Embedded Software Engineer II

About the role

You will architect and maintain the core embedded firmware that powers Pivotal's next-generation electric aircraft, ensuring it meets the highest standards of safety and reliability for manned flight. You will own the low-level C and assembly code that interfaces directly with sensors and actuators, translating high-level flight control laws into deterministic real-time execution. This role requires you to build diagnostic and monitoring capabilities into the firmware to support both development testing and field operations. You will collaborate closely with hardware engineers to refine device drivers and optimize performance under strict resource constraints. You will implement and verify safety mechanisms, including fault detection, error handling, and graceful degradation strategies. You will participate in rigorous code reviews and static analysis to uphold software quality and compliance with industry best practices. You will contribute to the definition of software architectures that are modular, testable, and maintainable across multiple aircraft platforms. You will support flight test campaigns by integrating and validating new firmware builds in live aircraft environments.

Key facts

What you'll do

Develop and maintain real-time firmware modules that manage aircraft sensor fusion, control surface actuation, and communication between distributed control units.

Design and implement device drivers for avionics hardware, ensuring precise timing, deterministic behavior, and adherence to aviation-grade reliability standards.

Collaborate with flight test engineers to integrate firmware updates onto aircraft and gather telemetry data to inform iterative improvements.

Write automated tests and validation scripts that run in simulation and on hardware to verify firmware functionality before flight.

Analyze system-level performance metrics and refine code to reduce latency, jitter, and memory footprint in critical flight loops.

Partner with systems engineers to translate high-level requirements into detailed software specifications and interface contracts.

Lead debugging efforts for complex firmware issues using trace data, logs, and in-flight telemetry to isolate root causes quickly.

Establish and maintain coding standards, configuration management practices, and documentation that support long-term software maintainability.

Support the creation of release artifacts, build pipelines, and continuous integration processes that enable frequent and safe firmware deployments.

Mentor junior engineers by providing code guidance, conducting technical reviews, and sharing best practices for embedded software development.

Implement safety monitoring features that detect anomalies, trigger failsafe responses, and record event histories for post-flight analysis.

Contribute to the scalability of the firmware architecture so that new aircraft variants and capabilities can be supported with minimal duplication of effort.

Participate in the definition of verification and validation procedures to ensure firmware changes comply with internal and regulatory expectations.

Act as a technical owner for firmware components, ensuring traceability from requirements through implementation and test coverage.

Requirements

You hold a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field.

You possess 5 or more years of professional experience writing embedded firmware for safety-critical systems.

You are proficient in the C programming language, with a strong understanding of pointers, memory management, and low-level hardware interaction.

You have experience writing real-time software for microcontrollers, including interrupt handling, direct memory access, and peripheral configuration.

You demonstrate a solid grasp of digital electronics, communication protocols such as I2C, SPI, UART, and CAN, and sensor interfacing techniques.

You have used debugging tools such as oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and in-circuit emulators to diagnose hardware and software issues.

You are comfortable reading and interpreting electrical schematics and datasheets to integrate new hardware components quickly.

You have experience with version control systems, build tools, and automated testing frameworks used in embedded development.

You understand the principles of deterministic execution, concurrency, and synchronization in real-time embedded environments.

Nice to have

Experience with avionics or aerospace systems is highly valued by the team.

Familiarity with DO-178C or similar safety certification processes is a significant advantage.

Knowledge of simulation frameworks and hardware-in-the-loop test setups is preferred.

Experience with wireless communication protocols and telemetry data links is a bonus.

Practical notes

This role is based in Palo Alto, California, and requires in-office presence during standard working hours.

Travel may be required for flight test campaigns, customer engagements, or industry conferences.

Candidates must be eligible to work in the United States without sponsorship at this time.