Senior Embedded Software Engineer (Small UAV Flight Controls)

Knightwerx; Scottsdale (AZ); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Knightwerx seeks a Senior Embedded Software Engineer for Small UAV Flight Controls to architect, develop, and test deterministic, safety-critical flight control firmware for our small unmanned aerial vehicles. You will own the software layer between guidance algorithms and actuation, ensuring maximum stability, agility, and responsiveness on lightweight hardware.

You will bridge control theory and low-SWaP bare-metal or RTOS execution, writing robust, high-integrity code to minimize latency and

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, or a related technical discipline.
• Experience with ARM Cortex-M microcontrollers and related peripherals.
• Hands-on experience with oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and JTAG/SWD debuggers.

Responsibilities

• Flight Software & Driver Development: Design, optimize, and implement high-rate stabilization loops, attitude control algorithms, and actuator mixing logic in C and C++.
• Low-Level Drivers: Develop and maintain bare-metal peripheral drivers for microcontrollers to interface with IMUs, magnetometers, barometers, airspeed sensors, and GPS modules.
• RTOS Optimization: Configure and profile Real-Time Operating Systems for predictable task scheduling and minimal jitter.
• Bus Architecture: Manage CAN/UAVCAN, SPI, I2C, UART to interface with ESCs and servos.
• Fault Tolerance: Implement robust fault detection, isolation, and recovery mechanisms for UAV anomalies.
• HIL Testing: Build Hardware-in-the-Loop setups to validate flight software performance.
• Resource Management: Optimize memory and CPU usage on high-performance microcontrollers.
• Open-Source Hardening: Maintain/port PX4, ArduPilot, or Betaflight for custom hardware.

Skills

ARM Cortex-M

Real-Time Control

C/C++

Deterministic RTOS experience

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in Computer Engineering / Electrical Engineering / Robotics

Tools

FreeRTOS

ChibiOS

Zephyr

JTAG/SWD debugging

Oscilloscopes

Job description

We are seeking a Senior Embedded Software Engineer for Small UAV Flight Controls to

architect, develop, and test deterministic, safety-critical flight control firmware for our

small unmanned aerial vehicles (Group 1 and Group 2 tactical aircraft, fixed-wing, or hybrid

VTOLs). In this role, you will own the software layer that sits directly between complex

guidance algorithms and physical aircraft actuation, ensuring maximum stability, agility,

and responsiveness on lightweight, space-constrained hardware.

You will bridge the gap between control theory and low-SWaP (Size, Weight, and Power)

bare-metal or RTOS execution. You will write robust, high-integrity code that operates

under strict real-time constraints, optimizing every clock cycle to ensure ultra-low latency

from sensor sample to actuator command.

Key Responsibilities

Flight Software & Driver Development

• Control Loop Execution: Design, optimize, and implement high-rate stabilization loops, attitude control algorithms, and actuator mixing logic in C and C++.
• Low-Level Drivers: Develop and maintain bare-metal peripheral drivers for highly integrated microcontrollers to interface with IMUs, magnetometers, barometers, airspeed sensors, and GPS modules.
• RTOS Optimization: Configure and profile Real-Time Operating Systems (e.g., FreeRTOS, ChibiOS, Zephyr) for highly predictable task scheduling, deterministic execution, and minimal jitter.

System Integration & Deterministic Communication

• Bus Architecture: Manage and optimize communication protocols over lightweight, low-pin-count buses including CAN bus (UAVCAN/Cyphal), SPI, I2C, and UART to interface with Electronic Speed Controllers (ESCs) and servos.
• Fault Tolerance: Implement robust fault detection, isolation, and recovery (FDIR) mechanisms to immediately handle small UAV anomalies, such as sensor dropouts, frame vibrations, or battery voltage drops.
• HIL Testing: Build and utilize Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) simulation setups to safely validate flight software performance and corner-case failure modes on the
• Resource Management: Target, profile, and optimize memory footprint (SRAM/Flash) and CPU usage on high-performance microcontrollers (e.g., ARM
• Open-Source Hardening: (If applicable) Maintain, customize, and secure opensource small UAV ecosystems like PX4, ArduPilot, or Betaflight for custom proprietary hardware configurations.

Required Skills & Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, or a related technical discipline.
• Microcontroller Fluency: Extensive experience with ARM Cortex-M or similar architectures, registers, timers, DMA, and interrupt handling.
• Lab Tool Proficiency: Hands‑on experience using oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, multi‑meters, and JTAG/SWD debuggers to isolate hardware vs. software issues.
• State Estimation Basics: Practical understanding of digital filtering (e.g., notch filters, low-pass filters) used to mitigate high-frequency frame vibrations common in small UAVs.

embedded C and C++ software for real-time systems.

embedded C and C++ software for real-time systems.

Preferred Qualifications

• Direct experience contributing to or deploying customized PX4 Autopilot or ArduPilot stacks onto custom small UAV airframes.
• Background in mathematical modeling, MATLAB/Simulink code generation, or working alongside GNC engineers to port control laws into C.
• Experience implementing lightweight safety protocols or functional safety frameworks scaled down for consumer, commercial, or defense-grade small UAV systems

About Knightwerx

Knightwerx develops American-made, AI-powered unmanned aerial systems and remote sensing technologies for commercial and government customers. Our platforms support autonomous operations, human‑machine teaming, and mission‑critical applications where reliability, performance, and speed matter.