CAE/PLM Principal Software Architect (Design)

Location: Torrance, California, United States; onsite, hybrid, or remote options are available. Candidates must be able to lawfully access information and technology subject to U.S. export controls and must be eligible to work in the United States.

Salary: $171,450–$314,390 per year, depending on level: E07 / Principal Engineer $171,450–$235,740; E08 / Senior Principal Engineer $197,990–$272,240; E09 / Technical Fellow $228,650–$314,390.

Company

Divergent develops an integrated engineering and manufacturing platform for advanced automotive, aerospace, and defense systems.

What you will do

• Lead the architecture and design of high-performance, interactive 3D desktop and web-based CAE applications across engineering programs and disciplines.
• Establish application frameworks, software design patterns, architectural methodologies, technical standards, and reusable development practices.
• Architect and implement GPU-enabled job execution, scheduling, and distributed workflows for computationally intensive engineering applications.
• Drive solutions for graphics rendering, UI architecture, application responsiveness, resource utilization, software integration, and performance optimization.
• Integrate application architecture with computational design, CAE solvers, PLM platforms, and broader platform capabilities.
• Provide technical direction, delegate implementation, mentor engineers, align cross-functional initiatives, and track outcomes related to performance, reliability, development efficiency, and architectural reuse.

Requirements

• Ability to lawfully access information and technology subject to U.S. export controls.
• Extensive experience in software architecture and desktop application development.
• Demonstrated expertise designing and developing high-performance, interactive 3D applications, preferably in CAE, CAD, PLM, or engineering software environments.
• Ability to solve complex, ambiguous technical problems and develop innovative software architecture solutions.
• Strong understanding of graphics and rendering pipelines, UI architecture, desktop software frameworks, and application performance optimization.
• Experience developing reusable software frameworks, architectural methodologies, and technical standards.
• Ability to lead technical initiatives across multiple projects, programs, or disciplines.
• Experience providing technical direction, mentoring engineers, and influencing implementation decisions across teams.
• Familiarity with engineering software ecosystems such as Siemens NX, Teamcenter, or comparable CAE and PLM platforms.

Nice to have

• 10+ years of experience in software engineering, industrial applications, CAE, CAD, PLM, scientific computing, or related technical domains.
• Experience architecting GPU compute systems, clustered GPU workloads, job scheduling, or distributed execution frameworks.
• Experience integrating topology optimization, computational geometry, simulation, or CAE solvers into interactive desktop applications.
• Experience with modern desktop application frameworks and interactive 3D visualization technologies.
• Track record of delivering software used by mechanical engineers, computational designers, or research teams.
• Success establishing technical best practices and improving development efficiency across multiple engineering teams.
• Experience coordinating technical solutions across software, platform, and computational engineering disciplines.

Culture & Benefits

• Competitive salary with equity plan and discretionary results-based incentive bonus opportunities.
• Paid vacation, sick time, company holidays, year-end shutdown, and paid parental leave.
• HMO and Premium PPO health plans, company-sponsored life insurance, and short- and long-term disability coverage.
• Reimbursement opportunities for learning and development initiatives.
• Collaborative, dynamic, high-performing, and mission-driven environment focused on disrupting traditional manufacturing and reducing environmental footprint.