Senior Software Engineer (IoT)

Company Description

Swiftly is on a mission to help cities move more efficiently. We are the leading transit data platform for agencies to share real-time passenger information, manage day-to-day operations, and improve service performance. Today, over 200 transit agencies in 12 countries - including LA Metro, MARTA, SEPTA and MBTA - rely on Swiftly to improve on‑time performance by up to 40% and increase passenger information accuracy by up to 50%. The result is better service reliability, increased ridership, and more efficient transit operations.

Even though Swiftly's HQ office is located in San Francisco, CA, we are open to candidates in most locations across the U.S. as well as Ontario and British Columbia, Canada. At this time we are unable to provide Visa sponsorship.

Engineering at Swiftly

Engineering at Swiftly is not only about writing code - we believe in creating empowered product teams that work together to conceptualize new features and bring them to life. Each team aims to strike a balance between delivering incremental improvements, creating prototypes to test new ideas and mitigate risks, and building scalable software using industry best practices. We’re guided by a mission to positively impact transit riders, and we embrace humility and intentionality in how we make technical decisions so that we best meet our customers’ needs.

The Role

Swiftly is looking for a Senior Software Engineer to join a cross‑functional product team enabling our transit agency customers to operate and manage on‑vehicle hardware systems and devices. Your team’s work spans technology stacks connecting cloud‑native services interfacing with Swiftly’s core data engine to a variety of embedded/IoT devices running onboard public transit buses, trains, and ferries. You'll work across this full vertical, writing software that runs on edge devices in the field, building the communication layers that connect those devices to the cloud, and developing the backend services that configure, control, and process data from these sources. We encourage you to apply if you meet half or more of the requirements and are excited to learn about the rest. Above all else, we value candidates with a growth mindset, the aptitude to learn, and strong motivation to deliver impact to customers. If this is exciting to you, we'd love to talk!

What You’ll Do

• Design, build, maintain and extend products, features, and functionality that solve real customer problems
• Partner with Product, Design and Engineering to discover and validate customer needs and technical approaches
• Develop and extend integrations with onboard hardware devices such as headsign controllers, passenger counters and fareboxes
• Build and improve cloud‑native backend services that manage device configuration, process telemetry data and provide observability into fleet‑wide device health
• Implement and maintain robust mechanisms for over‑the‑air software deployment, configuration updates and remote device management
• Design testing strategies that account for the realities of hardware‑in‑the‑loop systems including integration testing, simulated environments and production monitoring
• Maintain and improve our physical hardware lab if local to San Francisco, else contribute to solutions for remote development, testing and debugging needs
• Consistently deliver incremental value by anticipating dependencies, breaking down work and regularly demoing progress
• Communicate technical trade‑offs, present system design proposals clearly and document architectural decisions
• Uplevel teammates through code reviews, pairing and strong collaboration
• Take ownership of your code and product domain, engaging in retrospectives and continuously improving how the team works

What Will Set You Up For Success

• Motivated by mission‑driven work and excited to improve public transit
• 5+ years of software engineering experience, with meaningful time spent working on embedded systems, IoT platforms or edge computing
• Proficiency with Linux including imaging, system administration, containerization, process management, networking and security
• Experience with communication protocols and paradigms of multiple varieties: serial interfaces (RS‑232, J1708, CAN), network protocols (HTTP/REST, UDP, TCP) and messaging patterns (MQTT, pub/sub, store‑and‑forward)
• Familiarity with approaches to remote deployment and update mechanisms (e.g., OTA updates, A/B partitioning, configuration management, edge container orchestration)
• Interest in being hands‑on with code and devices, whether your comfort level is plugging in an ethernet cable or crimping your own
• A testing and quality mindset, with strong opinions on system validation, automated testing, observability and monitoring
• Comfort applying modern AI tools to accelerate development and improve quality
• Proficiency with languages and technologies in our stack: Python, Java, JavaScript/TypeScript, MQTT, SQL databases
• Experience with cloud‑native architectures and services (AWS preferred)
• Strong product mindset — you use technology pragmatically to solve meaningful customer problems
• Continuous learner who embraces emerging technologies and helps others grow
• Collaborative team player who contributes wherever needed to support team goals
• Open to feedback (a core Swiftly value), humble in technical debate and committed to blameless learning and improvement

Pay Range

In accordance with pay transparency laws, the approximate salary range for this position is $140,000‑$205,000 USD. Canadian salaries range from $160,000 to $185,000 CAD. Actual salaries vary and are based on multiple factors including role level, relevant experience and geography. Salary is one component of Swiftly’s total compensation package, which also includes equity compensation, competitive benefits, 401(k)/RRSP matching, a supportive team and culture, opportunities to have a huge impact, emphasis on professional growth and holistic wellness, and additional perks.

Beyond The Skills

• Team. Together, we are more effective and better supported.
• Impact. Drive impact for our customers, our company and all of our teams.
• Diversity. Seek differing perspectives as ways to address our weaknesses and find new strengths.
• Communication. Assume that others internally and externally have good intentions.
• Feedback. Share feedback because we want each other to grow professionally and personally.
• Growth. Foster personal, professional and company growth.

Benefits

• Competitive salary
• Equity compensation (company ownership) for every employee
• Medical, dental and vision coverage
• Retirement with employer match
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
• Home office setup reimbursement
• Monthly cell/internet reimbursement
• Monthly Be Well stipend
• Flexible PTO with a recommended minimum
• Flexible work environment
• 16 paid holidays, including months without US national holidays
• 12 fully paid weeks of leave for childbirth/adoption

Travel note

Swiftly employees can generally expect to travel 1‑2 times a year for in‑person company or team off‑sites. As a fully distributed company we consider these off‑sites important for cultivating strong relationships across our teams! Attending these in‑person sessions is expected and encouraged, although we understand everyone has different personal circumstances and we will consider requests for exceptions. Customer‑facing team members and other specific roles may be expected to travel more frequently.

We are an equal‑opportunity employer – we are committed to a workplace that is as dynamic, diverse and passionate as the communities we serve.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analysing resumes or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.

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