{"id":3136449,"url":"https://alion.io/job/positron-ai-software-engineer-control-plane-seniorprincipal","title":"Software Engineer, Control Plane (Senior/Principal)","company":{"id":63106,"name":"Positron AI","domain":"positron.ai","url":"https://alion.io/company/positron-ai","size_band":"501-1000","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Rippling","truth_index":null},"role":"Backend","role_family":"Backend","seniority":"lead","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"remote","remote_scope":"stated_countries","remote_scope_basis":"posting_text","remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"explicit","locations":[],"countries":[],"hiring_countries":["US"],"hiring_countries_total":1,"salary":{"min":170000,"max":250000,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":250000},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":5,"visa_sponsorship":true,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"Bash","optional":false},{"name":"C++","optional":false},{"name":"Linux","optional":false},{"name":"OpenTelemetry","optional":false},{"name":"Python","optional":false},{"name":"Consul","optional":true},{"name":"Grafana","optional":true},{"name":"PKI","optional":true},{"name":"Prometheus","optional":true}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-08-13T19:15:05Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-08-13","last_verified_at":"2026-10-26T06:00:29Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":73,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":73},"description":"About Positron AI\nPositron AI specializes in developing custom hardware systems to accelerate AI inference. These inference systems offer significant performance and efficiency gains over traditional GPU-based systems, delivering advantages in both performance per dollar and performance per watt. Positron AI exists to create the world's best AI inference systems.\nRole Overview\nWe are looking for a Senior or Principal Software Engineer to contribute to control-plane architecture and hands-on development for Positron AI inference systems. You will write software that connects low-level hardware capabilities to system management, diagnostics, security, and firmware updates. Go is our primary implementation language, with C, C++, Python, Bash, and other languages used where they fit the system boundary.\nThis role can fit a senior/principal software engineer or systems architect who remains a strong, current coder and wants ownership grounded in production implementation. You will set technical direction, define stable secure interfaces, and write, review, profile, and debug production code alongside the team.\nThe scope spans a wide swath of the platform. You will own substantial features end to end, from problem definition and architecture through implementation, integration, testing, and production validation.\nKey Responsibilities\nPlatform Architecture and Implementation\nContribute to the architecture and evolution of the system management services and APIs that control hardware state, resources, diagnostics, updates, and workloads.\nDesign, write, and review production Go, reaching for C, C++, Python, or Bash at the boundaries where they are the right tools.\nWork across the full stack, from web applications and management APIs through Linux services, hardware interfaces, and low-level protocols.\nRefactor critical subsystems to improve modularity, testability, and fault isolation, and to support future hardware generations.\nDefine stable interfaces and data models for orchestration, diagnostics, management tooling, and customer-facing workflows.\nHardware and System Integration\nPartner with internal and external hardware, firmware, and systems engineers to turn low-level capabilities into reliable platform services.\nDebug failures at the board and system level across CPU, memory, drives, USB, I2C, SMBus, PCIe, and in-system accelerators, including FPGAs.\nBuild safe control paths for reboot state, accelerator reset and recovery, hardware health, and resource allocation.\nIntegrate management-controller capabilities, hardware counters, and telemetry into platform APIs and operational workflows.\nDiagnostics, Observability, and Reliability\nExpose diagnostics through platform APIs with persistent results, searchable reporting, and periodic archiving.\nBuild comprehensive metrics, logs, and alerts with configurable sinks, including OpenTelemetry-compatible systems.\nIntegrate external health probes so failed hardware or workloads can be isolated, rescheduled, and recovered safely.\nProfile system behavior, diagnose performance regressions, and drive root causes through to resolution.\nSecurity and Software Lifecycle\nImplement certificate management, role-based access control, pluggable authentication, and integrations with HSM-backed secret stores.\nBuild secure boot, signed-artifact, software and firmware update, and rollback workflows.\nSecure model acquisition and sideloading with appropriate authentication, secret management, and status reporting.\nTechnical Leadership and Engineering Practices\nTranslate product and hardware roadmaps into software architecture, sequenced execution plans, and clear technical decisions.\nLead design and code reviews across software, firmware, hardware, and security boundaries.\nMentor engineers while remaining directly responsible for critical implementation and debugging work.\nOwn complex platform features end to end, define what done looks like, and carry them from architecture through implementation, integration, and production validation.\nApply AI-assisted tools to accelerate implementation, test generation, debugging, profiling, code review, and documentation while maintaining engineering rigor.\nLab Support and Documentation\nSupport system assembly, bring-up, troubleshooting, and racking servers.\nProduce architecture documents, test procedures, runbooks, and release notes, and take on related responsibilities as needed to help the team ship and support the product.\nRequired Qualifications\n5+ years of professional software engineering experience, including technical ownership of production systems software or infrastructure.\nA background in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or Computer Science, through a relevant degree or equivalent practical experience with digital systems and board-level interfaces.\nStrong production experience with Go, spanning concurrent services, API design, testing, profiling, and operational debugging.\nA current hands-on coding practice, writing and debugging production code rather than operating only at the architecture or review level.\nProficiency in at least one additional language used in systems work, such as C, C++, Python, or Bash.\nBroad technical knowledge across web applications, distributed services, Linux systems, device interfaces, and low-level protocols.\nDeep Linux systems knowledge, including processes, networking, storage, resource management, services, and system diagnostics.\nHands-on experience building software that interfaces with hardware through drivers, firmware APIs, management controllers, PCIe, I2C, or comparable boundaries.\nDemonstrated ability to design reliable distributed systems, control planes, or workload-management services.\nStrong debugging and root-cause analysis skills across application, operating system, firmware, and hardware boundaries.\nExperience designing security into platform software, including authentication, authorization, certificates, secrets, and update integrity.\nA track record of carrying substantial features from architecture through implementation, integration, testing, and production operation.\nDemonstrated technical leadership through architecture documents, design reviews, code reviews, mentoring, and cross-functional execution.\nPreferred Qualifications\nExperience with BMC, IPMI, Redfish, embedded Linux, or comparable hardware management software.\nFamiliarity with workload orchestration and service discovery systems such as Consul.\nWorking knowledge of PKI, secure boot, HSMs, artifact signing, and software or firmware update systems.\nExposure to observability systems such as OpenTelemetry, Prometheus, Grafana, or equivalent.\nExperience with hardware accelerators, high-performance computing, or large-scale AI infrastructure.\nBroad-scope ownership experience outside a traditional engineering role, such as leading a small team end to end, bootstrapping a project, or running non-trivial self-hosted infrastructure.\nLeveling & Scope\nWhile this role is currently posted at a specific level, we are a growth-oriented organization and are open to hiring at a more senior level for the right candidate. Please note that this job description serves as a focused but generalized overview of the role; specific responsibilities and impact expectations will be tailored to the experience and seniority of the final hire.\nWhat Success Looks Like\nWithin one year, this person will have established a clear and scalable platform architecture, shipped major production Go implementations, improved hardware diagnostics and recovery, and made system security, updates, and fleet operations more predictable.\nWhy Join Us?\nOwn the software layer that connects custom AI inference hardware to reliable system operations.\nSet architecture and implement critical production code in the same role.\nWork across hardware, firmware, systems software, orchestration, and security with direct influence on the product.\nCompensation & Benefits\nThe base salary range for this role is Senior: $170,000 - $250,000, Principal: $250,000 - $325,000.\nPlease note that the figures provided represent the base salary range only and do not include other elements of our total compensation package, equity, or comprehensive benefits.\nAt Positron AI, we value the unique expertise each candidate brings. While the range above reflects our typical expectation for the position, we reserve the flexibility to exceed this range for candidates whose specialized skills, significant experience, or unique qualifications fall outside the standard scope of the role. Final offers are determined based on a variety of factors, including internal equity, and individual impact.\nBenefits & Perks\nWe want you to do your best work and feel confident that you and your family are taken care of. That means comprehensive coverage, real time to rest, and support for your future.\nHealth and wellness\nFully company-paid medical, dental, and vision insurance for you and your dependents.\nCompany-paid life and disability coverage, with voluntary options to add more.\nSupplemental hospital, critical illness, and accident coverage available.\nTime off and flexibility\nUnlimited paid time off, so you can truly unplug and recharge.\n13 paid company holidays.\nA company-provided computer.\nCompensation and future\nCompetitive salary and equity.\n401(k) with company matching, eligible from day one.\nVisa Support\nThis position is open to candidates currently authorized to work in the U.S. We cannot provide new visa sponsorship for this role but are open to facilitating H-1B visa transfers for eligible candidates.\nEqual Opportunity Employer. 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