Embedded Software Engineer (VxWorks)

Embedded Software Engineer — VxWorks / Aviation Systems

Remote

Long Term Contract-to-Hire with benefits

A leading aerospace technology company is seeking an Embedded Software Engineer to develop safety-critical software for advanced aviation systems. This engineer will work closely with electrical, systems, hardware, verification, and flight-test teams to build reliable embedded software that supports next-generation aircraft and aviation products.

This is a hands-on role for an engineer with aviation-domain experience who understands the rigor required to develop, test, document, and certify software used in airborne or mission-critical environments. The ideal candidate is comfortable moving between low-level code, hardware interfaces, system-level requirements, and formal verification activities.

What You’ll Do

• Design, develop, test, and maintain embedded software in C/C++ for aviation or aerospace systems.
• Build reliable real-time software for avionics, flight-control, sensor-processing, communications, navigation, power-management, or aircraft subsystem applications.
• Translate system and software requirements into clear technical designs, implementable software requirements, and verifiable test cases.
• Develop and maintain low-level drivers, board-support packages, communication interfaces, and hardware-abstraction layers.
• Integrate embedded software with sensors, actuators, avionics hardware, flight computers, and external aircraft systems.
• Work with protocols and interfaces such as CAN, ARINC 429, ARINC 664, RS-232/422/485, Ethernet, SPI, I2C, UART, or similar aerospace and embedded communication standards.
• Participate in board bring-up, hardware integration, lab testing, debugging, and root-cause analysis using tools such as JTAG/SWD debuggers, logic analyzers, oscilloscopes, and data logs.
• Develop software for real-time operating systems, bare-metal systems, or safety-critical embedded Linux environments.
• Collaborate with systems and verification engineers to define test plans, execute unit, integration, hardware-in-the-loop, and system-level testing, and resolve defects.
• Support the full software lifecycle, including requirements traceability, configuration management, code reviews, documentation, verification evidence, and release readiness.
• Contribute to safety, quality, reliability, and certification activities for airborne software.
• Support integration, ground testing, flight testing, and post-test data review when needed.

Required Qualifications

• 4+ years of professional embedded software engineering experience.
• Demonstrated experience developing embedded software within the aviation, aerospace, defense, UAS/drone, eVTOL, avionics, or other safety-critical industry.
• Strong C/C++ programming skills in embedded or real-time environments.
• Experience working with embedded hardware, microcontrollers, processors, peripherals, and communication interfaces.
• Familiarity with RTOS, bare-metal, or other deterministic real-time software environments.
• Experience with hardware bring-up, debugging, and integration of sensors, actuators, avionics, or electronic control systems.
• Ability to read and interpret electrical schematics, interface-control documents, hardware datasheets, and system requirements.
• Experience with software testing and debugging at the unit, integration, and system levels.
• Strong understanding of disciplined engineering practices, including version control, code review, defect tracking, documentation, and configuration management.
• Ability to work effectively across software, hardware, systems, test, and flight-operations teams.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with DO-178C, DO-254, ARP4754A, ARP4761, or comparable aerospace development-assurance and safety processes.
• Experience developing software at DAL A through DAL D, or supporting certification artifacts for airborne software.
• Familiarity with avionics and aircraft networks, including ARINC 429, ARINC 664/AFDX, CAN Aerospace, CANaerospace, MIL-STD-1553, or Ethernet-based avionics architectures.
• Experience with flight controls, autopilot systems, navigation, guidance, sensor fusion, inertial systems, GPS/GNSS, radar, EO/IR, propulsion controls, battery-management systems, or power electronics.
• Experience with hardware-in-the-loop, software-in-the-loop, simulation, automated test, and data-analysis workflows.
• Experience using MATLAB/Simulink, Python, Git, Jenkins, Jira, Polarion, DOORS, or comparable engineering and requirements-management tools.
• Familiarity with embedded cybersecurity, secure boot, trusted execution, encrypted communications, or safety/security considerations for connected aircraft systems.
• Exposure to FAA, EASA, military-airworthiness, or UAS certification environments.