Staff Software Engineer

Staff Software Engineer

Parallel Systems is seeking a Staff Software Engineer to lead the design, development, and optimization of critical system applications. In this role, you will shape the technical direction of our high-performance backend systems that enable our autonomous rail vehicles to safely and securely navigate the rail network, while integrating seamlessly with customer train control and enterprise systems.

This position requires deep expertise in systems programming and distributed architectures, as well as the ability to guide technical strategy, mentor engineers, and collaborate across product and hardware teams to deliver reliable, scalable solutions.

Responsibilities

• Architect the design of high-performance, low-latency backend systems for mission-critical train control applications
• Develop and maintain system-level software written primarily in Rust, ensuring scalability, safety, and reliability
• Drive system-wide optimizations, including performance, memory management, and fault tolerance
• Partner with product, hardware, and operations teams to align technical solutions with business and customer needs
• Lead technical design reviews and contribute to long-term architectural roadmaps for distributed, safety-critical systems
• Provide technical mentorship and guidance to engineers across the software team
• Define best practices for secure, compliant, and highly available software in production environments
• Contribute to integration efforts with customer enterprise and train control systems
• When appropriate, step into project leadership, ensuring milestones are well-defined and achieved

What Success Looks Like

• After 30 Days: You have developed a deep understanding of our backend architecture and are actively shaping technical discussions. You’ve identified areas for improvement in reliability and scalability
• After 60 Days: You’ve led the design of a new or improved subsystem architecture, balancing technical tradeoffs and product needs, and gained buy-in from engineering and leadership
• After 90 Days: You’ve delivered major features from design through deployment in both simulation and hardware environments, while providing technical leadership that guides the future roadmap of our back-office and vehicle systems

Basic Requirements

• 8+ years of experience in backend or systems-level software development, with at least 2 years in a senior or staff-level technical role
• Professional experience in C, C++, Rust, or other systems programming languages
• Strong background in operating systems, networking, and concurrency models
• Proven experience architecting highly available, high-performance distributed systems
• Expertise with Linux environments, low-level system interactions, and memory management
• Demonstrated success in leading technical design, setting direction, and mentoring other engineers
• Strong debugging, profiling, and performance optimization skills for complex, distributed environments

Preferred Qualifications

• Production experience with Rust or strong desire to work with Rust
• Experience in safety-critical domains such as autonomous vehicles, industrial control, or aerospace
• Knowledge of rail control systems (strong plus)
• Familiarity with cloud-based architectures and containerized environments (Docker, Kubernetes)
• Ability to work cross-functionally and balance technical depth with product impact