Embedded Linux Software Team Lead

Firestorm; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

401(k) Retirement Savings Plan

Equity grants

Unlimited PTO

Holiday calendar

Parental Leave

Lifestyle Spending Account

FSA

DCFSA

HSA

Hospital Indemnity insurance

Critical Illness insurance

Job summary

Firestorm in San Diego seeks an Embedded Linux Software Team Lead to guide the Flight Systems Software team and deliver Linux-based services for media, radio, and SDK workloads. You will balance management with hands-on development in modern C++ and REST APIs.

You’ll collaborate with autonomy, avionics, and applications groups, implement secure, deterministic code, and shape platform architecture while ensuring security, performance, and field readiness.

Qualifications

• U.S. Citizenship and the ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government security clearance.
• Bachelor’s in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or related field.
• 5+ years of experience in embedded systems and Linux development in modern C/C++.
• 2+ years of experience leading a team with people management.
• Proven experience creating and maintaining Linux daemons with systemd integration.
• Strong integration background with real-time or mission-critical systems (5+ years).
• Familiarity with defense protocols and data serialization (Protobuf/FlatBuffers).
• Secure coding, dependency hygiene (OpenSSL/libsodium), and fuzzing/sanitizers.
• Cross-platform build/packaging: CMake, Conan/vcpkg; Linux/Windows/Android packaging.

Responsibilities

• Team management, standups, scrummaster, prioritization, and design reviews.
• Collaborate across engineering disciplines for software compatibility with design requirements.
• Design and implement Linux core daemons in modern C++.
• Define REST APIs and deliver packages across Linux, Windows, and Android.
• Own developer experience with samples, quickstarts, wrappers, and docs.
• Engineer for real-time use: deterministic behavior and bounded latency.
• Harden security by default: secure transport, key handling, supply-chain hygiene.
• CI/CD: cross-platform builds, unit/integration tests, fuzzing, sanitizers.
• Contribute to platform architecture and roadmap discussions.
• Support field integrations with diagnostics, tracing, and upgrade playbooks.

Skills

Embedded Linux

C/C++

Team leadership

REST APIs

RTOS/real-time

Linux daemons

Security compliance

Cross-functional collaboration

CI/CD

Diagnostics/telemetry

Education

Bachelor’s in Computer Science/Engineering

Tools

CMake

Conan/vcpkg

MSVC/MinGW

AppImage/MSI

Linux packaging

Job description

Who We Are

At Firestorm, we are building the future of expeditionary defense manufacturing and autonomous systems. Modern conflict has exposed a fundamental problem: the systems needed most by operators are often too expensive, too slow to produce, and too difficult to sustain at scale. Firestorm exists to change that.

About The Role

Firestorm is seeking an Embedded Linux Software Team Lead to join our team. You’ll report to the Flight Systems Software Lead, and work closely with the autonomy, avionics, and applications software teams to build robust, secure applications that power real defense missions. You will also interface with mechanical and electrical engineering teams in the product design phase to ensure software compatibility. Your time will be split between management and being an individual contributor.

This is a high-impact, hands-on engineering leadership role focused on designing and delivering Linux based applications for media, radio, communications, SDK, and other Linux system daemons. You’ll oversee and personally contribute to the development of C/C++ system services and implement REST based and other API’s to interface with these services. You’ll help ensure interoperability with industry and defense standards while upholding security and performance requirements.

What You'll Do

• Team management, facilitating standup meetings, scrummaster, task prioritization and scheduling and architecture and design review
• Work across engineering disciplines to ensure software compatibility and capability with product design and requirements
• Design and implement Linux core daemons in modern C++.
• Define clean, versioned REST APIs (SemVer, deprecation strategy) and deliver software application packages, installers, and artifacts across Linux, Windows, and Android (e.g., deb/AppImage, MSI/MSIX, AAR/APK add-ons).
• Own the developer experience: samples, quickstarts, idiomatic wrappers, error models, logging/telemetry hooks, and clear documentation that make integration fast and intuitive.
• Engineer for real-time and mission-critical use: deterministic behavior, back-pressure, zero-copy paths, bounded latencies, and graceful degradation on CPU/GPU-constrained hardware.
• Harden security by default: memory-safe patterns, least-privilege design, secure transport (OpenSSL/libsodium), key/material handling, and supply-chain integrity for third-party deps.
• Build reliability into CI/CD: cross-platform builds (CMake, Conan/vcpkg), automated unit/integration tests (Catch2/GoogleTest, pytest, JUnit, NUnit), fuzzing, sanitizers, codegen validation.
• Collaborate across teams and with partners to gather requirements, refine APIs, and support field integrations; contribute to platform-wide architecture and roadmap discussions.
• Contribute to operability: diagnostics, tracing, metrics, compatibility matrices, and upgrade playbooks for customers in the field.

Minimum Qualifications

• U.S. Citizenship and the ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government security clearance.
• Bachelor’s in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or related field.
• 5+ years of experience in embedded systems and Linux development in modern C/C++.
• 2+ years of experience leading a team with people management.
• Proven experience creating and maintaining Linux daemons with systemd integration.
• Strong integration background with real-time or mission-critical systems (5+ years) including async/event-driven networking (TCP/UDP, REST, WebSockets, DDS/gRPC/ZeroMQ).
• Familiarity with industry/defense protocols and standards (e.g., RAS-A, MAVLink, STANAG 4586, OMS/UCI, Link 16) and data serialization (Protobuf/FlatBuffers).
• Expertise in secure coding and dependency hygiene (OpenSSL, libsodium, memory safety, fuzzing, sanitizers).
• Cross-platform build and packaging: CMake, Conan/vcpkg; Linux (deb/rpm/AppImage, systemd), Windows (MSVC/MinGW, windeploy/MSI/MSIX), Android (Gradle/JNI/APK signing).
• Excellent problem-solving and communication skills; comfortable driving features end-to-end (requirements → design → implementation → testing → release).

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience troubleshooting hardware bringup and the use of oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, etc.
• Experience with the Linux kernel and drivers, building, and deployment thereof
• Experience with ROS 2 (rclcpp/DDS), gRPC, ZeroMQ, and protocol gateways/bridges.
• Knowledge of telemetry pipelines and observability for SDKs (structured logs, metrics, distributed tracing).
• Experience in embedded/Linux environments (Yocto/Buildroot, cross-compilation, OTA updates) and constrained targets.
• Performance tuning and profiling across languages (perf, VTune, Valgrind, sanitizers) and build/toolchain optimization.
• Experience developing to MIL-STD/DO-178C or similar safety/security standards.
• Track record of mentoring peers, conducting code reviews, and enforcing modern C++/API best practices.

Work Environment

• This role is preferred to be on-site in San Diego, but hybrid candidates may be considered.
• We welcome candidates who are local or open to relocating; relocation assistance is available and may be included in the offer package where appropriate.
• Willingness to travel up to 15% domestically for testing and demonstrations

This position typically operates in a standard office setting and manufacturing environment. This role requires use of standard office equipment and the physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met to successfully perform the essential functions of the job. Ability to sit, stand, bend, reach and move about regularly throughout the day. Must have manual dexterity to operate standard office equipment.

Compensation

US Salary Range: $140,000 - $180,000 USD

The posted salary range reflects an estimate based on a variety of compensation factors, including but not limited to relevant experience, education, certifications, specialized skills, geographic location, and business needs. Actual compensation may vary, and this range is subject to change as our compensation structure or market conditions evolve.

Benefits & Perks

Our culture fosters collaboration, respect, and trust, empowering passionate people to do their best work. We offer a competitive salary, comprehensive benefits, and opportunities for career growth. In addition to an opportunity to take part in an innovative, collaborative and fast-growing business with a highly motivated and skilled team, we also take pride in taking care of our employees. Here are just a few ways that we show our appreciation:

• We offer comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans
• 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan to invest in your long-term retirement goals
• Equity grants for new hires
• Unlimited PTO
• Extremely generous company holiday calendar, including a holiday hiatus in November & December
• Generous Parental Leave
• Lifestyle Spending Account
• FSA
• DCFSA
• HSA
• Hospital Indemnity insurance
• Critical Illness insurance