Principal System Engineer

Analog Devices•Boston, MA

2d•$157,080 - $227,460•Onsite

About The Position

The Dexterous AI Group (DAG) is hiring a System Engineer to own the project at the system level: translating product intent into verifiable requirements, resolving cross-domain trade-offs, and driving the discipline needed to take a design from MVP through pre-production toward volume manufacturing. You will be the person who makes sure the mechanical, electrical, firmware, software, and sensor sub-systems fit together — by design, not by accident.

Requirements

8+ years (12+ years preferred) in systems engineering of complex electromechanical or mechatronic products, including their embedded/host software.
A completed prototype-to-production journey. Direct, hands-on experience taking a hardware and software product from MVP/prototype through to a manufacturable, production-qualified release — not just participation in reviews.
Cross-domain fluency. Comfortable reading CAD drawings, electrical schematics, firmware/sensor specs, and software architecture/API designs well enough to spot interface conflicts, without needing to be the deepest expert in any one domain.
Hands-on tool proficiency. Working proficiency with mechanical CAD (e.g., OnShape or equivalent) and circuit design/schematic-capture tools (e.g., Altium or equivalent) sufficient to review, redline, or directly interrogate designs; enough coding ability (e.g., Python, C++) to script analysis, build small verification/test tooling, or prototype an interface.
Curiosity and initiative around AI. A demonstrated habit of learning new engineering tools and putting them to practical use, with an eagerness to do the same with AI-enabled tools for analysis, documentation, prototyping, and verification. Prior experience building AI or machine-learning systems is not required; sound judgment about when to use these tools and how to validate their output is.
Reliability & test methodology. Working knowledge of DFMEA, DVP&R, root-cause analysis, and structured V&V planning, applied across hardware and software.
Collaboration style. Track record of earning trust and technical authority across engineering teams without formal reporting lines.

Nice To Haves

Domain background. Robotics, sensors, tactile sensing, or dexterous manipulation experience is a strong plus; broader electromechanical and embedded-software product backgrounds (automotive, medical device, consumer electronics) are also welcome.

Responsibilities

Own system requirements. Write and maintain System Requirements Specifications (SRS) and Interface Control Documents (ICD) across mechanical, electrical, firmware, software, and sensor sub-systems.
Lead architecture trade studies. Drive cross-disciplinary decisions (e.g., packaging approach, thermal/mechanical/electrical budget allocation, whether a fix belongs in firmware or host software) where sub-system optima conflict.
Own the hardware–software boundary. Define and maintain the interfaces between sensor/electrical hardware and the software stack that consumes it (calibration, signal processing, drivers/SDK, data formats), so hardware and software teams build to the same contract.
Drive verification & reliability. Own the V&V plan and FMEA process across the product lifecycle (EVT / DVT / PVT), and translate failure risk into design and test requirements — including software and firmware failure modes.
Bridge prototype to production. Identify manufacturability, yield, and process risks before they surface at scale; partner with process/fab and contract manufacturing partners.
Interface with external partners. Define and negotiate system-level interfaces — hardware and software/API — with external collaborators and customers integrating our solutions.
Build the practice. Establish lightweight systems-engineering tooling and documentation standards (requirements traceability, review gates) suited to our team's size and stage.