Senior Software Engineer

Senior Software Engineer

Location: Santa Barbara, CA (Onsite)

Sonatech LLC is a leader in undersea acoustics, providing advanced technologies to support U.S. Navy missions. Our embedded software is a core component of high-performance, mission-critical systems deployed across a variety of naval platforms-often requiring real-time responsiveness, secure operation, and seamless hardware integration.

We foster a collaborative engineering culture where innovation, technical ownership, and cross-disciplinary teamwork are deeply valued. Our Santa Barbara office, located just minutes from the beach, offers a supportive, inclusive environment where engineers are trusted with technical ownership and meaningful impact. We welcome applicants from diverse backgrounds and experiences. Due to security clearance requirements, this position is open only to U.S. citizens.

We are seeking a Senior Software Engineer to take technical ownership of embedded software development for advanced undersea acoustics systems. This hands‑on role includes leading architecture and design decisions, influencing technical direction across the engineering team, and delivering robust, production‑ready software as a collaborative individual contributor who works closely with a cross‑functional team.

In addition to core embedded development, the engineer will help integrate our products into larger, complex systems. The engineer will help develop secure interfaces, support containerized deployments, contribute to cybersecurity compliance, and enable interoperability with external systems developed by other integrators.

The candidate will shape software architecture decisions and serve as a key technical voice within a team‑oriented environment.

This is a full-time onsite position based in Santa Barbara, CA.

• Lead the technical execution of software projects from architecture through deployment.
• Define and evolve system‑level software architecture, interface design, and implementation strategy.
• Provide technical guidance and mentorship across projects and subsystems.
• Collaborate closely with hardware, systems, FPGA, and test teams to ensure effective system‑level integration.
• Collaborate with the Project Manager to plan sprints, define milestones, and track execution.
• Design and implement secure software interfaces for integration with external systems and third‑party platforms.
• Contribute to containerized deployments and overall system design in secure environments.
• Apply cybersecurity principles, Net Boot approach, performance monitoring and fault location techniques.
• Support system‑level observability and integration with upper‑tier logging frameworks.
• Participate in and lead code reviews, design discussions, and troubleshooting.
• Contribute to documentation, verification, and compliance with standards such as CMMC and NIST 800‑218.

• Education - Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering or a closely‑related technical discipline.
• Experience -10+ years of professional embedded‑software development (product‑or mission‑critical focus preferred).
• Programming Skills - Expert‑level proficiency in C and C++ (C++11 or newer) and solid Python abilities for scripting, tooling, or test automation.
• Core Embedded Knowledge - Proven expertise in Embedded Linux (required)plus at least once of the following:
  • Real‑time systems (RTOS design, deterministic scheduling, latency analysis)
  • Bare‑metal firmware (no‑OS, low‑level driver development, hardware bring‑up)
• Architecture Ownership - Demonstrated track record of defining, delivering, and maintaining software architectures in a cross‑functional engineering environment.
• Systems Integration - Experience collaborating with hardware, FPGA, and software teams to embed subsystems into larger networked or software‑defined platforms.
• Communication - Excellent written and verbal communication; comfortable presenting technical concepts to both engineering and non‑technical audiences.
• Security Clearance - U.S. citizenship and eligibility for a DoD Secret clearance.
• Work Location - On‑site presence required; remote work is not available…