Senior Embedded Software Engineer (Small UAV Flight Controls)

Posted 4 days ago

knightwerxScottsdale (AZ)

Software Developers Aircraft Manufacturing

SENIORITY

Lead

Apply

About the role

Role Overview: We are seeking a Senior Embedded Software Engineer for Small UAV Flight Controls toarchitect, develop, and test deterministic, safety-critical flight control firmware for oursmall unmanned aerial vehicles (Group 1 and Group 2 tactical aircraft, fixed-wing, or hybridVTOLs). In this role, you will own the software layer that sits directly between complexguidance 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 operatesunder strict real-time constraints, optimizing every clock cycle to ensure ultra-low latencyfrom sensor sample to actuator command.

Key Responsibilities: Flight Software & Driver Development

Control Loop Execution: Design, optimize, and implement high-rate stabilizationloops, attitude control algorithms, and actuator mixing logic in C and C++.
Low-Level Drivers: Develop and maintain bare-metal peripheral drivers for highlyintegrated 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, deterministicexecution, 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 tointerface 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 sensordropouts, frame vibrations, or battery voltage drops.
HIL Testing: Build and utilize Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) simulation setups tosafely validate flight software performance and corner-case failure modes on thebench. SWaP Optimization & Architecture
Resource Management: Target, profile, and optimize memory footprint(SRAM/Flash) and CPU usage on high-performance microcontrollers (e.g., ARMCortex-M4/M7/H7).
Open-Source Hardening: (If applicable) Maintain, customize, and secure opensource small UAV ecosystems like PX4, ArduPilot, or Betaflight for customproprietary hardware configurations. Required Skills & Qualifications
Education: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, or a related technical discipline.
Firmware Expertise: Deep professional experience developing production-gradeembedded C and C++ software for real-time systems.
Microcontroller Fluency: Extensive experience with ARM Cortex-M or similararchitectures, 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., notchfilters, low-pass filters) used to mitigate high-frequency frame vibrations common insmall UAVs.

Preferred Qualifications:

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

Before you apply

Applying takes about a minute. These four things decide how fast it moves after that.

Your profile is current

It's what we read first. Occupations, seniority and locations matter more than a long history.

Two examples you can talk through

Not a portfolio — just two pieces of work where you can explain the decisions and what you'd change.

A number in mind

What you're on now and what would make you move. We negotiate better when we know both.

Your notice period

Employers plan around it, and it's the question that stalls offers most often.

Once you apply, someone reads it and calls you before anything reaches the employer — usually within two working days.