Senior Software Engineer, Embedded Systems

Elroy Air

Byron, CA hybrid Until 8/25/2026 5+ years exp H-1B sponsor history First posted June 26, 2026 Last posted June 26, 2026

Job description

At Elroy Air, we build autonomous vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) cargo drones to change the way the world moves goods. Transporting cargo by air is faster and more direct than by land or sea, but it has been prohibitively expensive for medium-size loads. We've set out to expand middle-mile logistics possibilities across multiple sectors, with our sights on a $420Bn global total addressable market for cargo logistics across defense, commercial and rapid response.

We are a team of builders, engineers, and operators who believe that the defense, commercial, and rapid response communities need faster, better logistics solutions. We are seeing increasing demand as customers and prospects respond enthusiastically to the systems we’ve built. As we mature and deploy our offerings, we are looking for people like you: motivated collaborators, enthusiastic about our mission and ready to roll up their sleeves and make a big impact to improve how logistics works around the world. You will play an important role in establishing the Elroy Air Chaparral as the industry standard in this massive market.

We believe diverse perspectives at all levels of the organization are critical to innovation and employee development. This includes but is not limited to gender identity, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender expression, religion, age, ability, parenthood status, veteran status, educational background, citizenship status, or any combination of these characteristics.

Elroy builds autonomous aerospace systems for the real world. At the heart of those systems is a hard real time, safety critical software stack that has to work under any circumstances, with no margin for "close enough". The embedded software team writes the code that flies the plane in any conditions. This role spans the full embedded stack, from bare-metal firmware and RTOS integration to hardware bring-up and bench debugging. If you thrive on hard constraints, enjoy working close to the metal, and want your code to matter, read on.

The Role

As a Senior Embedded Software Engineer, you will own software that runs directly on safety-critical avionics hardware including our main flight computers. You will work at the intersection of firmware, real-time systems, and hardware bring-up, and you will contribute to a team culture where everyone is expected to understand the system end to end. This is not a siloed firmware role: you will interact with engineers from a wide variety of disciplines on a daily basis, including systems engineering, controls, flight physics, power electronics, and aeromechanical.

What You'll Work On

Embedded firmware for microcontrollers and SoCs in a bare-metal and/or RTOS environment (FreeRTOS, Zephyr, or similar)

Driver development, peripheral integration, and board bring-up for custom hardware platforms

Real-time control loops and sensor fusion pipelines where timing and determinism are non-negotiable

Hardware debugging: oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, JTAG, and willingness to get comfortable with a schematic

C++ and Python tooling for testing, scripting, and automation around embedded targets

Development of models and emulators for aircraft components to ensure hardware behavior is faithfully represented in our cloud simulation framework

What We're Looking For

You probably have:

5+ years of professional embedded software development, with production firmware shipped on real hardware

Deep fluency in C and/or C++; Python for scripting and test tooling

Hands-on experience with at least one RTOS and with bare-metal development

Comfort reading schematics, using bench instruments, and debugging hardware/software integration issues at the signal level

Experience with communications protocols: SPI, I2C, UART, CAN, Ethernet

Strong opinions about code quality, testability, and the difference between software that works in the lab and software that works in the field

It’s a bonus if you have:

Experience in aerospace, defense, robotics, or other safety-critical domains

Familiarity with DO-178, MISRA, or other embedded software standards

Exposure to desktop tooling or visualization for hardware debug and test workflows

Experience with CI/CD pipelines for embedded targets (HIL, SIL, emulation)

Our Stack

Primary languages: C++ and Python

RTOS: FreeRTOS and bare-metal depending on target

Toolchains: GCC/Clang cross-compilers, CMake, custom build infrastructure

Version control and CI: Git, GitHub, cloud-based batch simulation and test runners

Modern AI coding tools used as productivity accelerators, not as a substitute for engineering judgment

Who We Are

Elroy’s software team is small, senior, and exceptionally cross-functional. Most engineers here are comfortable working across embedded firmware, desktop tools, and cloud infrastructure. Not because we expect everyone to be an expert in everything, but because we value curiosity and adaptability over and above having all of the answers on day one. We're looking for someone who brings deep experience in embedded and real-time systems, and isn't afraid to range beyond that when the work calls for it.

What We Offer

Competitive salary

Equity ownership in a rapidly growing advanced aerospace company

Comprehensive medical benefits

401(k) with company contribution + Roth IRA

Free daily lunch provided onsite

Flexible time-off policy

3 months of paid parental leave

Employee assistance program with 24/7 support

High-impact startup environment with significant ownership and autonomy

Opportunities for rapid career growth and internal advancement

You’ll work with a motivated, kind, and highly skilled team

You'll help shape and define our company culture and values

You'll help build and scale a new category of aerospace / logistics technology

We encourage you to apply even if you aren't an exact match for our open role as many of our team members come from nontraditional backgrounds.

Elroy Air is an equal opportunity employer. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected status under applicable law.

We are committed to an inclusive, harassment-free workplace and we gladly provide reasonable accommodations to support our team.

Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States as a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident (green card holder). All employees will be screened through E-Verify.

Elroy Air does not engage with external recruiting agencies/individual recruiters that we do not have a written agreement with and all employment activities are managed through our internal team. We reserve the right to make use of any unsolicited resumes received without being responsible for payment of any fees asserted from the use of unsolicited resumes.

Compensation (from employer):
180000–280000 USD per year

About this role

Summary

Develop safety-critical embedded firmware for aerospace hardware and systems.

Job title

Senior Software Engineer, Embedded Systems

Experience level

5+ years

Minimum experience

5+ years exp

Industry

aerospace

Location requirements

On-site in Byron, CA, remote not mentioned

Salary

$180k–$280k

Visa sponsorship

H-1B sponsor history

Management role

Skills & keywords

Required skills

CC++PythonRTOSschematic readingdebugging hardware/softwarecommunication protocols

Preferred skills

aerospacedefenseMISRACI/CD

Specializations

embedded firmwareRTOShardware bring-upsensor fusiondriver development

Locations

Structured locations inferred from the posting.

Byron, CA, USA

On-site City