Senior Embedded Software Engineer for Autonomous Aircraft

FlightWave Aerospace - A Red Cat Company; Torrance (CA); On-site; USD 132,000 - 183,000; Full time

Job summary

FlightWave Aerospace is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to develop embedded software for autonomous aircraft and uncrewed systems. You will own C and C++ production code across microcontrollers and Linux-based processors, integrating sensors and perception capabilities toward ground and flight testing.

This role requires deep real-time and embedded Linux expertise, plus the ability to lead cross‑functional reviews and provide mentorship while delivering reliable, deterministic software for

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience in a relevant engineering field.
• 7+ years of professional software development, including embedded aircraft/vehicle experience.
• Advanced embedded C and modern C++ with attention to memory and performance.
• Production experience for microcontrollers and application processors (ARM Cortex-M/A).
• RTOS and embedded Linux experience with debugging and system-level insight.
• Vehicle interfaces such as DroneCAN/CAN, Ethernet, SPI, I2C, UART and related protocols.
• Sensor/perception data integration on resource-constrained platforms with timing and latency considerations.
• End-to-end software lifecycle from design through field testing.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, review, and maintain embedded C/C++ software across platforms.
• Own features from requirements through ground or flight-test support.
• Develop board-support, device-interface, middleware, and application software for RTOS/Embedded Linux.
• Integrate cameras, EO/IR, IMUs, GNSS, radar, lidar with reliable data paths and synchronization.
• Develop perception capabilities including detection, tracking, localization, and multi-sensor fusion.
• Optimize CPU/GPU/memory/I/O while preserving deterministic behavior on critical paths.
• Define secure interfaces among perception, autonomy, flight controls, and operator apps.
• Diagnose cross-domain issues with debuggers, traces, telemetry, and core dumps.
• Build and maintain unit/integration/ HIL/ regression/ performance tests.
• Analyze flight data, drive defects to root cause, and set acceptance criteria.
• Provide technical leadership through reviews, mentorship, and planning.

Skills

Embedded C/C++

RTOS & Embedded Linux

Microcontrollers & ARM Cortex

Sensors & perception data integration

Vehicle interfaces (CAN, Ethernet, SPI

I2C/UART/GPIO

Real-time systems debugging

Testable interfaces & automated tests

Leadership & cross-disciplinaryCollab

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Aerospace Engineering, or related field

Job description

FlightWave Aerospace is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to develop embedded software for autonomous aircraft and uncrewed systems. You will own C and C++ production code across microcontrollers and Linux-based processors, integrating sensors and perception capabilities toward ground and flight testing.

This role requires deep real-time and embedded Linux expertise, plus the ability to lead cross‑functional reviews and provide mentorship while delivering reliable, deterministic software for