Senior Embedded Software Validation Engineer (Avionics Software)

Zipline; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 170,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Zipline is seeking a Senior Embedded Software Validation Engineer to lead validation for avionics software, including the flight computer and peripherals, ensuring deterministic and safe execution.

Responsibilities include designing validation strategies, creating nominal and stress test scenarios from simulation to flight tests, and building automatic validation infrastructure to support rapid development velocity while maintaining safety and performance standards.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of software development, software systems engineering, or software validation experience with robotic systems.
• Experience deriving software safety or performance requirements from functional safety decompositions.
• Proficiency with Rust or other safety-critical languages such as MISRA C or C++.

Responsibilities

• Lead validation strategy and execution for avionics components, including flight computer and peripherals.
• Design, implement, and execute nominal, stress, and edge-case scenarios from simulation through full-system flight testing.
• Develop and maintain hardware test infrastructure to meet objectives.
• Build metrics, visualizations, and real-time performance and safety monitors to reveal capability changes.
• Set validation evidence and exit criteria informing release and deployment decisions.
• Debug failures across simulation, hardware, firmware, embedded software, and application software; escalate safety or performance risks.

Skills

Embedded Linux

Rust / safety-critical languages

C++ / MISRA C

Python

SQL

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s in CS/Engineering

Tools

Python

SQL

Job description

• Zipline’s autonomous drone delivery system relies on software that behaves safely and predictably. The avionics software team owns the flight computer operating system and platform services, as well as reliable management of the avionics sensor suite
• As a Senior Embedded Software Validation Engineer, you will lead validation strategy and execution for avionics components, including the flight computer and its related peripherals, to ensure that software executes reliably and deterministically
• Your work will help gather the evidence that exposes capability gains, gaps, regressions, and safety risks, and will serve as the foundation for confidently shipping software releases
• Develop component-level validation strategy for software correctness, reliability, and performance on an Embedded Linux node
• Design, implement, and execute nominal, stress, and edge-case scenarios from simulation through full-system flight testing
• Develop and maintain hardware test infrastructure to meet the above objectives
• Build metrics, visualizations, real-time performance and safety monitors, and automated tools that reveal capability changes and regressions
• Set validation evidence and exit criteria that inform release, deployment, and operating-domain expansion decisions
• Debug failures across simulation, hardware, firmware, embedded software, and application software; clearly document findings and escalates unresolved safety or performance risks
• Partner with test infrastructure teams to increase automated validation coverage, efficiency, and precision while improving confidence in rapid development velocity

Experience root-causing failures in complex autonomous systemsFamiliarity with other programming and query languages such as Python and SQL5+ years of software development, software systems engineering, or software validation experience with robotic systemsExperience developing validation strategies for autonomous roboticsBachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science/Engineering, Software Engineering, or a related fieldExperience deriving software safety or performance requirements from functional safety requirements or similar requirements decompositionsProficiency with Rust or other programming languages used in safety-critical applications such as MISRA C, or C++Strong experience in one or more relevant domains: Embedded Linux, PREEMPT_RT, firmware / RTOS, safety-critical systems, 802.11, Ethernet