Freelance Python Automation Engineer Jobs in Stockton, CA

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

$180,000 - $280,000 a year
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.
We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.