Embedded Software Engineer

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:

CURRENT PENN STATE EMPLOYEE (faculty, staff, technical service, or student), please login to Workday to complete the internal application process . Please do not apply here, apply internally through Workday.

CURRENT PENN STATE STUDENT (not employed previously at the university) and seeking employment with Penn State, please login to Workday to complete the student application process. Please do not apply here, apply internally through Workday.

If you are NOT a current employee or student, please click “Apply” and complete the application process for external applicants .Approval of remote and hybrid work is not guaranteed regardless of work location. For additional information on remote work at Penn State, see Notice to Out of State Applicants .POSITION SPECIFICS We are searching for a motivated and technically strong Embedded Software Engineer to join our Embedded Software Department within the Guidance and Control Technologies Division at the Applied Research Laboratory (ARL) at Penn State University.

This position supports the development of advanced autonomous undersea systems and contributes directly to national defense research initiatives.

ARL is an authorized DoD Skill Bridge partner and welcomes all transitioning military members to apply.

You will:

Design, implement, integrate, and test embedded software supporting autonomous vehicle guidance and control, including sensor monitoring, actuator and motor control, and algorithms for signal processing, detection, classification, tracking, and decision‑making

Develop and integrate autonomy‑related capabilities such as sensor fusion, perception, and embedded signal‑processing pipelines

Collaborate within a multidisciplinary team to integrate complete embedded software systems and support hardware‑in‑the‑loop testing and bench‑level validation

Prepare documentation, technical reports, and presentations

Support occasional travel to remote test locations as part of a small engineering and research team Required skills/experience areas include:

Writing software for an embedded system

Proficiency in C or C++ for embedded environments

Effective interpersonal communication skills, demonstrated through previous success in collaborative, multidisciplinary engineering environments

Ability to clearly convey technical information in presentations, documentation, and design discussions

Preferred skills/experience areas include:

Embedded communication protocols such as UART, SPI, I2C, CAN, and Ethernet Microcontroller programming and low‑level embedded development

Linux experienceScripting with Python or MATLABAutonomy‑related algorithms such as sensor fusion, Kalman filtering, state estimation, or embedded perception/tracking

Autonomy frameworks (e.g., ROS 2, MOOS‑IvP, JAUS‑based middleware)
Real‑time embedded systems or RTOS environments

Hardware‑in‑the‑loop (HIL) environments or lab‑based hardware integration

Use of AI‑ or LLM‑assisted workflows to improve software development efficiency, code quality, or documentation

Agile development methods and toolsets such as Atlassian Unit testing frameworks

Current eligibility for access to classified information at the Secret level or higher and may be subject to a government background investigation to upgrade clearance eligibility if required

This position will be fully on‑site in State College, PA. Questions related to flexible work should be directed to the hiring manager during the interview process. This role requires periodic travel to remote locations.

MINIMUM EDUCATION, WORK EXPERIENCE & REQUIRED CERTIFICATIONS If filled as Research and Development Engineer - Intermediate Professional, this position requires:

Bachelor's Degree - Engineering or Science2+ years of relevant experience

Required

Certifications:

None If filled as Research and Development Engineer - Professional, this position requires:

Bachelor's Degree - Engineering or Science No prior relevant work experience required

Required

Certifications:

None BACKGROUND CHECKS/CLEARANCES Employment with the University will require successful completion of background check(s) in accordance with University policies.

All positions at ARL require candidates…