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Contract Embedded Software Jobs in Washington (NOW HIRING)

Embedded Software Engineer

Herndon, VA ยท On-site

$106K - $159K/yr

Design, develop, and test embedded software to support offensive cybersecurity research and deliver ... as contract specific affordability and organizational requirements. Salary Range $106,133-$159,200 ...

Embedded Engineer

Columbia, MD

$129K - $170K/yr

... and contracts of similar scope, type, and complexity is required. What we'd like you to have * Experience automating the testing of embedded software running on embedded devices. About BigBear.ai ...

Embedded Engineer

Columbia, MD ยท On-site

$129K - $170K/yr

... and contracts of similar scope, type, and complexity is required. What we'd like you to have * Experience automating the testing of embedded software running on embedded devices. About BigBear.ai ...

Embedded Engineer

Columbia, MD ยท On-site

$109K - $228K/yr

Design, develop, debug, and test embedded software. * Perform requirements analysis to drive ... contracts of similar scope, type, and complexity is required.

Embedded Developer

Fort George G Meade, MD ยท On-site

$125K - $180K/yr

Visionist has an exciting new, fully FUNDED opportunity for an Embedded Developer on our PRIME contract. Visionist software developers perform reverse engineering and low-level development to ...

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Showing results 1-20

Contract Embedded Software information

See Washington salary details

$79.3K

$173.7K

$197.1K

How much do contract embedded software jobs pay per year?

As of Jun 17, 2026, the average yearly pay for contract embedded software in Washington is $173,722.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $148,900.00 and $195,900.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What are typical challenges faced in a contract embedded software role?

Contract embedded software professionals often encounter challenges such as quickly adapting to new hardware platforms, integrating with legacy systems, and rapidly understanding diverse project requirements. Since contracts are often project-based, there may be limited time for onboarding, requiring strong self-motivation and efficient troubleshooting skills. Additionally, clear documentation and collaboration with hardware engineers or cross-functional teams are critical to ensure smooth system integration. These challenges can be rewarding, as they provide opportunities to develop broad technical expertise and experience a wide variety of products and industries.

What is a Contract Embedded Software job?

A Contract Embedded Software job involves developing, testing, and maintaining embedded systems software for a company on a temporary or project basis. Contractors typically work with microcontrollers, real-time operating systems (RTOS), and low-level programming languages like C or C++. These roles can vary in duration and may involve working remotely or onsite. Contract engineers often collaborate with hardware teams, follow specific project requirements, and ensure system reliability and performance.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive in the Contract Embedded Software position, and why are they important?

To excel as a Contract Embedded Software professional, you need strong experience with programming languages like C or C++, real-time operating systems (RTOS), hardware interfacing, and a relevant degree in computer engineering or a related field. Familiarity with development tools such as JTAG debuggers, oscilloscopes, version control systems, and certifications like Certified Embedded Systems Engineer (CESE) are highly valued. Effective problem-solving, adaptability, and clear communication are important soft skills for collaborating with multidisciplinary teams and managing project-based work. These capabilities ensure you can deliver robust, efficient solutions within project timelines in dynamic, technology-driven environments.

What are the most commonly searched types of Embedded Software jobs in Washington? The most popular types of Embedded Software jobs in Washington are:
What job categories do people searching Contract Embedded Software jobs in Washington look for? The top searched job categories for Contract Embedded Software jobs in Washington are:
What cities in Washington are hiring for Contract Embedded Software jobs? Cities in Washington with the most Contract Embedded Software job openings:
Infographic showing various Contract Embedded Software job openings in Washington as of June 2026, with employment types broken down into 89% Full Time, 7% Part Time, 1% Temporary, and 3% Contract. Highlights an 75% Physical, 2% Hybrid, and 23% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $173,722 per year, or $83.5 per hour.

Embedded Software Developer

SG2 Recruiting

Washington, DC โ€ข On-site

Other

Posted 27 days ago


Job description

SG2 Recruiting seeks a cleared Embedded Software Developer who will be responsible for supporting the Naval Center for Space Technology (NCST) contract. The NCST is located at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in Washington, DC, and is the leading laboratory for Navy space programs. NCSTโ€™s mission is to โ€œpreserve and enhance a strong space technology base and provide expert capabilities in the development and acquisition of space systems which support Naval missions.โ€

For the last 25 years, the NCST has developed, enhanced, and maintained a collection of software used for design, development, test, launch, and mission operations of DoD space assets. This software is constantly being enhanced to provide state-of-the-art solutions to space applications. The core suite of software components is used in all aspects of the spacecraft or component life-cycle.

What You Will Be Doing:

  • Developing, maintaining, and enhancing complex and diverse software systems based upon documented requirements.

  • Providing specific input to the software components of a system design to include hardware/software trade-offs, software reuse, use of COTS/GOTS in place of new development, and requirements analysis and synthesis from system level to individual software components.

  • Designing, implementing, and integrating software applications or performing software engineering tasks.

  • Utilizing software engineering and design methodologies appropriate to the development, integration, and production environment.

  • Ensuring efficient delivery of software engineering capabilities using industry standards and repeatable processes.

  • Mitigating risks, controlling costs and schedule variance, and effectively managing large-scale, integrated software projects.

  • Reviewing and testing software components for adherence to the design requirements and documenting test results.

  • Performing comprehensive testing on computer hardware and software components to evaluate operational and performance compliance of the overall systems.

  • Developing under the real-time constraints of deadlines, task schedules, rates, task priorities, watchdog timers, interrupts, latency, and jitter of soft and hard real-time operating systems.

  • Managing and mitigating interprocess communications leveraging message queues, mutexes, semaphores, blocking and non-blocking operations in multi-threaded software implementations.

  • Designing and developing distributed software systems leveraging multiple software, hardware, and communication technologies.

  • Utilizing standard communications ports and interfaces to facilitate communication between processes, processors, computers, and peripheral systems.

  • Developing hardware and application-specific boot code for establishing baseline services and loading OS and application code into execution memory.

  • Assessing and making recommendations on processor, memory, and single board computer configurations which meet the compatibility, performance, memory, and interface requirements of the system.

  • Applying expertise required to utilize the existing tools adequately sets that include MySQL, NoSQL databases, Lint, Wind River tools, Clang Analyze, Klocwork code analysis tools, JAMA and Atlassian tracking tools, Windows and Linux Operating systems, GNU GCC, LLVM/Clang, C, C++03 and earlier, C++11 and greater (modern C++), Java, Python, CMake, Makefile, shell scripting, GDB, LLDB, PPC/Arm/x86 Assembly compilers and programming languages and Matlab/Simulink, Unreal Engine modeling and simulation tools

What You Will Need (Requirements):

  • Active Top Secret/ SCI Eligible

  • Minimum B.Sc., Aerospace, Mechanical or Electrical Engineering, Physics, Computer Science or Mathematics

  • Experience with embedded software integration, test, and operations.

  • Experience serving as a lead embedded software designer or architect and overseeing all technical aspects of development.

  • Experience as an embedded software builder and product manager.

  • Experience serving as an embedded software technical expert with Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) Interfacing

  • Ability to commute daily to the Naval Research Lab location in Washington, DC