Sr. Staff Software Engineer (Embedded)

AeroVironment • Moorpark, CA

1d • $147,000 - $250,000

About The Position

The Sr. Staff Software Engineer (Embedded) leads and develops innovative unmanned and robotic systems for defense and commercial applications. The role develops functional software for embedded devices and systems, including aircraft and payloads, and may test those devices in flight-test environments. Work includes designing, developing, coding, testing, and debugging system software, and analyzing and improving its efficiency, stability, and scalability on specific devices. The position involves both full life-cycle development and extending existing software codebases to meet program requirements.

The engineer works with other engineering disciplines and multidisciplinary teams to develop prototypes and products, integrate sensors and embedded processors, support software transition to production and certification, and contribute to the company’s software development process. The role also leads technical work and supports testing, demonstrations, and design reviews.

The position is based in an office and R&D environment, with possible exposure to outdoor environments while traveling. Periodic domestic and international travel may be required, including to approved flying locations and program sites. The role may involve long, irregular hours around deadlines, weekends, holidays, and field testing. Applicants must meet the stated U.S. person or export-license eligibility requirements for access to ITAR/EAR-controlled information.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education, training, and experience.
• 12–15 years of relevant experience.
• Experience troubleshooting systems and proficiency with Python, C, C++, and object-oriented development.
• Knowledge of Visual Studio, Eclipse, or a similar IDE, and defect-tracking tools.
• Experience with common protocols such as RS-485, RS-232, CAN, I2C, SPI, and USB.
• Experience troubleshooting complex real-time systems from the application layer through communications, drivers, and board-support layers.
• Demonstrated mathematical and analytical skills.
• Strong product focus and ability to understand how assigned work fits into the product and its subsystems.
• Ownership and responsibility for current and past work products.
• Ability to research and re-engineer issues and propose alternative solutions.
• Strong written and verbal interpersonal and communication skills.
• Leadership experience with technical teams of 3–6 people and cross-functional collaboration.
• Ability to travel within the Continental U.S. and internationally when required.
• Ability to work long, irregular hours around deadlines, including weekends and some holidays, and in field-test environments when required.
• Must qualify as a U.S. person under ITAR/EAR or be eligible for an export license; the posting also states U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or asylee/refugee status as qualifying eligibility.

Nice To Haves

• Advanced degree.
• Expertise in C and Python.
• Experience with unit testing and test-driven development.
• Experience developing communications-bus drivers using protocols such as Ethernet, RS-485, RS-232, CAN, I2C, SPI, and bit banging.
• Experience integrating sensor drivers, including pressure sensors, thermistors, GPS, and IMUs.
• Experience integrating radios, servos, and actuators.
• Professional or hobby experience with LLM-assisted software development.
• Experience updating build pipelines, especially CI/CD.
• Proficiency in Verilog and VHDL.
• Embedded development experience, such as robotics, drones, vehicle systems, or medical systems.
• Experience with professional coding standards and linters such as MISRA, JSF, PClint, or Understand.
• Experience developing or working with autopilot code such as ArduPilot, PX4, or INAV.
• Aerospace or defense-sector experience.
• Board bring-up or board-support-package development experience.
• Experience with ARM architecture processors, particularly the STM32 product family.
• Experience with microcontroller RTOS systems such as μC/OS or FreeRTOS, or aerospace RTOSs such as Integrity or VxWorks.
• Electronics knowledge and experience with oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, or network analyzers.
• Prior experience as a systems engineer and/or test engineer.
• Experience developing formal, peer-reviewed software requirements; DOORS, Jira, or Xray experience preferred.
• General aviation and/or remote-control fixed-wing piloting experience; Part 91 or Part 107 licenses are a plus.
• Ability to excel in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment where small teams share a broad variety of duties.
• Strong initiative and drive to accomplish goals and meet company objectives.
• Commitment to learning from mistakes and improving individual, team, and company performance.
• Effective problem-solving, analytical, interpersonal, and communication skills.
• Teamwork and collaboration, with a focus on team success.

Responsibilities

• Write and test software to integrate sensors and embedded processors into aircraft and other robotic systems, including autopilots, payloads, and software-defined radios.
• Design and implement software for prototypes and products using established company and industry tools and practices; maintain sound software configuration control and management.
• Lead the development of system requirements, system test plans, diagnostic tools, and software validation testing.
• Assist with hardware selection and recommend system processing, memory, and storage needs.
• Lead rapid prototyping and conceptual-level testing, estimating development time and coordinating scope with project or program management to meet timeline and budget constraints.
• Work closely with other engineering disciplines and participate in multidisciplinary development teams.
• Lead and support the transition of development software into production environments and certification.
• Develop proof-of-concept capability demonstrations and conduct or support design reviews.
• Contribute to the company’s software development process and quality-code practices.
• Troubleshoot complex embedded real-time systems across application, communications, driver, and board-support layers.
• Travel as needed to support testing equipment at approved flying locations and other program sites.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Medical insurance
• Dental insurance
• Vision insurance
• 401(k) with company matching
• Flexible work schedule options
• Some programs may offer a 9/80 work schedule and paid holiday shutdown, depending on business unit, role, and customer contract requirements.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior