Senior Software Developer - Flight Controller (m/f/d)

Role Overview

We are seeking a Lead Software Developer to lead the development, integration, and delivery of embedded flight software for advanced autonomous platforms.

This is a hands-on technical leadership position combining embedded software architecture, flight-control development, platform integration, security, debugging, validation, and team leadership. The successful candidate will contribute directly to engineering activities while guiding a software team through the complete product lifecycle.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the design, development, integration, and validation of embedded flight software for autonomous and safety-critical platforms.
• Own software architecture and technical decisions across flight-control and embedded systems.
• Lead platform bring-up, software integration, debugging, validation, and firmware release activities.
• Integrate platform security features, secure boot, trusted execution environments, and secure software deployment mechanisms.
• Develop and review production-quality embedded software using C/C++, with Python used for tooling and test automation.
• Provide technical leadership, code reviews, mentoring, and engineering guidance to software teams.
• Work closely with hardware, systems, security, test, manufacturing, and DevOps engineering teams.
• Support Git workflows, CI/CD pipelines, automated builds, testing, configuration control, and release management.
• Ensure software meets required standards for reliability, maintainability, security, and safety-critical development.
• Represent the software function in technical discussions with internal and external stakeholders.

Experience

• 15+ years of embedded software engineering experience.
• 8+ years working with flight controllers, autopilot software, avionics, or comparable safety-critical embedded systems.
• Demonstrated experience leading embedded software teams and taking complex products from development through integration, validation, and production release.
• Strong hands-on background in autonomous platforms, UAVs, aerospace systems, robotics, or similarly complex real-time embedded environments.

Technical Skills

• Advanced C/C++ development for real-time embedded systems.
• Python for tooling, scripting, test automation, and engineering workflows.
• Hands-on experience with autopilot / flight-control stacks such as PX4 or equivalent.
• Experience integrating MAVLink and Ground Control Stations such as QGroundControl or equivalent.
• Strong experience with RTOS environments such as NuttX, including scheduling, POSIX interfaces, IPC, memory protection, and device drivers.
• Development experience on ARM Cortex-based platforms.
• Embedded security experience including ARM TrustZone, OP-TEE, Trusted Firmware, secure boot chains, eFUSE, and OTP.
• Low-level peripheral integration using CAN-FD, SPI, I2C, and UART.
• Secure coding practices including MISRA C and SEI CERT.
• Applied cryptography knowledge including TLS, AES, RSA, ECC, PKI, and key management.
• Strong working knowledge of Git, including branching strategies, pull requests, merge workflows, and code reviews.
• Experience with embedded software CI/CD and DevOps, using technologies such as GitLab CI, Jenkins, or GitHub Actions.
• Experience with automated firmware build, test, release, and configuration-management processes.
• Working knowledge of MATLAB or equivalent engineering tools for test automation, data analysis, simulation, and validation.
• Ability to make software architecture decisions, mentor engineers, and lead cross-functional technical discussions.

Education & Certifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• Master's degree or PhD is advantageous.
• Knowledge or certification relating to safety-critical software standards such as DO-178C and/or ISO 26262 is highly desirable.
• Experience using MATLAB or similar tools within test and validation workflows is preferred.

Industry / Domain: Autonomous Systems | Flight Control | Embedded Software | Safety-Critical Systems | Embedded Security