About Physical Electronics

Physical Electronics USA (PHI) is the world’s leading supplier of ultra-high vacuum surface analysis instrumentation. Our XPS, AES, and SIMS systems enable scientists and engineers worldwide to analyze materials and develop next-generation technologies across industries including microelectronics, nanotechnology, catalysis, biomaterials, and pharmaceuticals.

PHI develops sophisticated software that controls complex scientific instruments, orchestrates automated experiments, acquires scientific data, and enables advanced analysis workflows. Our engineers collaborate closely with scientists and multidisciplinary engineering teams to translate analytical workflows into reliable software systems.

Position Overview

PHI is seeking a Software Architect to guide the long-term technical direction of our instrument software platform. This role combines deep software development expertise with architectural leadership in a multidisciplinary environment involving hardware control, automation workflows, and scientific data analysis.

The Software Architect will help evolve PHI’s software platform while maintaining the reliability and performance required for advanced analytical instrumentation used by research institutions and industry worldwide.

This role is expected to provide architectural vision, mentor engineers, and remain actively involved in hands-on software development.

Key Responsibilities

Guide the long-term architecture and evolution of PHI’s instrument software platform
Design and implement robust object-oriented software systems for instrument control, automation, and data analysis
Define and improve API architecture that enables modular, extensible, and maintainable software systems
Identify opportunities to improve system architecture, scalability, reliability, and maintainability
Contribute to the modernization and evolution of existing software platforms
Work with scientists and engineers to translate analytical procedures into reliable automation workflows
Improve the user experience of complex instrumentation software
Mentor software engineers and provide architectural guidance across the development team
Lead design discussions and participate in architecture and code reviews
Collaborate with engineering teams in the United States and Japan

Required Qualifications

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related technical discipline
8+ years of professional software development experience
Strong expertise in object-oriented software design and architecture
Experience designing modular systems and API-based architectures
Experience developing complex software systems involving automation, workflow management, or hardware integration
Excellent analytical, troubleshooting, and problem-solving skills
Strong communication skills and ability to work effectively in cross-disciplinary teams

Preferred Qualifications

Experience developing software for scientific instruments, laboratory systems, or industrial equipment
Experience designing automation frameworks or workflow-driven systems
Experience integrating software with hardware control systems or data acquisition systems
Experience improving user experience for complex technical applications
Experience or vision for modernizing or evolving large legacy software systems

Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate enjoys solving complex system-level problems that involve both software and physical instrumentation. They bring architectural vision while remaining hands-on in development, and they enjoy working closely with scientists and engineers to build reliable systems that support advanced materials research.

Why Work at PHI

Work on sophisticated scientific instruments used by leading research institutions and advanced manufacturing companies. Collaborate with experts in materials science, engineering, and software development. See your software interact directly with real instrumentation and scientific experiments. Contribute to technology that helps advance next-generation materials and devices.

Physical Electronics USA

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