Embedded Software Engineer – UAS Autopilots

Applied Navigation provides autopilots and other components for unmanned aircraft. The Quattro Flight Management System (FMS) is used by proven, mission-ready UAVs, such as the American Aerospace AiRanger, Pterodynamics XP-4, and Platform Vanilla. Command and control is performed with Vigilant Spirit, developed by the US Air Force Research Lab. Vigilant Spirit features active checklists and emergency procedures and the ability to control and monitor multiple vehicles.

Applied Navigation provides unmatched support and is the clear choice for systems that must operate every day with precision in adverse environments.

We are seeking an Embedded Software Engineer to join our existing engineering team working on the Quattro Flight Management System, a highly-integrated flight-control and flight-management platform running on ARM Cortex-M microcontrollers.

In this role, you will contribute to the ongoing development, maintenance, and evolution of an established real-time embedded software stack. Your work will focus on adding new features, unit tests, refactoring and improving existing functionality, and supporting new hardware revisions, while maintaining the reliability, determinism, and performance expected of a real-time control system.

You will collaborate closely with other software engineers, hardware engineers, test engineers, and manufacturing to ensure the product continues to scale in capability while remaining robust and maintainable. While aerospace or avionics experience is a plus, we welcome engineers from adjacent real-time domains who bring strong embedded fundamentals and a disciplined approach to software development.

Location:

On-site / Hybrid is preferred but remote – WA, OR, or  acceptable

• Contribute to the development and maintenance of the Quattro Flight Management System firmware
• Design and implement new features and enhancements within an established real-time autopilot software architecture
• Refactor and improve existing code to enhance maintainability, performance, and robustness
• Support new hardware revisions, including MCU variants, peripheral changes, and board updates
• Develop and maintain multi-threaded RTOS-based firmware with predictable, deterministic timing behavior
• Implement, integrate, and debug low-level peripheral drivers and hardware abstraction layers
• Integrate and maintain embedded middleware components, including:
  • Networking stacks (UDP, TCP/IP, or lightweight equivalents)
  • Embedded file systems
  • Develop and validate interfaces such as Ethernet, USB, SPI, CAN, UART, SDMMC, external RAM and flash memory buses
• Support board bring-up, system integration, and field issue investigation
• Support manufacturing and production by developing and maintaining calibration, test, and diagnostic software, including:
  • Factory calibration routines
  • Production test firmware and utilities
  • Hardware verification and acceptance test support
• Collaborate with manufacturing and test teams to improve repeatability, yield, and traceability
• Participate in code reviews, design discussions, and architectural decisions
• Help maintain engineering documentation and development best practices for a long-lived embedded product

• 3–5 years of professional embedded software development experience
• Strong practical experience with ARM Cortex-M architectures (e.g., M3, M4, M7, M33)
• Proficiency in C and/or C++ for embedded systems
• Hands‑on experience with real‑time operating systems (e.g., FreeRTOS, Thread
  
  X, Zephyr, RTX, or similar)
• Experience integrating and maintaining microcontroller middleware, such as networking stacks, USB stacks, and embedded file systems
• Experience developing and debugging microcontroller peripheral drivers
• Familiarity with embedded development and debug tools:
  • Cross-compilers and linkers
  • Basic use of logic analyzers and oscilloscopes

• Experience in aerospace, avionics, or flight‑control systems
• Exposure to safety‑critical or high‑reliability embedded systems
• Familiarity with defensive coding practices, static analysis, or embedded coding standards (e.g., MISRA‑C)
• Experience with manufacturing test, calibration workflows, or production support firmware
• Experience with bootloaders, firmware update mechanisms, or fault‑detection strategies
• Understanding of real‑time scheduling, interrupt latency, and worst‑case execution time
• Background in robotics, automotive, industrial control, or similar real‑time domains

Opportunity to work on serious embedded systems with real‑world consequences

Strong emphasis on engineering discipline, correctness, and repeatability

High degree of technical ownership and influence over firmware architecture

Close collaboration with hardware, systems, and manufacturing engineers

Competitive compensation based on experience