About this Role
We are seeking a Principal Application Engineer to drive deployment and integration of our ultra-low-power edge inference SoC within the U.S. Defense Industrial Base (DIB), including collaborations with Army, Navy, and Air Force research laboratories, broader DoW organizations, and federally funded research and development centers. This role sits at the intersection of silicon, embedded systems, and machine learning, with a focus on enabling real-world edge inference in highly constrained environments. Application areas include low-power sensing, image/video/signal processing, communications, and edge data reduction where power, size, and connectivity are limited.
As a senior technical leader, you will work directly with customers to architect solutions, drive system integration, resolve complex cross-layer issues, and accelerate transition from evaluation to mission deployment. You will serve as a key technical interface between customers and internal engineering teams, helping shape both customer success and product direction.
Responsibilities:
Customer Technical Leadership
Serve as the primary technical interface for strategic DIB customers, including prime contractors, government laboratories, and system integrators
Lead customer engagements spanning evaluation, system bring-up, integration, optimization, and deployment
Drive technical discussions with senior engineers, architects, and program leadership within customer organizations
Represent the company in technical reviews, demonstrations, integration activities, and field evaluations
System Architecture & Integration
Guide customers in architecting ultra-low-power edge inference solutions around the SoC platform
Advise on system-level tradeoffs involving performance, latency, memory footprint, power consumption, and sensor integration
Support deployment and optimization of ML workloads for constrained edge environments
Develop reference architectures, application notes, integration guides, and deployment best practices
Cross-Layer Debugging & Optimization
Lead debugging and root-cause analysis across hardware, firmware, SDK, model deployment, and system integration layers
Perform hands-on bring-up and validation using lab instrumentation including oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, protocol analyzers, and power measurement tools
Diagnose and resolve issues involving interfaces such as SPI, I2C, UART, GPIO, ADCs, and sensor pipelines
Profile and optimize end-to-end system performance including latency, throughput, energy per inference, and memory utilization
Product & Roadmap Influence
Translate customer deployment challenges into actionable feedback for silicon, firmware, SDK, and software teams
Identify product gaps, tooling limitations, and deployment friction points impacting adoption
Help shape product roadmap priorities based on real-world customer usage and integration requirements
Develop reusable methodologies and technical collateral to accelerate future customer engagements
Technical Leadership
Mentor junior application engineers and help establish scalable customer support and debug methodologies
Contribute to internal best practices for system integration, deployment workflows, and customer enablement
Act as a senior escalation resource for complex technical issues and mission-critical deployments
Field Engagement
Support customer integration and deployment activities at customer sites, government labs, and field environments as needed
Travel as required to support strategic engagements, bring-up activities, demonstrations, and deployment efforts
Required Qualifications:
Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related technical field
Typically 8+ years of experience in applications engineering, embedded systems, semiconductor platforms, edge AI, or related technical roles
Strong proficiency in C/C++ and embedded software development
Strong Linux proficiency including command-line workflows, scripting, build systems, and development environments
Experience with Python or similar scripting languages for automation, testing, or data analysis
Deep experience with embedded systems, microcontrollers, device interfacing, and low-level system debugging
Hands-on experience with hardware bring-up, instrumentation, and board-level debugging
Demonstrated ability to debug and reason across hardware and software boundaries
Experience supporting customer integrations or field deployments of complex technical products
Strong technical communication and documentation skills, including creation of application notes, integration guides, and debug reports
Ability to operate independently in ambiguous and fast-moving technical environments
Willingness to travel to customer and government sites as needed
U.S. citizenship required; ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance may be required
Preferred Qualifications:
Experience with TinyML, edge AI deployment, or ML inference optimization
Familiarity with frameworks such as TensorFlow Lite, PyTorch, or related deployment environments
Experience with signal processing, sensor fusion, or edge sensing applications
Familiarity with semiconductor SoC platforms and low-power system design
Experience with embedded toolchains, cross-compilation environments, and SDK development
Familiarity with RF, communications, navigation, or distributed sensing systems
Experience working with defense, aerospace, government R&D, or DIB organizations
Active U.S. security clearance
Experience mentoring engineers or leading cross-functional technical efforts
What Makes This Role Unique:
Direct involvement in deploying cutting-edge edge AI silicon into mission-critical, resource-constrained environments
Ownership of customer success from initial evaluation through operational integration
Hands-on work across the full stack: sensors ? firmware ? ML inference ? system integration
Opportunity to shape product direction through close interaction with advanced technical customers
High-impact role spanning silicon, embedded systems, machine learning, and field deployment
Work Environment:
Combination of lab-based engineering, customer interaction, and field support
Close collaboration with silicon design, firmware, SDK, and ML software teams
Fast-paced, highly technical environment focused on delivering deployable systems and accelerating customer adoption
Significant autonomy and visibility across both engineering and customer organizations
Salary Range: $120,000 - $180,000 / year