Principal Software Engineer (Medical Devices)

ABOUT SANDBOXAQ SandboxAQ is a high-growth company delivering AI solutions that address some of the world's greatest challenges. The company’s Large Quantitative Models (LQMs) power advances in life sciences, financial services, navigation, cybersecurity, and other sectors. We are a global team that is tech-focused and includes experts in AI, chemistry, cybersecurity, physics, mathematics, medicine, engineering, and other specialties. The company emerged from Alphabet Inc. as an independent, growth capital-backed company in 2022, funded by leading investors and supported by a braintrust of industry leaders. At SandboxAQ, we’ve cultivated an environment that encourages creativity, collaboration, and impact. By investing deeply in our people, we’re building a thriving, global workforce poised to tackle the world's epic challenges. Join us to advance your career in pursuit of an inspiring mission, in a community of like-minded people who value entrepreneurialism, ownership, and transformative impact. THE OPPORTUNITY AQMed is developing a next-generation, non-invasive cardiac diagnostic platform designed to revolutionize how heart health is assessed. The team operates at the intersection of regulated medical device development and fast-paced startup innovation, with a strong emphasis on quality, scientific rigor, and patient safety. We are seeking a Principal Software Engineer to serve as the Technical Lead for our medical device software platform. In this role, you will own the software architecture that powers our device—from embedded Linux to the cloud. Crucially, this is not just an execution role; it is a strategic technical leadership role. While we are not asking you to be the Product Manager, we need a Tech Lead who thinks like one. You will architect the system today with a clear vision of what a SaMD (Software as a Medical Device) product needs tomorrow. You will build the technical foundation that allows us to rapidly scale, integrate with hospital systems (EMR), and deploy future AI models, ensuring that our architecture accelerates commercialization rather than constraining it. Candidates located near Palo Alto, CA are strongly preferred. However, we are also open to candidates who can work within the PST time zone. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES System Architecture & Technical Strategy - Own the Platform Architecture: Serve as the final technical authority for the end-to-end software stack, spanning embedded firmware, in-field Linux devices, cloud data pipelines (AWS/GCP), and the clinician-facing web application. - Product-Ready Foundation: Architect with "future-proofing" in mind. Anticipate the needs of future commercialization (e.g., US hospital EMR integration, fleet management, recurring revenue feature toggles, international deployment, federated learning…etc) and build flexible interfaces that will allow a future Product Manager to drive roadmap velocity without major refactors. - Data Path Integrity: Design and maintain a HIPAA-compliant, production-grade data platform that ensures data confidentiality, integrity, and availability from the sensor to the cloud. Execution & Quality Leadership - Drive Quality & Compliance: Lead the engineering team’s adherence to applicable medical device standards (e.g. IEC 62304, ISO 14971) and regulations. You are the gatekeeper ensuring that design outputs (code) meet design inputs (requirements) and that our "move fast" culture never compromises patient safety and critical product functions. - Hands-on Engineering: This is a player-coach role. You will write code, review complex PRs, debug hardware-software integration issues in the lab, and configure CI/CD pipelines. You lead by doing, setting the standard for code quality and testing. - Technical Mentorship: Mentor a growing team of senior and staff engineers, fostering a culture of technical excellence, rigorous review, and psychological safety. Cross-Functional Collaboration - Bridge to Product, Clinical, & Regulatory: Translate product and clinical performance goals into concrete, actionable engineering specifications and development timeline. Ensure that our software capabilities align with our clinical study needs and regulatory plans (e.g. 510(k) and De Novo). HIGHLY DESIRED SKILLS & EXPERIENCE - 10+ years of software engineering experience, with at least 4 years serving as a Technical Lead or Architect for complex, distributed systems. - Deep Medical Device Experience: Proven experience delivering regulated software (IEC 62304 Class B/C) through the full lifecycle, from concept to 510(k)/ De Novo/ PMA submission and post-market support. You understand the "why" behind the regulations. - Product-Aware Mindset: Demonstrated ability to make architectural trade-offs that favor long-term product flexibility and user experience. You can give examples of how you designed a system to accommodate future business needs that weren't yet fully defined. - Full-Stack