Head of Software Platform
Santa Clara, California
Platform /
Full-time /
On-site
Atomic Machines is on Earth to radically advance humanity’s command over matter. Our mission is real-time bits-to-atoms manufacturing of anything at any scale, and to that end, we’re developing an entirely new digital micro-device manufacturing platform that is going to redefine how things are made, and do so while simultaneously enabling the rapid creation at any scale of new classes of machines – think medical micro-robotics, true lab-on-chip microfluidics, tunable antennas, ultrafast high-power and high-frequency RF switching devices and many more. The first device we are building with our platform has exceptional large-scale product/market fit and commercial traction, and we are pushing hard to share it with the world.
Our offices are in Berkeley and Santa Clara, California.
About This Role
We are seeking a well rounded Head of Software Platform to manage and lead the exceptional and growing software team at Atomic Machines. We are building complex systems with custom mechanical and electrical systems, and this is reflected in the full vertical technology stack, which includes custom FPGAs, motion control, comms busses and other electronic/electrical systems, embedded software, real time systems, high-performance IPC/middleware, adaptive planning, machine learning, computer vision and computational geometry. We emphasize modularity for reuse to speed up subsequent builds of nodes with similar needs.
We utilize an agile methodology for near term planning and coordination within a companywide PDP for medium- and long-term planning and cross-team coordination. We organize our teams cross-functionally whenever possible/appropriate and rely heavily on well constructed interfaces to align work. The ideal candidate is a motivational and dynamic people manager who is excellent at leading teams from uncertain starting points with strong first principles thinking and analysis, through to definition and focused execution, ultimately delivering robust commercial products. This leader must be deeply technical, ideally across the disciplines (EE and software at the embedded level up).
What You’ll Do:
- Cross-functional Coordination and Planning:
- Engage with leaders of other engineering disciplines to gather requirements, exchange feedback, and proactively anticipate technical and resource risks.
- Collaborate with leadership, program management, and QA to determine clear project objectives.
- Initially manage projects by setting requirements, goals, and timelines, and track team execution and monitor deadlines, resources, and dependencies. As the company grows, work with project managers to accurately represent and account for EE and embedded work.
- Represent the entire EESW team when interacting with program management and engineering leadership.
- SDE & EE Technical Leadership:
- Deep and extensive technical background.
- Drive architectural clarity, EE/SW design documentation, and code reviews. Refine these processes to build a team culture with high standards, rigorous engineering practices, and a focus on collaboration to achieve the team goals.
- Guide the design and direction of our custom electrical and embedded projects in a manner consistent with the company vision and mission.
- Engage in software, embedded, and electrical engineering tasks and support as needed with a “do whatever it takes” attitude.
- Ensure your team delivers quality engineering architecture and design along with fast, reliable, testable production code; advise engineers on system optimization and tradeoffs.
- Engineering Team Management:
- Lead by example of strong work ethic; communicate context richly to enable high-quality decision making.
- Assign team members to cross-functional and platform engineering efforts.
- Hire exceptional engineers to grow the EESW team as needed to support longer-term AMP and Atomic Machines strategy.
- Provide technical guidance and mentorship to team members in the development of the product as well as for personal career development; manage team member performance.
- Align EESW team objectives and work with company objectives; ensure the team is working effectively within the company PDP (Product Design Process).
What You’ll Need:
- 10+ years of experience in software, electrical engineering, and/or embedded software with at least 5 years managing 5+ person teams of Embedded and/or Electrical Engineers directly in a fast-paced environment.
- Proven experience in shipping a product into production, ideally in robotics or a related field. Needs to be a HW product.
- Understand the interface between embedded and electrical engineering.
- Deep understanding of the principles of electromechanical systems.
- Fast, critical thinker who can productively engage in whiteboard brainstorming sessions, driving clarity and alignment on requirements and approaches, effectively influencing and driving alignment across multiple teams and across disciplines.
- Autonomy; Ability to make remarkable progress in the face of ambiguity.
- Good clear communication, both verbally and in written documentation.
- High amount of team collaboration - ability to ask the right questions.
- Creativity and inventiveness.
- Willingness to learn.
- Bachelor’s degree in software, electrical engineering, or equivalent.
Bonus Points For:
- Experience with CNC or robotic embedded control systems.
- Experience with FPGAs, including soft processors.
- Expertise in FMEA.
$175,000 - $225,000 a year
The compensation for this position includes equity and benefits.
