controllers under real-time and reliability constraints. • Design workflows that bridge manual and automated process steps, and coordinate handoffs between production and process development. • Evolve the existing system in place — including but not limited to API development to govern machine behavior across our fleet— as the architecture converges, without waiting for a clean-slate rewrite to start delivering value. • Instrument systems so machine and process data is legible — not just to humans via logs, but structured for downstream AI/ML consumption. • Investigate and resolve issues that span software, firmware, and physical systems. • Establish and model software engineering practices — testing, code review, CI/CD, documentation — appropriate for a team that's outgrown its current ones. • Contribute to system reliability through structured observability, fault handling, and graceful degradation. • Collaborate closely with mechanical, electrical, and process engineers to translate physical constraints into resilient software behavior. • Partner with engineering leadership to help converge competing architectural visions into one well-reasoned direction, rather than waiting for it to be handed down. What You’ll Need: • 5+ years building production software; productive in any of the following languages: Python and (Golang or C++) • Demonstrated meaningful ownership of architectural decisions in a complex production system • Demonstrate first-principles thinking with sound instincts for strategic tradeoffs. • Closed-loop experience: Operated or evolved the system long enough to observe the consequences of those decisions, explain what worked and failed, and improve the architecture. • Production ownership: Experience testing, operating, and safely migrating systems where correctness matters. • Collaboration: Translate expert knowledge and user needs into software requirements and acceptance criteria. • Domain fluency: Discuss data models, transactions, and durable history with data engineers; objectives, constraints, inputs, and outputs with optimization experts. • Experience with Hardware: Demonstrated interaction with equipment. Have had to understand and troubleshoot physical workflows. • Has willingness to work directly with fab equipment • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, or related field, or equivalent experience. The compensation for this position also includes equity and benefits. Salary Range $180,000—$230,000 USD Atomic Machines is an equal opportunity employer that values diversity and does not discriminate based on characteristics protected by applicable law. We are committed to an inclusive interview experience, including for individuals with disabilities. To request an accommodation, contact rc@atomicmachines.com. To help our recruiting team manage application volume and respond to candidates more efficiently, Atomic Machines may use AI-assisted tools.