R&D Software Engineer, Scientific Instrumentation

Agilent Technologies•Santa Clara, CA

4d•$172,512 - $269,550•Hybrid

About The Position

Agilent's mission is to advance the quality of life by applying insights and innovation in science and technology, delivering trusted answers to laboratories in more than 110 countries. As an R&D Software Engineer on our LC/MS team, you will build the instrument-control software at the heart of our next-generation mass spectrometry platforms—work that directly shapes the reliability and performance our customers depend on to bring great science to life. Join our LC/MS R&D team to design, develop, and maintain the software layer that controls next-generation LC/MS and QToF instrumentation. Working at the intersection of software, electronics, and analytical instrumentation, you will build the hardware-control and data-acquisition infrastructure that enables reliable, high-performance mass spectrometry. You will collaborate with electrical engineers, firmware developers, scientists, systems engineers, and product teams to deliver software that interfaces directly with instrument subsystems—including acquisition electronics, RF systems, detectors, vacuum components, and embedded controllers.

Requirements

Bachelor's, Master's, or Ph.D. in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, Analytical Chemistry, or a related field.
8+ years developing software for scientific instruments, industrial systems, medical devices, or other hardware-intensive products.
Strong programming skills in C, C++, and/or C#.
Experience developing instrument-control software, hardware-communication layers, or device drivers.
Experience interfacing software with embedded systems, FPGA-based electronics, motion-control systems, sensors, or data-acquisition hardware.
Experience with communication protocols such as Ethernet, TCP/IP, USB, Serial, CAN, SPI, or I2C.
Strong understanding of multi-threaded and real-time software design.
Experience debugging hardware/software interactions with tools such as oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and protocol analyzers.
Strong problem-solving and communication skills.

Nice To Haves

Experience with mass spectrometry, chromatography, spectroscopy, or other analytical instrumentation.
Knowledge of QToF, ion mobility, detector electronics, timing systems, or high-speed data-acquisition architectures.
Experience working with FPGA and firmware development teams.
Familiarity with distributed control systems and hardware abstraction architectures.
Experience using Python for automation, testing, and diagnostics.
Experience in regulated or quality-controlled product-development environments.

Responsibilities

Design, develop, and maintain instrument-control software and hardware-interface layers for LC/MS and QToF platforms.
Build software for device communication, hardware control, synchronization, and real-time data acquisition.
Create and maintain hardware abstraction layers, drivers, and communication frameworks for instrument subsystems.
Partner with electrical, FPGA, firmware, and systems engineers to integrate new hardware designs into production platforms.
Diagnose and resolve complex hardware/software integration issues across electronics, controllers, sensors, and acquisition systems.
Optimize software performance, reliability, fault tolerance, and deterministic operation of instrument-control systems.
Participate in architecture reviews and help establish best practices for instrument software development.
Support verification, validation, and troubleshooting throughout instrument development and release.
Contribute to long-term software architecture for next-generation mass spectrometry platforms.