Staff Engineer, Device Software C++

Butterfly Network • Burlington, MA

12h • Hybrid

About The Position

We are seeking a Staff C++ Software Engineer to lead the design and development of a robust C++ Software Development Kit (SDK) for controlling and interfacing with an ultrasound imaging device. This SDK will serve as a common platform used by internal development teams and external partners.
This is a senior individual contributor role for an engineer who is a fast learner, self-starter, and capable of working autonomously in a complex, hardware-adjacent environment. The ideal candidate thrives in ambiguous problem spaces, takes full ownership of technical outcomes, and drives solutions from concept through production and external adoption.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or equivalent practical experience.
• Extensive professional experience developing production-quality software in modern C++ (C++14/17/20).
• Proven experience designing and owning SDKs, platforms, or shared libraries used by multiple teams or external users, with a primary focus on Linux-based systems.
• Comfort and familiarity working with Python.
• Demonstrated ability to quickly learn complex systems involving hardware, firmware, or imaging pipelines.
• Strong architectural and system design skills with an emphasis on clean, intuitive APIs.
• Ability to work independently, prioritize effectively, and drive work forward with minimal direction.
• Deep understanding of memory management, object lifetimes, and performance optimization in C++.
• Experience with multithreading, concurrency, and synchronization in performance-sensitive systems.
• Strong testing discipline, including unit, integration, and hardware-in-the-loop testing strategies.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, especially for technical documentation and cross-team alignment.

Nice To Haves

• Familiarity with real-time operating systems (RTOS) or real-time constraints.
• Familiarity with automatic cross-language wrapper generation (Djinni, SWIG).
• Support Development tools in Qt 6.
• Support complex build systems with multiple build tools and CI pipelines.
• Experience with device drivers, hardware abstraction layers, or firmware interfaces.
• Knowledge of image acquisition, signal processing, or data streaming architectures.
• Experience defining SDK governance, versioning strategies, and long-term technical roadmaps.
• Familiarity with medical software standards (e.g., IEC 62304, ISO 13485, FDA software lifecycle guidance).
• Experience supporting external developers or partners consuming a published SDK.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the technical owner and architect for a C++ SDK controlling an ultrasound imaging device.
• Lead SDK design decisions with a focus on API clarity, usability, scalability, and long-term maintainability.
• Rapidly learn complex device behavior, imaging workflows, and system constraints to make informed design decisions.
• Work autonomously to define requirements, propose solutions, and execute with minimal supervision.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with firmware, hardware, imaging, systems, and product teams to define control and data interfaces.
• Design abstractions for device configuration, image acquisition, real-time data streaming, and system state management.
• Establish best practices for SDK architecture, testing strategy, documentation standards, and release processes.
• Ensure SDK robustness, performance, and reliability in hardware-integrated and real-time contexts.
• Drive SDK versioning, backward compatibility, deprecation policies, and partner-facing release strategy.
• Create and maintain high-quality developer documentation, examples, and reference implementations.
• Mentor and provide technical guidance to other engineers contributing to the SDK or adjacent platform components.
• Support internal teams and external partners with integration, debugging, and advanced use cases.

Benefits

• Comprehensive health insurance, encompassing dental and vision coverage, is provided to all our employees. As a health-tech company, we prioritize the well-being of our teams. Additionally, employees have the option to buy up for enhanced health insurance coverage. We also contribute to Health Savings Account (HSA) accounts for all enrolled employees on an annual basis.
• Comprehensive Employee Assistance Program - we provide access to tools and resources to support your emotional health and day-to-day needs.
• 401k plan and match - we facilitate your retirement goals.
• Eligible employees will have the opportunity to participate in Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP)
• Unlimited Paid Time Off + 10 Holiday Days a Year - recharge and come back ready to make an impact
• Parental Leave - we aim to provide our employees with time to bond with their growing family, along with additional support for primary caregivers to help transition back to work
• Competitive salaried compensation - we value our employees and show it
• Equity - we want every employee to be a stakeholder
• The opportunity to build a revolutionary healthcare product and save millions of lives!

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior