Lead Software Engineer (Backend)

Viam is the engineering platform for robotics and automation, empowering developers, startups, and enterprises to build, deploy, and scale—from prototype to production. Our platform makes robotics development accessible to software engineers, removing traditional barriers to building production-grade automation. We're also pioneering surface finishing automation for marine manufacturing, with solutions for robotic sanding that automate critical processes in roles that are physically demanding, safety-critical, and hard to fill. We were founded in 2020 by former MongoDB co-founder and CTO Eliot Horowitz, Viam is headquartered in New York City. Lead Software Engineer, Sensing (Backend) NYC-based team (Hybrid: 3+ days/week in office) About the Team/Role The Sensing team at Viam builds the software that makes cameras reliable, easy to commission, and performant across real-world hardware and network conditions. Cameras are the starting point for many solutions built on Viam which makes this a high impact team. We are hiring a Lead Engineer to set direction for camera, video, and audio streaming across the platform, working primarily in Golang, C, and C++ on ARM-based Linux devices and macOS. This is a hands-on technical leadership role. You will write code, but your primary responsibility is owning technical direction, systems judgment, and how the team operates. Deep AV or sensing expertise is valuable but not required. Strong engineers with solid fundamentals and leadership capability can learn domain-specific details on the job. What You Will Do Set technical direction for camera, video, and audio streaming across the Viam platform Lead a specialized team working on camera integration, streaming pipelines, and hardware-adjacent systems Own technical decisions and tradeoffs from prioritization through execution Stay hands-on in the code while maintaining a systems-level view of product impact Debug and resolve complex production issues spanning hardware, drivers, OS subsystems, networking, and application-level code Collaborate closely with Motion, Vision, Robotics, and Solutions Engineering teams Balance proactive platform improvements with customer-driven work while maintaining reliability and code quality People management of the IC engineers on the team Who You Are A systems-oriented technical leader who has owned direction and delivery Comfortable making decisions under ambiguity and incomplete information A clear, proactive communicator who can represent technical work to other engineers and stakeholders Experienced with low-level, performance-sensitive, or hardware-adjacent systems Someone who takes ownership from problem framing through resolution Deep AV or sensing expertise is valuable but not required. Strong engineers with solid fundamentals and leadership capability can learn domain-specific details on the job. What Success Looks Like Within Your First Year: Core camera and streaming paths are reliable and well understood across macOS and Linux The team operates with shared context and direction Technical decisions are made deliberately and communicated clearly AV / Sensing work integrates smoothly with Motion, Vision, and the broader Viam platform Customer issues are driven to resolution with ownership and follow-through The starting salary for this role is between $205,000 - $235,000/year. Full-time Benefits: Viam’s base salary range for this role is posted above. Your exact offer will vary based on factors, including experience level, skillset, market location, and balancing internal equity relative to peers at the company. We recognize that the person we hire may be less experienced, or more senior, than this job description as posted. In these situations, the updated salary range will be communicated to you as a candidate. In addition to cash compensation, Viam offers a comprehensive Total Rewards package that includes equity grants, health benefits, and more. 100% covered medical/dental/vision insurance plans, commuter benefits 25 days paid vacation and generous holiday observances Free lunch every day that you’re in the office One Medical Membership Citi Bike memberships Monthly wellness stipend to be used for a variety of fitness-related items like gym memberships, fitness classes, fitness equipment, and more Paid parental leave Reproductive Health Benefits, including Fertility Benefits and Abortion Access Travel Benefits Yearly Learning and Development Budget Values: Vision Driven Collaborate Openly Act Decisively Succeed Through Diversity Hold Ourselves Accountable Lead with Curiosity To all recruitment agencies: Viam does not accept unsolicited agency resumes or calls from recruitment agencies or search firms. Please do not forward resumes to our jobs alias or Viam employees. Viam is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes.