description Job Description
<div class="content-intro"><p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/XN94Hg4.png" alt="" width="900" style="max-width: 100%;"></p>
<p> </p></div><p><strong><span data-contrast="none"><span data-ccp-parastyle="heading 2">The Role</span></span><span data-ccp-props="{"134245418":true,"134245529":true,"335559738":160,"335559739":80}"> </span></strong></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">The Senior Systems Software Engineer will be a member of the core team building the Quantum Key Distribution system. The focus is on high-performance Python services on Linux, algorithm optimization and acceleration (also via hardware offload), and the role spans defining software architecture, integrating with FPGA/embedded subsystems, and turning requirements into reliable, observable software. </span><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">The Senior Systems Software Engineer leads and co-owns the overall </span><span data-contrast="auto">internal QKD </span><span data-contrast="auto">software architecture and client-facing software API. By setting engineering standards, mentoring, and unblocking delivery, they ensure predictable releases and a strong execution cadence.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p>
<p><strong><span data-contrast="none"><span data-ccp-parastyle="heading 2">The Responsibilities</span></span><span data-ccp-props="{"134245418":true,"134245529":true,"335559738":160,"335559739":80}"> </span></strong></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">The Senior Systems Software Engineer should expect to work in the following activities.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p>
<ul>
<li data-leveltext="ο·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="3" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"ο·","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1"><span data-contrast="auto">System architecture</span>
<ul>
<li data-leveltext="ο·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="3" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"ο·","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1">Leading and co-owning the QKD software architecture: control plane services, key sifting/postprocessing integration, configuration management, monitoring, and external interfaces </li>
<li data-leveltext="ο·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="3" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"ο·","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1">Defining module boundaries and service APIs; evolving the system toward clear data/control-plane separation<span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li data-leveltext="ο·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="3" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"ο·","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="2" data-aria-level="1"><span data-contrast="auto">Efficient implementation and hardware/software integration</span>
<ul>
<li data-leveltext="ο·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="3" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"ο·","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="2" data-aria-level="1">Designing and implementing high-performance Python services on Linux (asyncio, WebSockets, NumPy); profiling and tuning for latency and throughput</li>
<li data-leveltext="ο·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="3" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"ο·","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="2" data-aria-level="1">Developing, profiling, and optimizing <span data-contrast="auto">QKD sifting and postprocessing algorithms</span><span data-contrast="auto"> (signal handling/processing, error correction/information reconciliation, LDPC, privacy amplification) to maximize key rate and minimize end-to-end latency; applying algorithmic improvements and implementation techniques (vectorization, concurrency/async, memory/layout tuning, C/C++ extensions, SIMD/CUDA/GPU/FPGA offload where appropriate)</span></li>
<li data-leveltext="ο·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="3" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"ο·","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="2" data-aria-level="1">Defining and maintaining robust interfaces with embedded/FPGA system components over UART/USB/PCIe/Ethernet; respecting realtime constraints and failure modes </li>
<li data-leveltext="ο·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="3" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"ο·","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="2" data-aria-level="1">Guiding downstream system integration (WebSockets/gRPC/REST) and ensuring clear contracts and backward compatibility</li>
<li data-leveltext="ο·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="3" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"ο·","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="2" data-aria-level="1">Designing for test β building mocks/simulators and automated test systems<span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li data-leveltext="ο·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="3" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"ο·","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="3" data-aria-level="1"><span data-contrast="auto">DevOps</span>
<ul>
<li data-leveltext="ο·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="3" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"ο·","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="3" data-aria-level="1">Building and maintaining CI/CD with Docker and GitHub Actions; automated tests, static analysis, artifact management, and release pipelines</li>
<li data-leveltext="ο·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="3" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"ο·","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="3" data-aria-level="1">Establishing observability (structured logging, metrics, tracing) and operational runbooks; improving reliability and debuggability with SLOs/alerts</li>
<li data-leveltext="ο·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="3" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"ο·","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="3" data-aria-level="1">Embedding security and crypto hygiene by default: secure transport, secrets management, key handling, and coordination with cryptography stakeholders</li>
<li data-leveltext="ο·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="3" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"ο·","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="3" data-aria-level="1">Adding performance benchmarking and regression tracking for key rate and end-to-end latency; integrating profiling/flame graphs into CI and enforcing performance budgets<span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong><span data-contrast="none"><span data-ccp-parastyle="heading 2">The Requirements</span></span><span data-ccp-props="{"134245418":true,"134245529":true,"335559738":160,"335559739":80}"> </span></strong></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">The Senior Systems Software Engineer is expected to have the following qualifications and experience.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p>
<ul>
<li data-leveltext="ο·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="10" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"ο·","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1"><span data-contrast="auto">5+ years of Python development; 3+ years leading or co</span><span data-contrast="auto">β</span><span data-contrast="auto">owning service/system architecture for a hardware</span><span data-contrast="auto">β</span><span data-contrast="auto">first product</span><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li data-leveltext="ο·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="10" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"ο·","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="2" data-aria-level="1"><span data-contrast="auto">Strong Linux async Python (asyncio, WebSockets), concurrency (threads/processes), profiling/tuning</span><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li data-leveltext="ο·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="10" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"ο·","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="3" data-aria-level="1"><span data-contrast="auto">Proven custom hardware integration (MCU, FPGA) over UART/USB/PCIe/Ethernet</span><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li data-leveltext="ο·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="10" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"ο·","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="4" data-aria-level="1"><span data-contrast="auto">CI/CD with Docker and GitHub Actions; automated testing, static analysis, artifact management</span><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li data-leveltext="ο·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="10" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"ο·","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="5" data-aria-level="1"><span data-contrast="auto">Experience with GPU & CUDA acceleration/optimization; SIMD familiarity</span><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li data-leveltext="ο·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="10" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"ο·","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="6" data-aria-level="1"><span data-contrast="auto">Production observability (logging/metrics/tracing) and incident/debug practices</span><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li data-leveltext="ο·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="10" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"ο·","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="7" data-aria-level="1"><span data-contrast="auto">Working knowledge of relational/key-value/time-series stores (PostgreSQL/Redis/Prometheus) </span><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li data-leveltext="ο·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="10" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"ο·","