Senior Desktop Applications Software Engineer

Realtime Robotics•Boston, MA

12h•Hybrid

About The Position

We're redefining how robots are deployed. Our platform enables users to simulate, test, and optimize entire robotic systems in parallel. By removing the barriers that have kept advanced robotics out of reach for all but the largest players, we're ushering in a new era of manufacturing, one where mass reshoring is not only viable, but inevitable. We are searching for a motivated Senior Desktop Applications Engineer to drive the development of our cross platform desktop client, the application that puts Realtime's optimization and simulation capabilities directly on an engineer's workstation, connected to our cloud platform. This person will play a vital role on the team, set the technical direction for the desktop codebase, and help shape how customers experience our technology day to day. You will bring deep cross platform expertise to a product that has to feel native on Windows, macOS, and Linux while staying tightly integrated with our cloud services.

Requirements

5+ years of professional software engineering experience, including production desktop applications.
Deep, hands on experience developing desktop applications in Electron, including main and renderer process architecture, IPC, preload scripts, and the security model.
Demonstrated cross platform development experience: you have shipped and supported the same application on multiple platforms, and you know where the platforms diverge.
Strong TypeScript and modern JavaScript, with fluency in React and the surrounding frontend tooling.
Experience with desktop packaging, code signing, notarization, and auto update (electron builder, Electron Forge, or equivalent).
Ability to debug across process and language boundaries: renderer, main, native modules, and the network.
Strong software engineering habits, including version control, code review, and automated testing across multiple target platforms.
Strong English communication skills, both verbal and written.
Ability to work from our Boston, MA office approximately 50% of the time (US work authorization is required).
Self driven and able to solve challenging technical problems.
Desire to work in a fast paced startup environment.

Nice To Haves

Experience building desktop applications that communicate with a cloud backend: REST or gRPC, WebSockets or other streaming transports, OAuth/OIDC and token refresh, and large file upload and download.
C++ experience, particularly integrating native libraries into a JavaScript runtime via N API, node gyp, or WebAssembly.
Experience with offline first or local first architectures and conflict resolution on reconnect.
3D graphics experience on the web stack: Three.js, WebGL, or WebGPU.
Familiarity with CAD, mesh, or robot program file formats, or with industrial robot vendor toolchains.
Experience setting up multi platform CI (GitLab CI, GitHub Actions) for signed, reproducible desktop builds.
Familiarity with crash reporting and client telemetry tooling such as Sentry.
Experience with enterprise software distribution, licensing, or air gapped installation.
Background in robotics, industrial automation, simulation, or another complex engineering tool domain.

Responsibilities

Guide the architecture, development, and release of our desktop application, shipping to Windows, macOS, and Linux from a single codebase.
Build rich, responsive interfaces in TypeScript and React, including interactive 3D visualization of multi robot workcells.
Maintain the boundary between the desktop client and our cloud backend, including authentication, job submission, streaming progress, and synchronization of large workcell and simulation artifacts.
Keep the application fast and honest about its state when the network is slow, intermittent, or absent, with a local first data model and clean reconciliation on reconnect.
Manage the release pipeline: multi platform CI builds, code signing and notarization, and auto update delivery to customer machines.
Integrate native and C++ components (geometry, kinematics, and robot vendor SDKs) into the desktop runtime.
Harden the application for enterprise deployment: context isolation, sandboxing, CSP, secure credential storage, and IT friendly installers.
Instrument the client with crash reporting and telemetry, and use that data to drive real performance and reliability work.
Partner with product, design, robotics, and cloud engineers to decide what belongs on the desktop and what belongs in the cloud.
Help determine product and technical priorities while contributing to development in a fast moving technology company.