Senior Application Engineer Location: Palo Alto, CA (Hybrid: ~3 days/week) Employment Type: Full-Time Compensation: ~$134,000–$190,000 base + bonus/equity
For the past decade, my client has been building safety-critical autonomous software deployed across autonomous mobility, robotics, marine, agriculture, automotive, and defense Industries. They’re currently looking for a Senior Application Engineer withexpertC++ engineering and real-world deployment solutions.
Why This Role Matters
You’ll help customers successfully implement complex, safety-critical software while influencing how the product evolves. This is not back-office support—you’ll be hands-on with production systems that matter.
What You Will Do
Develop and extend C++ applications and solutions built on core SDKs and platforms
Deploy software to customer environments and support integration efforts
Collaborate with internal engineering teams to diagnose issues and influence product improvements
Troubleshoot complex behavior in embedded, real-time, or distributed systems
Work directly with customer engineering teams to guide architecture and implementation
Communicate technical findings clearly to both internal and external stakeholders
What We’re Looking For
Bachelor’s degree (or higher) in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field
5+ years of professional C++ software development experience
Strong debugging, problem-solving, and systems-thinking skills
Experience working with version control systems (Git/GitLab or similar)
Comfort operating in embedded, real-time, or production-critical environments
Strong communication skills and customer-facing confidence
Nice to Have
Background in automotive, robotics, aerospace, industrial, or safety-critical systems
Familiarity with networking or messaging systems (UDP, multicast, DDS, ROS, etc.)
Prior experience in solutions engineering, professional services, or customer deployments