Senior Embedded Software Engineer

Join the elite team at QDSS, where our engineers are at the forefront of developing cutting‑edge Aerospace, Defense, Space, and Medical Device products. Your work will make a real impact, contributing to the core of engineering solutions that drive technological advancements.

Quest Defense Systems and Solutions (QDSS) is seeking a Senior Embedded Software Engineer to lead the development of embedded software for mission‑critical aerospace and defense systems. In this role, you will design and guide the implementation of real‑time software operating directly on complex hardware platforms supporting avionics, mission computers, and advanced embedded control systems.

This position is ideal for an experienced embedded engineer who enjoys solving complex technical problems while providing technical leadership and mentorship to other engineers. You will play a key role in defining software architectures, guiding development across the full software lifecycle, and supporting system integration in hardware‑intensive environments where reliability, performance, and safety are critical.

Due to the nature of the project, all applicants must be U.S. citizens and must have or be eligible to obtain and maintain an Active Secret Clearance.

Must be located or willing to relocate to Fort Worth, TX (Marietta, GA, or Deer Creek, CO will also be considered).

• Embedded Software Development
  • Lead development of complex embedded software using C, C++, and/or Ada.
  • Design software architectures for real‑time embedded systems supporting avionics and mission systems.
  • Develop software interacting with hardware devices, control systems, and communication interfaces.
• Full Software Lifecycle Participation
  • Lead activities across the embedded software lifecycle including:
    • Software requirements analysis and decomposition
    • High‑level and low‑level software design
    • Implementation and technical oversight
    • Integration and system testing
    • Verification and validation activities
    • Support for regulatory compliance documentation
• Safety‑Critical and Regulated Development
  • Ensure software development aligns with aerospace and defense regulatory frameworks.
  • Support certification activities, audits, and program technical reviews.
• Verification & Validation
  • Oversee requirements‑based verification activities.
  • Support development of test strategies and verification approaches.
  • Analyze complex software issues discovered during testing or integration.
• Collaboration
  • Provide technical guidance to software engineers and multidisciplinary teams.
  • Participate in system architecture discussions and technical planning activities.
  • Serve as the primary point of contact for customers, ensuring alignment on scope, technical requirements and project deliverables. Support customer technical reviews and engineering program milestones.
  • Work with customers to define performance metrics, track project budgets and meet regularly with customers to review this data. Work with customers to monitor and resolve issues and risks.
  • Track project progress, generate status reports, and communicate key metrics to customers and internal leadership.
  • Support internal processes such as interviewing and annual review input

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or related discipline.
• 7+ years of embedded software development experience on an Aerospace, Defense, or regulated industry program.
• Experience developing in Agile Scrum environments, as well as programming within Dev Ops frameworks.
• Applied knowledge of Jira and Bit Bucket or similar Git repository.
• Applied knowledge of MIL‑STD‑1553 or ARINC 429, or experience with data bus development and messaging architectures.
• Experience mentoring engineers or leading technical work.
• Must be a U.S. Citizen.
• Must have or be eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. Secret Security Clearance.

• Embedded systems architecture and design
• Real‑time software engineering
• Hardware/software integration
• Technical leadership and mentoring
• Collaboration across engineering disciplines

• Experience with standards such as DO‑178B/C & ARP
  4754A
• Additional…