Embedded Firmware Engineer

Location: Onsite - Waynesboro, VA 
Role Summary

As an Embedded Firmware Engineer within Engineering Services, you are the bridge between high-level flight logic and physical hardware execution. You will own the development and maintenance of firmware for flight-critical avionics, motor controllers, and power distribution systems, specializing in C/C++ for resource-constrained ARM Cortex-M and similar environments. Your work ranges from architecting driver-level interfaces for STM32H7-based platforms like Dauphine to implementing Field Oriented Control (FOC) algorithms for the Taurus motor controller line. This is a high-impact, hands-on role requiring deep familiarity with silicon-level debugging, real-time communication protocols (CAN-FD, RS-485, Ethernet), and safety-critical software patterns.

Core Responsibilities

• Avionics & Control Firmware: Architect, implement, and refactor firmware for the Atlas Flight Computer, Dauphine maritime platform, and Taurus motor controllers using the Allocore SDK.
• Real-Time Communications: Develop and optimize low-level drivers and application logic for high-bandwidth communication stacks, including CAN-FD, RS-485, RS-422, and Switched Ethernet.
• Hardware Interfacing: Implement and maintain drivers for a variety of peripherals, including PWM, ADC/DAC, GPIO, and high-speed serial interfaces on STM32 and Pixhawk-compatible (FMUv6) architectures.
• Motor Control & Power: Support the integration and tuning of FOC/SVPWM control loops for BLDC motor controllers, ensuring high efficiency and robust four-quadrant operation.
• Embedded Testing & V&V: Design and implement automated Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) and Software-in-the-Loop (SIL) test suites to validate firmware against safety-critical aerospace requirements.
• Silicon-Level Debugging: Troubleshoot complex system-level issues using logic analyzers, oscilloscopes, and JTAG/SWD debuggers to identify interactions between firmware execution and hardware behavior.
• Technical Documentation: Produce auditable design documents, Interface Control Documents (ICDs), and PR descriptions that satisfy AS9100/DO-178C traceability requirements.

Required Qualifications

• Experience: 3–7 years of professional experience in embedded firmware development using C and C++.
• Architecture Mastery: Demonstrated expertise developing for ARM Cortex-M (specifically STM32H7) and resource-constrained microcontrollers in bare-metal or RTOS environments.
• Protocol Proficiency: Deep understanding of real-time communication protocols including CAN/CAN-FD, RS-485, and Ethernet (10/100/1000).
• Hardware Debugging: Proficient with JTAG/SWD debuggers (GDB, Segger J-Link) and bench equipment (oscilloscopes, logic analyzers) to isolate firmware/hardware boundary issues.
• Toolchains: Experience with cross-compilation toolchains (GCC/LLVM), Make/CMake build systems, and Git-based version control.
• Education: BS in Computer Science (BSCS), Electrical Engineering (BSEE), or equivalent.

Preferred Qualifications

• Flight Control Systems: Experience with PX4/Pixhawk FMUv6 hardware standards and flight management software.
• Avionics Standards: Familiarity with DO-178C or similar functional safety standards for flight-critical software.
• Motor Control: Exposure to Field Oriented Control (FOC) implementations or power electronics management.
• Linux Systems: Experience working with embedded Linux (e.g., Toradex Verdin SoM) for mission computer applications.
• Modern Workflow: Comfort using AI coding assistants to accelerate boilerplate generation, unit test creation, and technical documentation.