Senior Software Engineer
The Studio
This studio brings things to life that shouldn't exist. We're engineers, designers, and obsessives who create massive kinetic sculptures, some stretching 50 feet tall. All imagined and led by the founding artist BREAKFAST. Our pieces use thousands of beautifully coordinated actuators and lights and they’re experienced by millions of people around the world. If you've ever wanted to write code that physically moves something enormous and beautiful, this is that job.
We're looking for a Senior Engineer who's equal parts systems thinker, tinkerer, and builder. Someone who grew up poking at hardware, loves low-level problems as much as high-level architecture, and gets genuinely excited about making complex things work, reliably, elegantly, at scale.
This is a hands-on role. You'll be one of the senior voices on a small, tight software team and work shoulder-to-shoulder with our mechanical, electrical, and creative teams to bring some of the most unusual engineering projects on the planet to life.
The Role
Core member to build and support the software side of most everything BREAKFAST makes, from system architecture and backend services to firmware running on embedded devices. You'll design the systems that coordinate thousands of motors and sensors into a single coherent, breathtaking experience.
You'll work closely with our ME's, EE, our Project Director, to realize the vision of BREAKFAST. at every stage: design reviews, development, deployment, and live support at major installs around the world. When something new and mission critical is going up in a plaza in Tokyo or a lobby in New York, you'll be the person who makes sure it works. You'll also help grow and mentor the software team over time, contributing to hiring and shaping how we build into the future.
Responsibilities
- Own and maintain system design and software architecture across the studio’s projects
- Backend and systems, firmware, and UI; you're comfortable at every layer of the stack
- Work with sensors, actuators, and large distributed systems using custom networking protocols
- Manage and maintain Linux systems across embedded, server and cloud environments
- Deploy and provision hardware in the studio and at installs worldwide
- Create and maintain tooling for technicians and designers in production and deployment of art sculptures
- Collaborate daily with mechanical, electrical, firmware, and creative teams
- Participate in design reviews and maintain clear, thorough documentation
- Support live installations, including occasional travel to critical installs globally
- Contribute to hiring and building out the software team
What we're looking for
- 10+ years of professional software engineering experience
- Deep experience with Linux; systems administration, deployment, and development
- Strong in Python, Javascript, C, and/or C++; comfortable moving between them
- Solid understanding of networking stacks, distributed systems, and concurrency
- Good experience with UI development and web frameworks
- Experience with embedded systems, serial protocols, and real-time constraints
- Strong math and physics fundamentals
- A natural problem-solver who thrives wearing many hats in a small, fast-moving team
- Able to deliver under pressure on mission-critical, high-visibility projects
- BS or higher in CS, Engineering, or equivalent experience
Big pluses
- UI & web; what we build need beautiful and functional interfaces too
- Computer vision or depth sensor experience (OpenCV, etc.)
- GPU or graphics programming
- Robotics or controls background
- Comfort adopting and integrating modern AI tools into your workflow
- Experience with EE concepts or hands-on hardware hacking
- Electronics tools like oscilloscpes, logic analyzers etc
Benefits and Compensation
- Work at a studio unlike any other in the world and have the opportunity to make a real impact.
- Fun, creative, and challenging work environment. Everyone learns something new every day.
- Base salary of $170 - 220k + profit share program
- This is a full-time onsite role in Brooklyn NY, but with option to work remotely when necessary.
- Health, dental, vision insurance, 401k, FSA etc.
- Generous holiday policies.
- Summer Fridays.
- Various weekly and annual activities to encourage a healthy culture.