Lead/Principal Software Engineer

Current Surgical Inc. • San Francisco, CA

8d

About The Position

Current Surgical is a startup company developing technology on the frontier of engineering and biology. Our first product is a smart microinvasive needle that precisely destroys tumors without damaging healthy tissue, allowing doctors to treat cancers that are untreatable today. Our technology is backed by the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, and top tier venture capital firms (True Ventures, Draper, 1517, and SciFounders) interested in dramatically improving the accuracy and accessibility of surgery.

We are looking for a lead software engineer who is excited to develop technology at the forefront of medical devices and precision surgery. You will be the foundation of our software organization, writing most of the code yourself at first, and its architect and first manager as we grow through first-in-human studies and beyond. Working directly with the co-founders, you will design, develop, and test the software at the heart of our clinical prototype: robust infrastructure that coordinates communication between a number of hardware devices, sustains high-performance data and image processing, and offers a compelling, responsive user interface.

These are difficult hands-on engineering challenges that integrate biophysics, image processing, deep learning, novel electronics, ultrasound, and real-time signal processing that can only be solved with a tight-knit multidisciplinary team. You will work closely with the mechanical, electrical, and research teams, as well as directly with clinicians, to achieve our fundamental clinical goals. The software you architect will be used in our first human procedures.

You will help define the foundational infrastructure of the company, judging what "just enough process" means at each stage. This includes how to trade off prototyping velocity with longer term regulated development concerns (IEC 62304 lifecycle, ISO 14971 risk management, ISO 13485 traceability). You will also set our policy for AI-assisted development: where modern tools accelerate us, and where the verification burden in a regulated software lifecycle outweighs the benefit.

Requirements

• 8+ years building complex systems software, with demonstrated ownership of the architecture of a multi-device, data-intensive, or real-time system
• A strong individual contributor who has also mentored or led engineers (and wants to continue to do so)
• Proficiency in Python, plus depth in at least one systems language (C, C++, or Rust)
• Entrepreneurial, self-motivated, and independent; excellent technical and analytical capability, coupled with strong written and verbal communication skills
• Willingness to work within (and help build) a regulated medical software quality system
• Deep understanding in several of the following: 2D and 3D medical image handling and visualization (VTK, ITK, or similar)
• Deep understanding in several of the following: Communication and coordination between hardware devices: messaging libraries such as ZeroMQ, DDS, or gRPC, down through lower-level protocols (CAN, USB, etc.)
• Deep understanding in several of the following: Robust real-time software design: real-time operating systems such as QNX, or real-time Linux with deterministic scheduling
• Deep understanding in several of the following: Desktop user interface design and architecture (e.g., MVP, MVVM, Elm architecture), ideally with Qt in Python (PySide or PyQt)
• Deep understanding in several of the following: High-rate data logging, numeric analysis (numpy, scipy), and image processing (opencv, scikit-image)

Nice To Haves

• Prior development under IEC 62304 / ISO 13485 design controls
• Experience in surgical robotics, surgical navigation, or image-guided surgery
• General knowledge of medical imaging (e.g., ultrasound, CT, MRI); experience applying image processing, computer vision, and/or deep learning techniques to medical images
• Experience with ultrasound prototyping hardware (e.g., Verasonics, Cephasonics)
• Familiarity with cloud backends (e.g., Google Cloud) for offloading data and processing, including setting up machine learning pipelines

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and test the software at the heart of our clinical prototype: robust infrastructure that coordinates communication between a number of hardware devices, sustains high-performance data and image processing, and offers a compelling, responsive user interface.
• Help define the foundational infrastructure of the company, judging what "just enough process" means at each stage.
• Trade off prototyping velocity with longer term regulated development concerns (IEC 62304 lifecycle, ISO 14971 risk management, ISO 13485 traceability).
• Set our policy for AI-assisted development: where modern tools accelerate us, and where the verification burden in a regulated software lifecycle outweighs the benefit.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: Associate degree