Freelance Embedded System Software Engineer Jobs in Dallas, TX

Flight Software and Embedded Systems Engineer - Build Flight Software for Next-Generation Autonomous Aircraft

Fort Worth, Texas | On-site

Opportunity Summary

Join a rapidly growing aerospace and defense company developing advanced unmanned aircraft systems designed for demanding operational environments. The engineering team owns the complete product lifecycle, from aircraft design and embedded electronics through manufacturing, flight testing, and production. Engineers work closely together across software, hardware, avionics, and flight operations to rapidly develop, validate, and deploy new capabilities. As a Senior Flight Software Engineer, you will lead development of the embedded flight software that controls the aircraft. This role combines flight control software, embedded firmware, avionics integration, and hands-on aircraft testing. You'll customize and extend modern autopilot architectures, integrate new hardware, support flight testing, and solve complex software and hardware challenges that directly impact aircraft performance and reliability.

About Us

We are an engineering-focused aerospace company building next-generation unmanned aircraft for defense and commercial applications. Operating in a fast-paced development environment, our team designs complete aircraft systems in-house and moves quickly from concept to flight. Every engineer has the opportunity to influence product direction while working on technology that transitions rapidly into operational use.

Summary: Responsible for establishing and supporting software-in-the-loop (SITL) and hardware-in-the-loop (HITL) test benches, while conducting a comprehensive inventory of Auterion touchpoints across the current build, including the build system, parameter tree, and application interfaces. Developed a sidecar abstraction layer over the Auterion SDK and defined an interface control document (ICD) between the flight controller and companion computer. Built a parallel software stack on upstream PX4 and performed abstraction and translation work across PX4 and ArduPilot. Led command-and-control interface development against applicable standards, including operator interface behavior, and supported the software acceptance gate process.

Job Duties

• Develop and maintain embedded flight software for autonomous fixed-wing aircraft using modern autopilot frameworks such as PX4 or ArduPilot.
• Design and implement new flight capabilities, mission behaviors, navigation features, and aircraft control logic.
• Develop embedded firmware for custom avionics, onboard electronics, and flight-critical hardware using C and C++.
• Integrate flight controllers, companion computers, GPS receivers, radios, sensors, ESCs, payloads, and other aircraft subsystems.
• Develop software interfaces supporting communication between avionics, mission computers, payload systems, and ground control stations.
• Support aircraft integration, ground testing, and flight test campaigns by troubleshooting software and hardware issues.
• Analyze flight logs and telemetry to improve vehicle performance, stability, reliability, and autonomous operation.
• Develop and maintain Software-in-the-Loop (SITL) and Hardware-in-the-Loop (HITL) test environments to validate software before flight.
• Collaborate closely with systems, electrical, mechanical, manufacturing, and flight test engineers throughout product development.
• Participate in software architecture discussions, code reviews, debugging efforts, and continuous improvement of development processes.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Aerospace Engineering, Robotics, or a related engineering discipline.
• 5+ years of professional experience developing embedded software or flight software.
• Direct experience developing, modifying, or integrating PX4 or ArduPilot on unmanned aircraft platforms.
• Strong programming experience using modern C and C++.
• Experience developing software for embedded Linux or real-time embedded systems.
• Experience integrating avionics hardware including IMUs, GPS receivers, radios, sensors, companion computers, and electronic speed controllers.
• Familiarity with communication protocols such as CAN, UART, SPI, I2C, Ethernet, and MAVLink.
• Experience using Git and modern software development workflows.
• Comfortable supporting hardware integration and aircraft flight testing.
• Strong troubleshooting skills across software, embedded hardware, and aircraft systems.
• Ability to work on projects subject to U.S. export control regulations.

Preferred Experience

• GPS-denied or alternative PNT work: visual navigation, terrain-referenced navigation, or GNSS anti-spoofing and anti-jam. This is the differentiator and we will pay for it.
• Experience with Universal Command and Control Interface (UCI), Forward Area Air Defense Command and Control (FAAD C2), Sensor Open Systems Architecture (SOSA), Open Mission Systems (OMS), Weapons Open Systems Architecture (WOSA), Next Generation Command and Control (NGC2), DDS (Data Distribution Service), Cursor on Target (CoT), STANAG 4586, MAVLink 2, TAK protocols, Protobuf and JSON Schema, MISB 0601
• Fixed-wing or VTOL fixed-wing experience
• MAVLink and uORB or DDS internals.
• Experience taking a flight stack through an airworthiness or safety review.
• Small-company experience. Someone who has been the only person who knows how something works, and handled it.
• Experience with acquiring an ATO for software
• Familiarity with design software using Zero-Trust principles

Why Join Us

• Work on complete aircraft systems from initial development through flight testing and production.
• Own software that directly impacts aircraft performance and operational capability.
• Collaborate daily with multidisciplinary engineering teams across avionics, embedded systems, mechanical engineering, and flight operations.
• Join a growing engineering organization where individual contributions have visible impact on product direction.
• Opportunity for meaningful technical ownership and long-term career growth within an innovative aerospace company.

Compensation Details

$140,000 - $190,000

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