Embedded Firmware Engineer
US$160,000 – US$250,000 / yr base salary
Posted 4 Sep 2026
Advertised as “Staff Embedded Firmware Engineer (R5637)”
BranchFactor Summary
The original posting with the fluff stripped out
- Level
- R5637
- Management level
- Individual contributor
- Employment
- On-Site
- Contract
- Full-time
| Base salary | US$160,000 – US$250,000 / yr |
|---|
Field of studyAerospace Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Engineering, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Science, Software Engineering, Systems Engineering, Technology
Study levelBachelor's or higher
Shield AI is a venture-backed defense-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include Hivemind autonomy software, V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, and Aechelon simulation and synthetic reality technologies. With offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, Shield AI’s technology actively supports operations worldwide. For more information, visit www.shield.ai. Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and YouTube.
Job Description:
The VBAT Software team is a motivated group of engineers focused on developing complex avionics software that merges hardware, operating systems and applications for cutting-edge Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV). Embedded Software engineers work with customer programs, electrical engineers, Guidance, Navigation and Controls (GNC) engineers, systems engineers, test engineers and the autonomy team to design and develop software systems which utilize modern aerospace sensors, state-of-the-art UAV avionics, and groundbreaking Artificial Intelligence applications.
As a member of the VBAT Software team, you will develop and maintain software architectures, generate and maintain all levels of software requirements, document and present software designs, coordinate software development, and marshal the entire suite of VBAT software through test and verification, release, and deployment to production and customers.
What you'll do:
- Develop high-quality C/C++ code tailored specifically for V-Bat aircraft, ensuring optimal performance, reliability, and safety.
- Refine repository of existing firmware to support new hardware, features, and capabilities
- Integrate real-time operating system onto custom System-On-a-Module (SOM)
- Develop firmware to control robotic vehicles in flight
- Convert legacy bare-metal software to a RTOS based system
- Create new CI/CD pipelines with automated testing for embedded systems
- Participate in architecture, design, and code reviews
- Integrate software from multiple departments to include firmware, software test and verification, Autonomy AI, and Ground Control Stations (GCS)
- Develop software systems to implement and integrate interfaces to modern avionics sensors, sub-systems, and payloads