Senior IoT Software Engineer (Sunnyvale, CA)

***Please note that our customer is currently not considering applicants from the following locations: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Tennessee.***

Our Customer is a corporation that develops, manufactures, and markets robotic products designed to improve clinical outcomes of patients through minimally invasive surgery. Founded in 1995, their goal was to create innovative, robotic-assisted systems that help empower doctors and hospitals to make surgery less invasive than an open approach. Working with the top medical professionals, they continue to develop new, minimally invasive surgical platforms and future diagnostic tools to help solve complex healthcare challenges around the world.

We are seeking a Software Development Engineer on a contract basis to support our Customer's business needs. This role is on-site in Sunnyvale, CA.

This position will play a key role on the IoMT & Platform Integration team, expanding the MQTT-based IoT architecture across the embedded medical device platforms and AWS cloud infrastructure. This is a 50/50 architecture and hands-on development role — he/she will leverage the MQTT architecture knowledge while actively contributing production-quality C++ and Python code alongside a team of 4 engineers. Close collaboration with internal engineering, cybersecurity, and product teams is expected throughout the engagement. Design proposals are subject to internal architecture and quality review gates.

Responsibilities:

• Support expansion of MQTT-based IoT architecture across embedded medical device platforms and AWS cloud infrastructure
• Produce architecture decision records (ADRs), interface contracts, design specifications, and system diagrams
• Implement connectivity middleware and communication services in C++ and Python on both device and cloud sides
• Architect and implement cloud-side integrations using AWS microservices, including EC2, S3, and related services
• Design and implement security hardening measures, including TLS/mTLS, certificate-based device authentication, topic-level authorization, and PKI lifecycle management
• Design for reliable cloud connectivity, including offline buffering, reconnect strategies, message deduplication, and guaranteed delivery patterns for embedded systems
• Lead and participate in design reviews, incorporating feedback from engineering teams and review gates
• Support debugging and root cause analysis of connectivity issues during migration and integration testing
• Produce comprehensive documentation and conduct knowledge transfer sessions to ensure continuity post-engagement

Skills/Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related technical field
• 10+ years of software engineering experience with at least 5+ years focused on IoT systems architecture
• Deep expertise in C++ and Python for system-level software development
• Strong experience with MQTT, including broker configuration, QoS levels, topic design, retained messages, and MQTT 5.0 features
• Solid understanding of publish/subscribe and RPC messaging patterns, including reliable RPC over pub/sub protocols
• Experience designing and implementing AWS microservices-based architectures
• Strong knowledge of network security fundamentals, including TLS/mTLS, PKI, certificate management, and IoT authorization models
• Experience producing high-quality architecture documentation, including ADRs and interface specifications
• Strong communication skills with the ability to lead design discussions and align technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Quality-focused engineering mindset with clean, maintainable, well-documented code practices
• Ability to work independently and manage technical ambiguity
• Able to work with computers and equipment over extended periods

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in regulated or safety-critical industries such as medical, aerospace, or industrial environments
• Experience with asynchronous, event-driven, and multi-threaded system design
• Familiarity with FMEA or software risk analysis methodologies
• Experience with cloud observability and monitoring tools, such as AWS CloudWatch
• Experience architecting scalable, production-grade distributed systems

We offer a competitive salary range for this position. Most candidates who join our team are hired at the median of this range, ensuring fair and equitable compensation based on experience and qualifications.

Contractor benefits are available through our 3rd Party Employer of Record (Available upon completion of waiting period for eligible engagements) Benefits include: Medical, Dental, Vision, 401k.

An Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.