Principal Systems Developer – Kernel
InterSystems · Boston, MA
$144,000–$205,000
Jul 20, 2026
Boston, MA
Jul 21, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A low-level systems engineering role focused on the core database engine of the IRIS data platform. Day-to-day work involves writing C/C++ code, designing algorithms and data structures, managing concurrency and shared-memory concerns, and maintaining an embedded programming language (ObjectScript). The role suits a seasoned systems programmer with deep knowledge of computer architecture, operating systems, and concurrency, comfortable working on long-lived, mission-critical infrastructure.
Senior level · 10+ years · Boston, MA · Bachelor's required · Full-time
Pay in the description: $144,000–$205,000
“or” means any one of them counts — you don't need all of them.
We read this from the posting text with AI. Skim the description below before ruling yourself out.
How this req sits in the market our data
Roughly 400 people in the Boston, MA area plausibly meet what this posting asks for (software developers). range 300–520
Applicant volume Moderate — A normal amount of company. The rare requirements below are what will separate a shortlisted application from the rest.
What the occupation pays Median $169,742 (middle half $134,780–$187,781). This posting is about at that midpoint.
Estimated from BLS employment for this occupation and area, per-skill prevalence across our listing corpus, and published wage benchmarks — as of Jul 28, 2026. It is a model, not a headcount.
Why we read it this way (6)
C and C++ are listed together as the primary language requirement ('Experience in C or C++'), making them interchangeable gates; both are marked required to reflect that proficiency in at least one is a hard gate.
Assembly is explicitly called 'a plus' in the requirements section — treated as preferred despite appearing near required skills.
Operating systems (Linux, AIX, Windows) appear as platform context in the product description rather than as candidate gates; marked preferred.
ObjectScript (the embedded database language) appears in the responsibilities as something to 'learn, maintain and extend' — not stated as a pre-existing requirement, so marked preferred.
The role's core requirements are largely conceptual (computer architecture, concurrency control, compiler/interpreter methods) rather than named tools; those are omitted per extraction rules as they name no specific technology.
The posting carries no explicit seniority level in the title ('developer'), but 10+ years of low-level systems experience and the scope described align clearly with a Senior band.
Read the full posting
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