Senior PX4 Firmware Engineer – UAS Simulation & Autonomy

Zone5 Technologies; United States; On-site; USD 148,000 - 179,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision, life

401k with company-match

PTO 3 weeks

Sick time 40 hours

12 company holidays

Job summary

Zone 5 Technologies is seeking an Embedded Software Engineer to develop and maintain PX4 autopilot firmware for autonomous aerial platforms in the United States. You will modify core flight control algorithms, integrate sensors and payloads, and build simulation environments for hardware-in-the-loop testing.

The role emphasizes cross-functional collaboration with hardware and autonomy teams, hands-on debugging, and developing automated build and testing pipelines for reliable flight operations.

Qualifications

• BS in computer/EE/aerospace engineering or related field, or equivalent experience.
• 4–6+ years of embedded software development in real-time systems.
• Strong C/C++ programming for embedded platforms.
• Hands-on PX4 autopilot firmware experience and knowledge of build tooling.

Responsibilities

• Develop, modify, and maintain PX4 firmware modules for mission needs.
• Implement flight modes, navigation algorithms, and control strategies.
• Integrate sensors, actuators, payloads via PX4 driver and uORB.
• Debug firmware using GDB, serial, and flight logs; patch backports.
• Maintain build systems and cross-compilation for ARM targets.
• Create SITL/HITL test envs and automate test scenarios.

Skills

C/C++

Real-time systems

PX4 firmware

Sensor fusion

MAVLink protocol

Flight control theory

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering or related field

Tools

CMake

Make

ARM Cortex-M

Embedded toolchains

Job description

Zone 5 Technologies is seeking an Embedded Software Engineer to develop and maintain PX4 autopilot firmware for autonomous aerial platforms in the United States. You will modify core flight control algorithms, integrate sensors and payloads, and build simulation environments for hardware-in-the-loop testing.

The role emphasizes cross-functional collaboration with hardware and autonomy teams, hands-on debugging, and developing automated build and testing pipelines for reliable flight operations.