Embedded Software Engineer - Quantum Sensing Systems

FIELDLINE INDUSTRIES; Boulder (CO); On-site; USD 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k)

Employee discounts

Health insurance

Paid time off

401(k) matching

Company parties

Dental insurance

Free food & snacks

Vision insurance

Job summary

FieldLine Industries Inc in Boulder, CO is seeking a mid-level Embedded Software Engineer to own firmware on Zephyr RTOS and embedded Linux systems for high-sensitivity quantum sensing hardware. You will collaborate with physicists and engineers to develop drivers, board bring-up, and data pipelines for space-ready sensor systems.

The role emphasizes hardware/software boundary work, real-time constraints, and deployment on field-ready hardware, including drones and small satellites.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or related field.
• 3+ years of professional embedded software development experience.
• Strong C programming skills (C++ a plus) for resource-constrained, real-time systems.
• Experience with RTOS (Zephyr, FreeRTOS) and/or embedded Linux, including device drivers.
• Hands-on hardware bring-up and debugging with oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, JTAG/SWD.
• Comfort reading schematics/datasheets and collaborating with electrical engineers.
• Proficiency in Python for tooling, test automation and data analysis.
• Experience with Git and collaborative development practices.
• Self-driven, tinkerer, learner.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain Zephyr RTOS firmware for sensor electronics and small-satellite payloads, including drivers and board support.
• Build and maintain embedded Linux platforms for sensor systems, including kernel drivers and build systems (Yocto/Buildroot).
• Work on FPGA-based signal processing systems: data acquisition, buffering, and streaming, plus timing and synchronization.

Skills

Embedded C/C++

RTOS (Zephyr/FreeRTOS)

Embedded Linux

Python

Git

Hardware debugging

JTAG/SWD

Schematics literacy

Data analysis

Self-motivated

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s in Computer/Electrical Engineering or CS

Tools

Zephyr RTOS

Yocto/Buildroot

Linux kernel modules

FPGA basics

Testing/automation tools

Job description

Benefits

• 401(k)
• Employee discounts
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• 401(k) matching
• Company parties
• Dental insurance
• Free food & snacks
• Vision insurance

About Us - FLI

FieldLine Industries is a Colorado-based quantum sensing company developing and manufacturing high-sensitivity quantum magnetometers and advanced multi-sensor systems. Our technology is being applied in a wide variety of application areas including navigation in GNSS-denied environments, unexploded ordnance detection, maritime sensing, and space systems.

Our technology sits at the intersection of quantum physics, precision engineering, and real-world deployment—transforming applications in navigation, space and geographical mapping, geophysics, defense applications, and fundamental research. We’re a small, highly technical team that values solving problems together, with curiosity, rigor, reliability and humor. We are growing our engineering team and are currently hiring a mid-level Embedded Software Engineer.

The Role

Working directly with our lead software engineer and a multidisciplinary team of physicists and electrical and mechanical engineers, you will build the software that makes our sensors work: the firmware that runs on them, the embedded Linux systems that host them, and the tools we use to test, calibrate and deploy them.

Most of the work in front of us sits close to the hardware—Zephyr RTOS firmware on microcontrollers, embedded Linux on the systems around our sensors, and the data paths between our FPGA signal-processing chains and the rest of the system. Our sensors also fly on drones and are headed to orbit on small satellite payloads, so the same day might include writing a device driver, chasing a timing bug with a logic analyzer, and debugging telemetry from a field test. The work also reaches up the stack when we need it to: analyzing sensor data, storing and serving it, and moving it between instruments, vehicles and ground systems over the network.

This is a high-impact, high-ownership role. You will own major software subsystems, help set the engineering practices for software at FieldLine, and see your code run on hardware deployed in the field.

What we’re looking for…

This role is ideal for an engineer who is most at home where software meets hardware, and who is happy to follow a problem wherever it leads—down into a register map, across into a schematic, or up into a Python script that automates the test.

We’ll be upfront: the range of work here is broad, and we don’t expect anyone to arrive knowing all of it. What we’re looking for is a solid embedded foundation in C/C++ and real hardware, plus the curiosity and self-direction to pick up the rest. If you read the list below and recognize about half of it, and are excited to learn the other half, we want to hear from you.

We recognize that virtually every job post calls for someone driven and self-motivated, but we actually mean it here! You’ll be part of a small, tight team who enjoys collaborating while wearing multiple hats.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain Zephyr RTOS firmware for sensor electronics and small-satellite payloads, including drivers, board support, and peripheral interfaces
• Build and maintain embedded Linux platforms for our sensor systems: board bring-up, kernel/device drivers, build systems (Yocto, Buildroot or similar), and system services
• Work on our FPGA-based signal processing systems: data acquisition, buffering and streaming of high-rate sensor data, timing and synchronization, the software that configures and reads them, and the FPGA designs themselves where needed
• Design robust, fault-tolerant software for space and field environments, such as non-volatile storage strategies, watchdogs, safe update paths, and telemetry/command interfaces
• Integrate our sensors with drone platforms and their autopilots and ground stations (e.g., ArduPilot, MAVLink, QGroundControl)
• Write software that automates lab and production work: instrument control, motion stages and cameras, calibration routines, and test fixtures for characterizing our products
• Contribute to higher-level software as projects need it: data pipelines and analysis tools in Python, databases for test and sensor data, and networked communication between sensors, vehicles and ground systems
• Support board bring-up and system-level debugging alongside the electrical and physics teams, using oscilloscopes, logic analyzers and debuggers
• Help establish the team’s software practices: version control, code review, CI, testing, and documentation

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field
• 3+ years of professional experience developing embedded software for hardware products or instrumentation
• Strong C programming skills (C++ a plus) for resource-constrained, real-time systems
• Experience with an RTOS (Zephyr, FreeRTOS, or similar) and/or embedded Linux, including writing or adapting device drivers
• Hands‑on experience bringing up new hardware and debugging at the hardware/software boundary with oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and JTAG/SWD debuggers
• Comfortable reading schematics and datasheets, and working directly with electrical engineers
• Proficiency in Python for tooling, test automation, and data analysis
• Experience with Git and collaborative development practices
• (Self-driven, tinkerer, learner)

Nice to Have

• Zephyr RTOS specifically, including devicetree and board porting
• Yocto or Buildroot, Linux kernel modules, and cross-compilation toolchains
• Hands‑on FPGA experience: HDL (Verilog/VHDL), high-rate data acquisition, DMA, AXI or similar interfaces
• Higher-level software: data analysis, database systems, and networking protocols
• Digital signal processing fundamentals
• Flight software, small-satellite/CubeSat, or other high‑reliability work (radiation effects, fault tolerance)
• Drone or robotics software: ArduPilot or PX4, MAVLink, ground control stations, Qt/C++
• Laboratory automation: instrument control (SCPI/VISA), motion control, machine vision, DAQ hardware
• Exposure to magnetic sensing, precision measurement, or atomic/quantum systems
• Interest in contributing to development of quantum technologies – previous quantum or magnetometer experience is not essential

This role offers

• Significant technical ownership across firmware, embedded Linux, and the data and tooling built around them
• Exposure to advanced sensing systems, from the lab to drones to orbit
• Direct impact on fielded, deployed hardware systems
• A collaborative, fun working environmentOpportunity to learn and grow your skillset well beyond software
• Competitive benefits package

Why join FieldLine

• Work on cutting‑edge quantum technology moving from lab to real-world impact
• High ownership and visibility—your designs will define the product
• Close collaboration with world‑class physicists, engineers and research institutions
• Competitive benefits package
• A culture that values deep thinking, fast iteration, and building things that matter
• Quarterly teambuilding events

Finally, we believe in maintaining a healthy work-life balance and do our best to support our team in enjoying life beyond the workday. Extended, 80-hour workweeks are not part of the expectation here.

Employment Type: Full-time, Onsite

Location: 5540 Central Ave STE 220, Boulder, CO 80301

Job Level: Mid-level, 3+ yrs experience