[Hiring] Software Engineer II @Cadence Design Systems

Role Description

We are seeking a Software Engineer II to contribute to the development and maintenance of CAE pre-processing capabilities for MSC Apex. Working with guidance from senior engineers, this role will support:

• Model setup
• Entity management
• Materials and properties
• Connections and loads
• Boundary conditions
• Solver deck preparation
• Validation and workflow automation

This position is well suited to an early-career engineer or recent master’s graduate who has a strong foundation in software development and engineering analysis, is eager to learn CAE workflows, and can collaborate with engineering, QA, and product teams to deliver reliable, maintainable solutions.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, Computational Engineering, Computer-Aided Engineering, Applied Mathematics, or a related engineering discipline.
• Bachelor’s degree with approximately 2–4 years of relevant software engineering experience, or a relevant master’s degree with little to no professional experience.
• Foundational understanding of object-oriented programming, data structures, algorithms, and software development principles.
• Academic or project experience developing software in C++, preferably for engineering, scientific, simulation, or data-intensive applications.
• Exposure to CAE, finite element analysis, simulation workflows, computational mechanics, or scientific computing through coursework, research, or projects.
• Basic familiarity with model preparation concepts such as materials, properties, loads, boundary conditions, coordinate systems, connections, and solver inputs is preferred but not required.
• Exposure to CAE products or simulation platforms such as MSC Apex, Patran, Adams, Nastran, Marc, Abaqus, ANSYS, HyperWorks, or equivalent technologies is a plus.
• Demonstrated ability to learn new technologies, troubleshoot technical problems, incorporate feedback, and work effectively within an engineering team.
• Familiarity with AI-assisted software development tools such as GitHub Copilot, Cursor, or similar tools is desirable.

Requirements

• Working knowledge of C++ and object-oriented programming, with the ability to write, test, and debug clear and maintainable code.
• Familiarity with software development on Windows or Linux; exposure to both platforms is preferred.
• Basic understanding of engineering data structures, entity relationships, attributes, materials, properties, sets, groups, coordinate systems, units, or similar domain concepts.
• Exposure through coursework or projects to loads, boundary conditions, constraints, contacts, connections, assemblies, part organization, or solver case definitions is beneficial.
• Understanding of software validation, input checking, data consistency, error handling, and user-focused diagnostic messages.
• Basic debugging skills using an integrated development environment such as Visual Studio or comparable tools, including breakpoints, stack traces, logs, and crash diagnostics.
• Awareness of memory management, performance considerations, and concurrency concepts in C++ applications.
• Ability to contribute to existing APIs, software components, and workflow services by following established designs and coding standards.
• Familiarity with source control, build processes, code reviews, unit testing, and defect-tracking practices.
• Understanding of automated testing concepts, including unit, regression, and data-validation tests.
• Working knowledge of Python or another scripting language for automation, prototyping, validation, or log analysis is desirable.

Soft Skills

• Strong communication and collaboration skills.
• Problem-solving and analytical thinking.
• Ability to work independently and in a team environment.
• Strong organizational and time-management skills.

Benefits

• We’re doing work that matters. Help us solve what others can’t.