Embedded Software Engineer (UAV)

Attis; Michigan; On-site; USD 120,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity Package

Competitive Base Salary

Job summary

Attis is seeking an Embedded Systems Engineer to lead firmware and hardware integration for autonomous aircraft in a fast-paced defense tech environment. You will own embedded development, board bring-up, and flight testing, with rapid progression from prototype to production.

Ideal candidates have hands-on experience with ARM Cortex-M, PX4-based flight stacks, and secure firmware practices, within a small, mission-driven team in Michigan.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of embedded software/firmware experience.
• Experience with ARM Cortex‑M microcontrollers.
• Bare-metal and/or RTOS development experience.
• Knowledge of embedded communication protocols.
• Hardware debugging experience using scopes/analysers/JTAG-SWD, etc.
• Strong understanding of interrupts, DMA, timing, and MCU architecture.

Responsibilities

• Develop embedded firmware in C/C++ on ARM Cortex‑M microcontrollers.
• Build and extend a PX4-based flight control stack.
• Develop low-level drivers and control systems using SPI.
• Implement communications using MAVLink.
• Support hardware bring-up alongside electrical engineers.
• Develop bootloaders, secure firmware updates, and production tooling.
• Debug and optimise firmware for deployment in demanding real-world environments.
• Participate in flight testing and post-flight analysis.
• Help scale autonomous systems from engineering builds to volume production.

Skills

C/C++

ARM Cortex‑M

Bare-metal/RTOS

Embedded protocols

Hardware debugging

Tools

PX4

STM32

Job description

A rapidly growing defense technology startup is looking for a Embedded Systems Engineer to help develop next-generation autonomous aircraft being deployed for real-world national security missions.

This is a hands-on role where you'll take ownership of embedded firmware development, hardware integration, board bring-up, flight testing, and scaling products from prototype to production.

If you're excited by fast-moving engineering environments and seeing your work deployed in weeks rather than years, this could be a great fit.

What You'll Do

• Develop embedded firmware in C/C++ on ARM Cortex-M microcontrollers
• Build and extend a PX4-based flight control stack
• Develop low-level drivers and control systems using: SPI
• Implement communications using: MAVLink
• Support hardware bring-up alongside electrical engineers
• Develop bootloaders, secure firmware updates, and production tooling
• Debug and optimise firmware for deployment in demanding real-world environments
• Participate in flight testing and post-flight analysis
• Help scale autonomous systems from engineering builds to volume production

What We're Looking For

Required

• 3+ years of embedded software / firmware engineering experience
• Experience with ARM Cortex-M microcontrollers
• Bare-metal and/or RTOS development experience
• Knowledge of embedded communication protocols
• Hardware debugging experience using oscilloscopes, logic analysers, JTAG/SWD, etc.
• Strong understanding of interrupts, DMA, timing, and microcontroller architecture

Nice To Have

• Embedded security, secure boot, or cryptographic signing experience
• Ability to read schematics and collaborate with hardware engineers
• Experience in drones, robotics, aerospace, autonomy, or defense systems

Why Join?

• Work on mission-critical autonomous aircraft
• Build products that move from concept to flight rapidly
• Direct ownership of major technical decisions
• Collaborative team of hardware and software engineers

Compensation

• Up to $200,000 Base Salary
• Equity Package

Keywords

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