About Careertakes

👉 Important disclosure: Careertakes is a third-party recruiting platform supporting this hiring process. If selected, you will be employed directly by our client, Defense and Space Manufacturing.

Applicants for this role may also receive access to additional matched opportunities through the Careertakes platform.

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What You’ll Do

Confidential Client is seeking an Embedded Software Engineer to design, implement, test, and maintain firmware for microcontroller-based electronics used in autonomous aircraft and related systems. You will work closely with hardware engineers and manufacturing to bring new board revisions from prototype to production.

• Develop embedded C and C++ firmware for flight, propulsion, power, and payload boards
• Bring up new hardware revisions and write drivers for sensors, communication buses, and peripherals
• Implement and maintain CAN, UART, SPI, and I2C interfaces between boards
• Design and implement bootloaders and secure/field firmware update mechanisms
• Develop fault detection, logging, telemetry, and health-reporting features
• Write unit tests and support hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) and system-level testing
• Support production test, failure analysis, and returned-unit troubleshooting
• Collaborate with hardware, systems, and manufacturing teams throughout the development lifecycle

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Minimum Qualifications

Candidates should meet the following baseline requirements:

• Must be located in the United States and within commuting distance of Rock Hill, SC
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related discipline, or equivalent practical experience
• Professional experience developing embedded firmware in C or C++
• Experience with ARM Cortex-M or comparable microcontrollers
• Experience with an RTOS such as FreeRTOS or Zephyr, or demonstrated bare-metal development experience
• Ability to read schematics and use lab instruments (oscilloscope, logic analyzer) for bring-up and debugging
• Familiarity with version control systems and code review workflows
• U.S. Person status required (U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or protected individual under 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)) due to access to ITAR- and EAR-controlled technical data

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Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with PX4, ArduPilot, or other flight control software stacks
• Motor-control, ESC, or battery-management firmware experience
• Experience with DroneCAN, CANopen, or other CAN-based protocols
• Experience in aerospace, defense, or automotive embedded products
• Active or prior U.S. security clearance

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What We Look For

Confidential Client values engineers who have hands-on experience bringing up firmware on new hardware and who can describe a hardware-software defect they isolated using lab instruments. Strong problem-solving, clear technical communication, and a pragmatic approach to production readiness are important.

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Location & Legal Requirements

This role is onsite (commutable to Rock Hill, SC). Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the U.S. and meet U.S. Person requirements because the position involves access to ITAR/EAR-controlled technical data. Confidential Client will consider reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities during the hiring process; if you need an accommodation, please indicate that in your application.

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Equal Opportunity & Hiring Transparency

Careertakes and our client are Equal Opportunity Employers committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce. We prohibit discrimination or harassment of any kind. To support a fair and efficient hiring process, AI tools may be used to assist with application review or resume screening. These tools do not replace human decision-making. Final hiring decisions are made by people.

If you have questions about how your data is used, please contact us directly.