Software Architect - PACSystems Platform

Emerson•Round Rock, TX

1d•Onsite

About The Position

Emerson is seeking an experienced Software Architect to provide technical leadership for its PACSystems technologies. This role involves setting technical direction across embedded firmware, workstation applications, and hybrid industrial software solutions. The architect will guide engineers developing controller firmware, PLC programming, industrial communications, distributed computing, and engineering workstation software. PACSystems are used by leading companies in discrete and hybrid manufacturing to control critical processes. The architect will be responsible for setting architecture direction, selecting technologies, prioritizing technical work, mentoring developers, and collaborating with product marketing, product management, and engineering leaders. The role requires strong experience with high-performance embedded real-time systems and PLCs, and the ability to align technical decisions with customer needs, product strategy, and business value. The organization is committed to technical excellence, Agile principles, and mentorship.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Software Engineering, or a related STEM discipline
At least 9 years of relevant software engineering experience, or at least 8 years of relevant experience with a master's degree
Experience working on high-performance embedded real-time systems
Experience working with PLCs, industrial controllers, or industrial automation systems
Strong experience with C and C++ software development
Experience with real-time operating systems such as VxWorks or RT Linux
Experience designing software for distributed systems, concurrent systems, or systems with strict timing and reliability constraints
Demonstrated ability to make architecture decisions, evaluate technical tradeoffs, and guide teams toward practical implementation
Experience mentoring engineers, leading technical discussions, and reviewing software designs
Strong communication skills with the ability to work across engineering, product management, product marketing, and leadership stakeholders
Legal Authorization to work in the United States – sponsorship will not be provided for this role

Nice To Haves

Experience serving as a technical lead, software architect, principal engineer, or senior technical decision-maker for complex software products
Deep understanding of PLC runtime behavior, deterministic control execution, industrial communications, and controller-level software architecture
Experience with industrial Ethernet and industrial internet protocols such as EtherNet/IP, PROFINET, Modbus TCP, OPC UA, MQTT, or related technologies
Experience developing or leading workstation applications used for configuration, programming, diagnostics, monitoring, visualization, or system management
Experience with edge computing, industrial IoT, distributed control systems, high-availability architectures, or fault-tolerant systems
Experience balancing product feature development, platform modernization, technical debt reduction, and long-term architecture evolution
Experience partnering with product marketing or product management to translate market needs into technical direction and prioritized execution plans
Familiarity with automated testing, CI/CD pipelines, hardware-in-the-loop testing, system simulation, and release-quality validation practices
Experience applying Agile, SAFe, or other structured development practices in a cross-functional engineering organization
Experience using AI-assisted development tools, specification-driven workflows, or structured engineering practices to improve clarity, quality, and speed of delivery
Ability to explain complex technical issues in clear, practical language for both technical and non-technical audiences

Responsibilities

Define and communicate technical direction for PACSystems software across embedded firmware, controller runtime, industrial communications, workstation applications, and hybrid software capabilities.
Guide architecture decisions for high-performance, real-time, distributed industrial automation systems where deterministic behavior, timing constraints, reliability, scalability, and maintainability are critical.
Evaluate and select technologies, frameworks, tools, and design approaches that support product strategy, long-term maintainability, development efficiency, quality, security, and customer needs.
Partner with engineering leaders, product management, and product marketing to prioritize work, balance feature delivery with technical debt reduction, and align engineering execution with customer and business priorities.
Provide technical leadership for embedded firmware and runtime software developed in C and C++ on Linux, VxWorks, and real-time operating environments supporting PLC execution, industrial control, and distributed controller platforms.
Provide technical guidance for workstation applications used to configure, program, visualize, diagnose, monitor, and manage PACSystems automation solutions.
Work closely with product marketing, product management, systems engineering, firmware teams, application teams, quality teams, release management, and customer-facing stakeholders to ensure technical solutions meet market needs and product commitments.
Coach and mentor less experienced developers, helping them grow their technical judgment, design skills, debugging abilities, understanding of industrial automation, and ability to deliver high-quality software.
Engage openly with teammates, actively seek feedback, and commit to continuous improvement in both work and craft.
Promote strong engineering practices including code reviews, automated testing, CI/CD, system-level validation, hardware-in-the-loop testing, specification-driven development, and thoughtful use of AI-assisted development tools.
Lead investigation and resolution of complex technical issues involving timing behavior, concurrency, memory usage, performance, communication latency, system reliability, and distributed control behavior.
Help translate customer needs, product strategy, market expectations, and technical realities into clear architectural direction and executable engineering plans.