Lead Firmware Engineer

Lead Firmware Engineer at Saab

Saab UK is part of Scandinavia’s largest defence company, bringing together the best of Swedish and British innovation. Saab offers world‑leading solutions and services in defence, aviation, space, and civil security to keep people and society safe. Our UK presence has been growing at pace, meaning we can offer a wide range of opportunities for personal fulfilment and career growth. We currently employ over 600 people across eight sites in the UK, and our specialisations include software engineering, underwater robotics, radars, AI, and armed forces training.

What You Will Be Part Of – Explore a wealth of possibilities. Take on challenges, create smart inventions, and grow beyond. This is a place for curious minds, brave pioneers, and everyone in between. Together, we achieve the extraordinary, each bringing our unique perspectives. Your part matters.

Saab is a leading defence and security company with an enduring mission, to help nations keep their people and society safe. Empowered by its 26,000 talented people, Saab constantly pushes the boundaries of technology to create a safer and more sustainable world.

Saab designs, manufactures and maintains advanced systems in aeronautics, weapons, command and control, sensors and underwater systems. Saab is headquartered in Sweden. It has major operations all over the world and is part of the domestic defence capability of several nations. Read more about us here.

This role is part of our Blue Bear Business in Bedfordshire. You will be required to support a mixture of R&D and product development activities within a leading autonomy and unmanned systems company. Blue Bear continuously innovate within core areas such as UAV autopilots, mission systems, ground control stations, and all supporting systems and infrastructure.

You will be keen to get involved in all development areas and have a good track history/proven track record in both problem solving and quality software development. Working as part of a team in a multidisciplinary team you will have good communication skills. A can‑do attitude and a genuine passion for innovative technology will be advantageous.

Develop low‑level drivers for UAV for control of effectors, reading instrumentation and integration of novel sensors.

• Primarily, your role will be to lead in the design, implementation and test of real‑time embedded software to support both experimental activities and product development, ensuring real‑time safety, security and redundancy considerations are met.
• Develop, own and execute firmware roadmaps working closely with Software and Electronics department leads.
• Lead a skilled team in the delivery of firmware for high‑paced projects.
• The opportunity will enable the successful candidate to gain knowledge of cutting‑edge autonomous systems.
• You will be responsible for delivery, reporting and presentation of technical work and writing and submitting any necessary documentation.
• Delivery and maintenance of the embedded systems software within the UAV specifically.
• Support development of automated HWIL test environments.

• Minimum 5+ years experience of embedded Linux
• Experience leading a team of low‑level software engineers.
• Sound understanding of Linux kernel configuration and tuning
• Experienced user of Linux OS build tool chains such as Yocto and Buildroot
• Programming languages: C, C++, Python, Scripting (including Bash)
• Ability to work from application code right down to bare metal
• Experience of working with core communication interfaces such as UART, Ethernet, SPI, I2C, CAN
• Experienced at hardware level debugging and fault finding
• Experience of Electronics design, development and testing.
• Awareness of FPGAs and VHDL.
• Able to interpret relevant data from electronic schematics and component datasheets and application notes for the purposes code writing
• RTOS coding and debugging
• Awareness of assurance frameworks (DO-178C etc.) and secure by design.
• Conducting code reviews
• Familiar with use of version control tools such as Git

• To undertake such other duties and responsibilities as may be…