Copy of C++ Software Engineer, Distributed Systems

What you'll do

• Lead the design and implementation of core Fabric services and libraries in modern C++
• Architect distributed systems that operate reliably over low-bandwidth, high-latency, and unreliable networks
• Design APIs and abstractions that enable teams to register, serialize, replicate, and query arbitrary data types
• Define and evolve patterns for discovery, addressing, routing, and replication across fixed and dynamic topologies
• Build and maintain high-performance messaging, transport, and synchronization layers
• Drive decisions around consistency models, reliability guarantees, and failure handling
• Collaborate with partner teams (autonomy, TerraLink, ATAK, web, and external integrators) to ensure Fabric meets real-world requirements
• Establish best practices for correctness, performance, observability, and maintainability
• Contribute to long-term technical strategy, roadmap planning, and architectural reviews
• Document designs clearly for both engineering and integration audiences

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent practical experience
• 8+ years of professional software engineering experience
• Expert-level proficiency in modern C++ (C++17 or later)
• Experience with publish/subscribe or message-oriented middlewares (e.g., gRPC, DDS, ZeroMQ, MQTT, custom transports)
• Strong testing fundamentals and experience developing automated tests in C++ using GoogleTest, Boost.Test, or similar frameworks (unit, integration, regression)
• Familiar with best practices such as test case design, edge-case coverage, mocking/stubbing, and maintaining reliable CI-friendly test suites
• Solid understanding of distributed systems fundamentals, including:
  • Replication and consistency models
  • Leader election and coordination
  • Failure detection and recovery
  • Concurrency and synchronization
• Experience building or operating production distributed systems
• Deep familiarity with Linux-based development and deployment environments
• Proven ability to lead technical projects from concept through production
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain complex systems clearly

Preferred Qualifications

• Networking expertise, including unicast/multicast, routing, and constrained or unreliable links
• Experience building systems for edge environments, robotics, or embedded platforms
• Familiarity with real-time or near-real-time systems
• Familiarity with consensus protocols (e.g., Raft, Paxos, or variants)
• Experience with CMake, Conan, Bazel, or similar build systems
• Exposure to observability tools (logging, metrics, tracing) in distributed systems
• Background in defense, automotive, robotics, or safety-critical software

Benefits

• Premium Healthcare Benefits: Three plan options, including an HSA-eligible plan, with Forterra covering 80% of the plan premium for you and your dependents
• Basic Life/AD&D, short and long-term disability insurance plans 100% covered by Forterra, plus the option to purchase additional life insurance for you and your dependents
• Extremely generous company holiday calendar including a winter break in December
• Competitive paid time off (PTO) offering 20 days accrued per year
• A minimum of 7 weeks fully paid parental leave for birth/adoption
• A $9k annual tuition reimbursement or professional development stipend
• Fully stocked beverage refrigerators
• 401(k) retirement savings plan, including traditional, Roth 401(k), and after-tax deferral with company match up to 4%