Senior Embedded Firmware Engineer — Flight-Critical Systems

Zipline; South San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Zipline is seeking a Senior Embedded Software Engineer in South San Francisco to own low‑level and edge software that keeps our long‑range aircraft safe and reliable within a production delivery network.

You will work at the hardware/software boundary on flight‑ and safety‑critical embedded stacks, and on diagnostics and validation infrastructure used in the field. Strong C++/Rust, RTOS, and testing experience are essential.

Qualifications

• Extensive systems‑level embedded production code experience in C++ or Rust.
• Proficient in Python for test and telemetry tooling.
• Experience with bare‑metal and RTOS environments; embedded Linux a plus.

Responsibilities

• Own end‑to‑end embedded subsystems (firmware, drivers, runtime) for the long‑range platform.
• Deliver safety‑critical code on microcontrollers (bare‑metal/RTOS) and field‑validation tooling.
• Define reliability targets, instrument flight data, and monitor regressions for fleet performance.
• Lead hardware‑in‑the‑loop and field testing with cross‑functional teams to ensure production readiness.

Skills

C++

Rust

Python

RTOS

bare-metal

embedded Linux

Education

Bachelor's degree in EE/CS

Tools

JTAG

Oscilloscope

Logic Analyzer

Job description

Zipline is seeking a Senior Embedded Software Engineer in South San Francisco to own low‑level and edge software that keeps our long‑range aircraft safe and reliable within a production delivery network.

You will work at the hardware/software boundary on flight‑ and safety‑critical embedded stacks, and on diagnostics and validation infrastructure used in the field. Strong C++/Rust, RTOS, and testing experience are essential.