---
title: 'Senior Software Engineer - Systems at Procreate'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-systems-procreate-hobart-r1d7yb6re03h'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-08'
---

# Senior Software Engineer - Systems at Procreate

- **Company:** Procreate
- **Location:** Hobart
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2021-01-25
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-08
- **Apply:** https://jobs.lever.co/procreate/7d852d2b-dbe1-4e51-964c-4148c1094146

## Job description

At Procreate we're dedicated to making exceptional creative tools by combining beautiful user experiences with high performance engineering. Used by millions around the globe, Procreate is committed to placing more power in the hands of creatives.

We're looking for a Senior Software Engineer to join our Product development team in Hobart. You'll be responsible for systems engineering across our engineering environment. Your experiences will allow you to work with a high degree of autonomy. Your work will be focused around creating custom solutions for unique problems.

## The role

This is a very broad role in which you'll take a top down approach to reviewing, analysing and improving our software development life cycle. You’ll need to have had experience working in small engineering teams with a high degree of autonomy and with significant responsibility for delivering custom solutions. This role sits within the Engineering team and reports directly to Michael Shaw, our CTO. You'll collaborate with other engineers, designers, the Product Quality team, and our Executive.

What you'll do.

- Develop custom software and solving complex technical problems
- Ensuring the highest levels of system and infrastructure availability
- Plan and develop product and features which align with product roadmap
- Identify areas for improvement in the SDLC and design and implement solutions and fixes for those problems
- Design, develop and support software components across the entire engineering environment and tech stack
- Responsible for managing and improving our system infrastructure. You’ll keep your finger on the pulse of relevant technological developments
- Exhibit leadership in the way you approach software development but also in your personal interactions and your ability to mentor more junior engineers
- Identify mission critical tasks and projects and optimise our software development life cycle to ensure that maintenance, testing, and delivering updates do not inhibit our long-term product roadmap

Skills.

- Understanding of Apple’s Metal architecture
- Interest and experience with low-level development
- Deep familiarity with C, C++ in a commercial context
- Algorithm development and background in mathematics
- Understanding of performance optimisation issues in low-latency, real-time applications
- Exposure to engine development preferably building from scratch of in-house proprietary engines
- Excellent communicator with the ability to build consensus and communicate priority and purpose

What to expect in the first 6-12 months

- Familiarise yourself with our team structure and workflows
- Complete the Procreate onboarding process and get to know your colleagues
- Build an understanding of our product development practices, processes and frameworks
- Begin to develop relationships with key stakeholders, team leaders and members of the executive team
- Become an integral and contributing part of our engineering team and ship product

We want to hear from you Our recruitment process is made to provide you with opportunities for you to show us what you're capable of, instead of assessing you solely on your CV. We’d love to hear about how you see yourself contributing to Procreate in this role.

Please note, we do not operate remote or hybrid models. We're looking for full-time and on-site employees for our Hobart office.

Apply now to be considered for the role!

## About Procreate

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Procreate develops powerful, intuitive digital illustration and animation apps for iPad and iPhone, used by millions of creatives worldwide.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Bootstrapped; self-funded since 2011, no outside investors)
- **Headquarters**: Hobart, Tasmania, Australia (also has an office in Sydney)
- **Founded**: 2011
- **Founders**: James Cuda (CEO & Co-founder) – other co-founders not publicly named

## Core Business
- Primary industry: Creative software / digital art tools
- Target customers: B2C – professional artists, studios, and beginners; also used in education
- Mission: “Amplify human creativity” and “make tools to amplify your creativity”

## Products & Services
- **[Procreate](https://procreate.com/procreate)**: Award-winning iPad illustration app with a custom 64-bit painting engine. One-time purchase, ranked #1 paid app on the App Store for seven years straight.
- **[Procreate Dreams](https://procreate.com/dreams)**: iPad animation app for creating frame-by-frame and keyframe animations, launched in 2023.
- **[Procreate Pocket](https://procreate.com/pocket)**: Mobile version of Procreate for iPhone, optimized for on-the-go sketching.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly available (company is bootstrapped and independent).
- **Key Metric**: Total funding = $0 (self-funded). Annual revenue not disclosed; as the top paid app, revenue is primarily from App Store sales.
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: None (no outside investors). Partnerships include Apple (three Apple Design Awards, featured in Apple events).
- **Growth Signals**: Headcount of 128 employees (+49.5% YoY as of 2026); 10 open positions; workforce distributed across 35 countries; consistent #1 paid app status for over 7 years.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Fierce independence**: No investor pressure allows long-term bets on technology and design.
- **Custom graphics engine**: Proprietary 64-bit painting engine delivers industry-leading performance on iOS.
- **Intuitive design**: Focus on simplicity and performance that appeals to both beginners and professionals.
- **Brand loyalty**: Strong community and reputation as the gold standard for mobile digital art.

## Strategic Focus
- Continue investing in ambitious roadmap for Procreate and Procreate Dreams, with an emphasis on rendering performance and new creative capabilities.
- Expanding the engineering team (hiring Senior Software Engineers – Swift, Rendering, Systems; iOS Engineers).
- Maintaining a small-team, collaborative culture while scaling headcount carefully.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Artist-driven, supportive, and autonomy-focused. “We see ourselves as artists and support each other in our craft.”
- **Work model**: Most roles are on-site in Hobart or Sydney, but the company has employees in 35 countries (some remote/distributed). Relocation support is offered for candidates moving to Australia.
- **Perks**: Relocation assistance (flights, lump-sum allowance, short-term accommodation), private health insurance for employee and family.
- **Engineering environment**: Work on products used by millions, with a focus on Swift, Metal, and custom GPU technologies. Small teams, close collaboration with technical leadership.
- **Recruitment process**: Three conversational rounds (Talent Acquisition, Team Lead, Executive). No coding tests mentioned; emphasis on culture fit and motivation.

## Sources
1. [procreate.com/who-we-are](https://procreate.com/who-we-are)
2. [jobs.lever.co/procreate](https://jobs.lever.co/procreate)
3. [procreate.careers](https://procreate.careers/)
4. [linkedin.com/company/procreate-art](https://linkedin.com/company/procreate-art)

## Other roles at Procreate

- [Finance Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/finance-manager-procreate-hobart-nw5wy3jwrnqw) — Hobart
- [Customer Support Specialist](https://feeny.ai/job/customer-support-specialist-procreate-hobart-k96wc7sxvd9g) — Hobart
- [Engineering Manager - iOS](https://feeny.ai/job/engineering-manager-ios-procreate-sydney-ba004va7hgar) — Sydney, Australia
- [Senior Software Engineer - Swift](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-swift-procreate-hobart-j4vfefgmdhr9) — Hobart
- [Engineering Manager - iOS](https://feeny.ai/job/engineering-manager-ios-procreate-hobart-af7wq7gy1t84) — Hobart
- [Expression of interest](https://feeny.ai/job/expression-of-interest-procreate-hobart-p7a3a8hx7xsf) — Hobart
- [Product Designer](https://feeny.ai/job/product-designer-procreate-hobart-eagave8e1w1b) — Hobart
- [Senior Software Engineer - iOS](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-ios-procreate-hobart-3vt3j5zd7mr7) — Hobart
- [Senior Software Engineer - Rendering](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-rendering-procreate-hobart-n96ha325etqd) — Hobart
- [Senior Software Engineer - Systems](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-systems-boson-ai-santa-clara-94h0qsa26h84) — Santa Clara, CA