Systems Software Engineer

Skip To Job Description Systems Software Engineer Toronto, ON, Canada Full Time Tools Mid Level Share About Xanadu:Xanadu’s mission is to build quantum computers that are useful and available to people everywhere. At Xanadu, we are learners, innovators, researchers, collaborators and problem solvers. We are creating something that has never been built before. What we are doing is extremely hard, the classic moon shot. Few people in their life will be able to be a part of something like this, where if we are successful, the technologies we develop will solve some of the world’s most challenging problems and literally change the world. And that is something to be excited about! Your role and responsibilities:As an Embedded Software Engineer (Software for Hardware) at Xanadu, you will join the software-for-hardware team and help build the control and measurement software for our infrastructure to design and build utility-scale quantum computers in the next decade. You will work alongside Xanadu physicists, electrical engineers, and hardware designers, often supporting experiments directly in the lab. Your main role will involve developing and maintaining software that connects custom hardware — control boards, instruments, and data acquisition systems — to the higher-level framework our scientists use to run experiments. Using common communication protocols, you will write and integrate device drivers behind clean, consistent interfaces so that experiments stay reliable and portable as the hardware evolves. On other days, you will help bring up new hardware, debug issues across the stack, improve how measurement data is captured and managed, and roll out changes safely across many active setups. You will grow to understand Xanadu's hardware control and measurement needs across a range of systems, and take pride in turning prototype-stage code into dependable, maintainable software. Being enthusiastic about best software development practices and clean code, you will also contribute to shared tooling and team efforts that raise the engineering bar across the company. Doing so you will support our scientists and hardware engineers in writing better code and efficiently using the software you and everyone else at Xanadu develops.Basic qualifications and experience:Understanding of the full life cycle of software development, including version control, code review, testing, continuous integration, logging, documentation, maintenance, and user supportSolid (2+ years) experience with Python programming for automation of tools and processes, with the ability to employ programming paradigms such as object oriented and functional programming and related design patterns where applicableSome experience writing software that talks to instruments or hardware — for example, controlling lab equipment, sensors, or measurement devices over protocols like SCPI, IVI, VISA, serial/USB, or TCP/IP (preferably in Python) — or a strong willingness to learnAbility and willingness to troubleshoot and fix issues anywhere in a complex hardware-software stackFamiliarity with Linux (command line, shell scripting), containerization (e.g. Docker), and basic networking concepts (TCP/IP, SSH, ports/firewalls)Exposure to asynchronous or concurrent programming (e.g. async/await, threading, or multiprocessing), useful for device drivers and servers that handle multiple connections at onceCuriosity about new and unfamiliar technologiesExcellent communication skillsDesire to work and ability to thrive in a fast-paced research environmentWillingness to work in Toronto downtown in person >=4 days a weekPreferred qualifications and experience:B.S., M.S., or PhD in computer science, electrical engineering, physics, or related fieldSignificant (>2 years) experience in writing instrumentation drivers and similar software, or experience with lab instrumentation frameworksActivity in open...