Full Stack Software Engineer, IoT Sensor Systems

Build the software infrastructure that will deploy thousands of autonomous water quality sensors around the world. You'll own the full stack-from cloud IoT systems and embedded firmware to lab data platforms and customer deployments-as a key engineer scaling revolutionary sensing technology from prototype to global impact.

About Aquatic Labs

Aquatic's mission is to reveal the invisible throughout the world's waters. Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Aquatic is combining cutting-edge semiconductor technology, transformative science, agile development methods, and modern fabrication approaches to create globally-scalable tools for monitoring the world's waters.

Description

About the Role

Aquatic Labs is seeking an experienced Full Stack Software Engineer to play a pivotal role in scaling our revolutionary water quality sensing technology from prototype to global deployment. You'll own critical infrastructure spanning IoT backend systems, embedded firmware, lab data platforms, and field operations-building the software foundation that will support thousands of sensors monitoring freshwater and seawater around the world.

This is a unique opportunity to work at the intersection of cutting-edge sensor technology, IoT infrastructure, and AI/ML for environmental monitoring. As a key member of our small, dynamic engineering team, you'll have significant ownership and influence over our technical roadmap while solving real-world problems in water quality monitoring.

What You'll Do

IoT Infrastructure & Data Pipeline

Build and maintain our full IoT infrastructure and deployment stack-including sensor connectivity (MQTT), data ingestion pipelines, CI/CD workflows, and cloud services (AWS, Docker, PostgreSQL)-to ensure reliable operations for our growing sensor fleet.

Lab Data Platform Development

Own the technical infrastructure for our sensor calibration pipeline: design database schemas for experiment tracking, develop full-stack tools for data collection and analysis, and maintain lab networking to support high-volume characterization workflows.

Hardware-Software Integration

Build abstraction layers and implement industrial IoT communication protocols (MQTT, Modbus, I2C) to integrate our sensing technologies into production-ready systems, including support for manufacturing validation.

Firmware Development

Contribute to firmware development on embedded Linux systems (Raspberry Pi) and microcontrollers, working alongside senior engineers on core sensing unit functionality (Python/C++/C).

Field Operations

Deploy and commission sensors at customer sites and pilot locations, providing on-site technical support and troubleshooting.

Core Expectations

Deploy & Scale IoT Infrastructure

You'll be responsible for the reliability and scalability of our entire sensor network infrastructure. This means building robust systems that maintain 99.95% uptime as we grow from dozens to thousands of deployed sensors, implementing comprehensive monitoring and alerting, and establishing CI/CD pipelines that enable rapid, safe feature deployment.

Bridge Hardware & Software

As the critical link between our sensing technology and cloud infrastructure, you'll design and implement communication protocols and abstraction layers that allow our sensors to seamlessly integrate into production environments. This includes firmware development on embedded Linux systems, protocol implementation (MQTT, Modbus, I2C), and creating modular interfaces that support both lab testing and field deployment.

Enable Lab Operations at Scale

Build and maintain the lab data platform that powers our calibration and characterization workflows. As we scale to processing hundreds of samples weekly and calibrating dozens of sensors, your systems will need to track experiments, manage data collection, and provide intuitive interfaces for our lab team.

Support Customer Success

Deploy sensors at customer sites and pilot locations, troubleshoot field issues, and build customer-facing dashboards that provide real-time insights. You'll be the technical bridge between our internal systems and external deployments, ensuring our technology performs reliably in real-world conditions.

Drive Technical Excellence

Establish testing infrastructure, maintain comprehensive documentation, and make architectural decisions that balance speed with sustainability. As a key member of a small engineering team, your technical judgment will directly influence our ability to scale and maintain our systems.

What We're Looking For

Required Experience

• 4+ years of full-stack software engineering experience with production systems in industry
• 5+ years with backend infrastructure systems and DevOps
• 1-2 years with embedded systems development
• Customer-facing deployment and support experience

Must-Have Technical Skills

Production Systems & Infrastructure

• Deep experience with IoT/cloud infrastructure (AWS, Digital Ocean, or similar)
• Docker, containerization, and deployment automation
• Monitoring tools (Grafana, Prometheus) and CI/CD pipelines
• Production backend systems supporting real users/customers

Backend & Data

• Data ingestion pipelines and relational databases (PostgreSQL required)
• REST APIs and backend service architecture
• Database design and optimization (PostgreSQL, Redis, MongoDB)

Full-Stack Development

• React and JavaScript for UI/UX workflows
• Express.js or similar backend frameworks
• Python for backend services and data processing
• Ability to translate complex workflows into intuitive interfaces

Embedded Systems

• Experience with embedded Linux systems (Raspberry Pi or similar)
• Firmware development in Python, C++, or C (more than one project)
• Familiarity with popular embedded platforms (ESP32, Teensy, STM microcontrollers)
• IoT communication protocols (MQTT, I2C, serial/TTL)
• Experience with electronics, test equipment and rework tools

Nice to Have

• Production deployment experience with embedded systems at scale
• Experience building and deploying ML/AI workflows and models
• Experience building data management systems for lab or research environments
• Signal processing knowledge and frameworks
• MLOps and edge-AI familiarity
• Chemistry or biology lab automation experience

Demonstrated Skills

Applications strengthened by:

• GitHub portfolio with relevant code samples
• Documentation of self-built projects (diagrams, photos, technical writeups)
• Technical blog or open-source contributions
• Previous successful instrumentation deployments
• Patents or patent applications

Who You Are

You bring a sense of urgency to execution and thrive in fast-paced, ambiguous environments. You're equally comfortable diving deep into code and collaborating across disciplines with hardware engineers, chemists, and field technicians. You balance moving fast with writing clear documentation and building maintainable systems. Most importantly, you're excited to own significant technical infrastructure and see your work deployed at scale in the real world.

Work Environment

• 70% desk/coding work
• 20% lab time (understanding workflows, collaborating with lab team)
• 10% field work (customer sites, pilot deployments)
• Minimal travel required for occasional field support

Why Aquatic Labs

Own Critical Infrastructure

This isn't a specialized role-you'll own the full stack from cloud infrastructure to firmware, with significant autonomy and impact on our technical direction.

Scale with Purpose

Build systems that will scale from dozens to thousands of sensors, providing critical water quality data for environmental monitoring, aquaculture, drinking water systems, and climate research.

Revolutionary Technology

Work with novel sensor technology for simultaneous pH and alkalinity measurement-advancing the field of autonomous ocean and freshwater monitoring.

AI/ML Integration

Opportunity to build and deploy sophisticated machine learning models for water quality prediction and anomaly detection.

Shape the Future

Influence our technology roadmap and architectural decisions as a key member of a small, highly collaborative engineering team.

Qualifications

Education Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related field required (or equivalent experience)

Aquatic Labs is building the future of water quality monitoring through innovative sensor technology and intelligent data systems. Join us in deploying autonomous sensing infrastructure that will provide unprecedented insights into our planet's aquatic environments.

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