Senior Embedded Software Engineer
About this role
We are looking for a Senior Embedded Software Engineer with 5+ years of experience to own critical embedded subsystems on autonomous underwater vehicles from blank-sheet design through field deployment. You'll join a fast-moving, SpaceX-inspired defense startup building attritable UUVs for the U.S. Navy — vehicles that need to be in the water within months, not years. We need a self-starting engineer who has personally architected, implemented, and shipped embedded systems (not just contributed to a team effort) and thrives in an environment with no formal processes and full end-to-end ownership. You'll focus on one of three areas: Embedded Linux compute, motor-control firmware, or battery-management-system firmware.
What will you be doing?
Serving as the Responsible Engineer for a major embedded subsystem — writing production C/C++ code for deterministic, real-time control of a vehicle operating underwater with strict latency, jitter, and memory constraints
Building custom embedded Linux images (Buildroot/Yocto) tuned for real-time performance on ARM-based platforms (Nvidia Jetson), or writing bare-metal/FreeRTOS firmware for STM32 microcontrollers controlling motors or battery management systems
Bringing up brand-new PCBAs from scratch — using oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and in-circuit debuggers to resolve timing issues, signal integrity problems, and manufacturing defects alongside your electrical engineering counterpart
Designing and implementing deterministic Ethernet (UDP) communication protocols, CAN/SPI/I2C interfaces, and telemetry systems that keep the vehicle connected and controllable in the field
Moving at startup speed to get an MVP embedded system into the water within 3 months — making smart 80% trade-offs, iterating rapidly through design-build-test cycles, and supporting field testing and sea trials
Company at a glance
This defense technology startup, founded in 2024 by veterans from SpaceX, Tesla, and Vast Space, develops multi-domain autonomous systems for the U.S. Navy at significantly lower costs than established competitors.
What happens next
Skip the application pile. I get you in front of the people who decide.
Confirm the fit
A few questions to make sure this role is the right shape for you. Two minutes.
I pitch you to the company
I write the intro, send it to the founder, and handle the back-and-forth.
A meeting lands on your calendar
When the company wants to meet, I get the call on your calendar. You just show up.
Culture & values
SpaceX-inspired culture with strong Responsible Engineer model
Every engineer owns their system end-to-end: requirements, design, implementation, testing, field deployment, and production
Team moves fast, works hard, and expects urgency that early-stage defense demands
Values builders over researchers, first-principles thinking over inherited convention, and speed over process
Decisions driven by physics, test data, and product outcomes
No organizational handoffs or siloed responsibilities
Greenfield environment with no legacy code or inherited architecture
Hands-on engineering culture with work in lab, dive pool, and field deployments
Small elite team of ~7 people where every hire has outsized impact
Rapid iteration and intensity expected
Engineers make foundational technical decisions from scratch
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