Senior Software Engineer

Role: Senior Software EngineerLocation: Cambridge, MA — in-person strongly preferredTo apply: Email jobs@lambdasurgical.com with your resume/LinkedIn and three bullets demonstrating evidence of exceptional ability.About Lambda SurgicalLambda Surgical is building physical intelligence for surgery. As more procedures move to camera-based approaches, surgeons increasingly operate from a 2D projection rather than a true spatial understanding of the operative field.Our first product, LambdaGuide, is a LiDAR-based spatial measurement system designed to integrate into existing endoscopic and robotic workflows and improve intraoperative precision. Pending FDA clearance, LambdaGuide has the potential to dramatically change how surgeons measure, navigate, and make decisions inside the body.Backed by some of the world's leading technology investors, Lambda is building toward a future in which surgery is more precise, more intelligent, and more autonomous. Ultimately, we believe LambdaGuide will become the foundation for autonomous surgery by enabling the same core capability that unlocked autonomy in robotics: an adaptive world model that learns from expert human operators.Role OverviewWe're looking for a Senior Software Engineer to own Lambda's software engineering function, from architecture and implementation through release management, deployment, documentation, and long-term maintainability. You will be responsible for the software that ships with LambdaGuide as well as the internal tools that accelerate research, development, manufacturing, and customer demonstrations.This role spans product engineering and rapid technical development. One day you might be implementing production-ready software for an FDA-regulated medical device; the next you might be building an interactive visualization, research prototype, manufacturing utility, or conference demo. You'll work closely with imaging, algorithms, firmware, systems, hardware, and quality engineers to integrate cutting-edge sensing technology into polished, reliable software products.This is an ideal role for someone who enjoys building software across the full stack, creating intuitive user experiences, defining engineering processes, and taking ownership of the complete software lifecycle at an early-stage medical device company.ResponsibilitiesOwn the architecture, development, and long-term technical direction of Lambda's software platform, including product software, visualization tools, internal engineering applications, and device communication.Design and implement production-quality software for LambdaGuide, including user interfaces, visualization, workflow management, device control, configuration, diagnostics, and data management.Develop software to communicate with cameras, embedded systems, sensors, and hardware peripherals.Build intuitive user interfaces that allow surgeons and researchers to visualize images, point clouds, measurements, calibration, and system status in real time.Rapidly prototype research software, customer demos, proof-of-concepts, and internal tools that accelerate engineering, product development, and business development.Collaborate closely with imaging, perception, firmware, systems, and hardware engineers to integrate new capabilities into the product.Build internal software tools for calibration, testing, manufacturing, debugging, data collection, visualization, annotation, and engineering workflows.Optimize software performance for real-time image processing, visualization, and hardware interaction.Own the software release process, including versioning, release planning, deployment, software configuration management, release documentation, and long-term maintenance.Maintain software architecture documentation, design documentation, release notes, technical documentation, and software artifacts required to support design controls and regulatory submissions.Establish software engineering best practices, including coding standards, code reviews, automated testing, CI/CD, issue tracking, and software quality processes.Work closely with Systems Engineering and Quality to ensure software documentation, verification activities, traceability, and cybersecurity documentation support FDA submissions and regulatory compliance.Support customer installations, field debugging, and early product deployments as needed.Ideal BackgroundBachelor's, Master's, or PhD in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, or a related field.5+ years of professional software engineering experience building and shipping production software products.Strong proficiency in C++, Python, and modern software engineering practices.Experience developing desktop applications using Qt or similar GUI frameworks.Experience building software that interfaces with hardware, cameras, embedded systems, robotics, scientific instruments, or medical devices.Strong understanding of software architecture, APIs, multithreading, networking, software configuration management, automated testing, and maintainable codebases.Experience leading software releases for commercial products from development through deployment and long-term maintenance.Experience creating and maintaining software architecture documentation, design documentation, release documentation, and technical documentation.Experience establishing software engineering processes, development workflows, and engineering best practices.Experience with OpenCV, point cloud visualization, OpenGL, Vulkan, DirectX, VTK, or similar visualization libraries is a plus.Experience with CUDA, GPU programming, computer vision, machine learning, robotics, or perception systems is a plus.Experience developing software under a quality management system or regulated environment is preferred.Familiarity with IEC 62304 software lifecycle processes, software configuration management, software verification, and cybersecurity documentation is a strong plus.Experience working in medical devices, surgical robotics, scientific instrumentation, or other safety-critical environments is a plus.Traits We ValueUtmost integrity. We need people who are honest, rigorous, trustworthy, and guided by a strong moral backbone and a genuine desire to do good with their time on earth. We value people who surface the truth quickly, even when it is inconvenient or difficult.High agency. We need people who take ownership, figure things out, create structure where it is missing, and drive ambiguous problems to resolution.Clear communication. We need people who can communicate clearly, directly, and thoughtfully across functions, including engineering, clinical, quality/regulatory, operations, leadership, partners, and customers.Other traits we value: curiosity, first-principles thinking, practical judgment, attention to detail, comfort with ambiguity, low ego, urgency, and excitement to build foundational technology for the future of surgery.