Principal Software Engineer - Control Systems at Atom Computing
Austin, TX
$165,000–$200,000
Jul 23, 2026
Austin, TX
Jul 25, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A senior engineering role focused on building and optimizing the low-level control software that runs quantum computing hardware — spanning embedded firmware, real-time operating environments, device drivers, and orchestration layers that coordinate GPUs, FPGAs, and custom electronics. The work involves close collaboration with hardware and physics teams to translate quantum control requirements into production-grade, deterministic, high-throughput software pipelines. Best suited to a seasoned systems engineer with deep experience in hardware-adjacent software and performance-critical environments.
Senior level · 8+ years · Boulder, CO · Bachelor's required · Full-time
Pay in the description: $165,000–$200,000
Advertised as Principal, but the requirements read as Senior.
“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 10 people in the Boulder, CO area plausibly meet what this posting asks for (software developers). range 6–15
Applicant volume Moderate — A normal amount of company. The rare requirements below are what will separate a shortlisted application from the rest.
Rare in this occupation — lead with these, and say what you built with them.
Most people in this occupation already list these. Still required — just not what gets you shortlisted.
What the occupation pays Median $168,179 (middle half $132,051–$211,194). 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 (7)
The title is 'Principal Software Engineer' but the actual requirements — 8+ years of experience, deep hands-on systems work, no explicit org-wide technical authority or cross-org scope — are consistent with a Senior-level individual contributor. The 'Principal' label is treated as advertised seniority only.
The role is based in Boulder, CO or Austin, TX (hybrid, 3 days/week in-office). Boulder CBSA is used as the primary location; Austin is an equally valid alternative site.
C++, Python, Rust, and Go are listed together in the Qualifications section as a proficiency requirement with 'or' framing — C++ is emitted as the primary with Python, Rust, and Go as alternatives for that gate. Python and Rust are also called out separately in the responsibilities narrative ('Rust, Python, C/C++, and CUDA'), so they are additionally emitted as standalone required skills to reflect their independent emphasis.
CUDA/NVIDIA CUDA toolchains is explicitly required in the Qualifications section.
FPGA, GPU, and RTOS appear in the responsibilities and context sections rather than a hard-requirements block, so they are marked preferred.
An advanced degree is noted as 'a plus' — not a hard requirement; only the Bachelor's degree is gated.
Compensation includes base salary ($165K–$200K/year), annual bonus, and equity; bonus and equity are not quantified.
Read the full posting
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