Embedded Software Engineer

Icarus; El Segundo (CA); On-site; USD 100,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Meaningful equity

Top market salary and bonuses

Health, dental, and vision insurance

Daily lunch

Job summary

Icarus, located in California, is pioneering the field of aerospace by developing solar-powered aircraft that operate in the stratosphere. We are looking for an engineer to build embedded software that supports flight-critical systems and work closely with top-tier talent in the industry.

The position offers a competitive salary range of $100,000 - $160,000, equity opportunities, and a unique environment focused on innovation and real engineering challenges.

Qualifications

• 1+ years working with real embedded systems in high-reliability domains.
• Strong debugging skills using scopes and logic analyzers.
• Comfort working close to hardware.

Responsibilities

• Build and ship flight-critical embedded software for aircraft.
• Integrate sensors and build reliable drivers.
• Support integration and flight ops.

Skills

C/C++ fundamentals

Debugging skills

Embedded systems experience

RTOS or bare-metal firmware experience

Embedded interfaces (SPI, I2C, etc.)

Job description

Icarus was founded on the belief that the Stratosphere is the Forgotten Frontier and that reclaiming it will define the next era of aerospace and what is possible from the sky. We build solar-powered aircraft that fly at 60,000 ft for weeks at a time, delivering persistent, affordable, and scalable presence from this layer of the atmosphere.

Mission

Re-establish and maintain dominance in the Stratosphere.

What you’ll do

• Build and ship flight-critical embedded software for long-endurance stratospheric aircraft
• Own embedded subsystems end to end: architecture, implementation, bring-up, debugging, test, and flight validation
• Write firmware for MCU-based avionics, sensors, actuators, power systems, and comms interfaces
• Integrate sensors and peripherals (IMU, GNSS, air data, magnetometer, servos, radios) and build reliable drivers and middleware
• Design robust telemetry, logging, and health monitoring to support long-duration autonomous operations
• Build test harnesses, HIL hooks, and automation that makes iteration loops faster
• Support integration, production bring-up, and flight ops in the desert

What we’re looking for

• 1+ years working with real embedded systems — professional experience, internships or research (aerospace, robotics, automotive, defense, or similarly high-reliability domains)
• Strong C/C++ fundamentals and comfort working close to hardware
• Experience with RTOS or bare-metal firmware, interrupts, timing, and deterministic systems
• Experience with common embedded interfaces and protocols (SPI, I2C, UART, CAN, Ethernet)
• Strong debugging skills using scopes, logic analyzers, JTAG, and real-world fault reproduction
• Comfort moving fast, owning outcomes, and troubleshooting in the field

Why Icarus

• Meaningful equity
• Top market salary and bonuses
• Health, dental, and vision insurance
• Real ownership, real hardware, real flight
• Small team, massive responsibility
• High signal (engineering) to noise (management) culture
• Dream desk setup
• Daily lunch

This is not a normal engineering job

• We are pioneers, not corporate managers. Icarus deliberately optimizes for a high signal (engineers) to noise (management) ratio, where engineering, flight, and execution matter more than process, politics, or management overhead
• You will work side by side with the CEO and a small team of world-class builders. You will own your subsystem end to end. Design it. Build it. Break it. Fix it. Validate it in the desert. Fly it. Then do it again, faster
• We expect full extreme ownership. This is a high-trust, no-BS team, and everyone pulls their weight
• We are hiring across the stack: mechanical, aerodynamics, RF, GNC, electrical, avionics, power electronics, energy storage, software, and systems
• We want builders. No hand-holding. No fluff. No fake projects. No slide decks. No sitting in meetings all day. Just raw engineering, real hardware, and real flight
• You must thrive under pressure, learn fast, troubleshoot in the field, and push hardware to its limits. We move fast. We go to Mojave at 4 am in the morning. We expect results and an obsession with quality and speed
• You will be a core executor of flight systems, taking them from concept to reality and driving rapid iteration loops. You will work across design, integration, testing, and flight. If you want real ownership, real hardware, and real flight milestones, this is it.

US salary range

$100,000 - $160,000 USD

The salary range for this role is an estimate based on a wide range of compensation factors, inclusive of base salary only. Actual salary may vary based on (but not limited to) work experience, education and/or training, critical skills, and/or business considerations. Highly competitive equity grants are considered part of Icarus' total compensation package.

We’re an equal opportunity employer. We welcome all applicants without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.