Freelance Sensor Design Engineer Jobs in Alabama

Kratos Defense Rocket Support Services is seeking a senior embedded systems engineer to design, develop, integrate, and validate advanced embedded software and hardware systems for mission?critical applications. This role requires deep experience with real?time processing, embedded firmware, sensor integration, communication interfaces, and software architecture in constrained, performance?demanding environments. Ideal candidates will have a strong foundation in embedded software engineering across multiple processor families, hands?on experience with real?time operating systems, device drivers, and hardware?software integration, and a history of delivering reliable embedded systems across the full product lifecycle from concept development to field deployment.

The senior embedded systems engineer will collaborate closely with cross?disciplinary teams including electrical, mechanical, systems, and test engineering. They will support program execution through requirements analysis, embedded architecture design, system integration, test planning, troubleshooting, and documentation. Some travel may be required for customer interactions, integration events, or testing.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:
• Develop embedded software architectures, firmware, and real?time control logic for sensor?driven and mission?critical systems across multiple processing platforms.
• Design, implement, and debug device drivers, communication protocols, and interfaces including serial, CAN, Ethernet, SPI, I2C, and RF transceivers.
• Integrate embedded applications with hardware components such as microcontrollers, DSPs, FPGAs, sensors, actuators, and power systems.
• Develop and maintain real?time software using bare?metal, RTOS?based, or Linux?based environments.
• Implement state machines, control loops, data acquisition modules, and system?level embedded behaviors.
• Support system?level integration including hardware bring?up, interface verification, troubleshooting, and performance tuning.
• Develop tools, scripts, and build systems to support firmware deployment, cross?compilation, and multi?target development.
• Perform analysis, simulation, and testing to ensure software robustness, timing performance, and reliability under diverse environmental and operational conditions.
• Lead technical investigations, root?cause analysis, and corrective actions for embedded system issues.
• Work closely with cross?functional engineering teams to support system requirements definition, trade studies, architecture decisions, and design reviews.
• Prepare technical documentation, design artifacts, test reports, and customer briefings.
• Mentor junior engineers in embedded development practices, tools, and engineering methodologies.

REQUIRED EXPERIENCE & JOB SKILLS:
• Extensive embedded software development experience in C, C++, and related languages.
• Experience with real?time operating systems, firmware development, and low?level hardware interaction.
• Strong background with microcontrollers, DSPs, and embedded processor architectures.
• Experience developing and integrating communication interfaces and protocols (UART, SPI, I2C, Ethernet, RF links).
• Demonstrated capability in sensor integration, signal acquisition, and system?level control logic.
• Knowledge of FPGA interaction, hardware abstraction, and mixed hardware/software environments.
• Experience with build systems, configuration management, debug tools, and code versioning.
• Ability to create detailed technical documentation, design artifacts, and verification plans.
• Strong analytical, troubleshooting, and system?level thinking skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively with multidisciplinary engineering teams and interface with customers or program leadership.

• Experience with RTOS environments such as QNX or similar
• Experience with FPGA-based subsystems and mixed HW/SW architectures
• Experience in sensor-driven data acquisition systems preferred
• Experience with RF System on a Chip (RF SoC), Direct RF or other RF enabled embedded systems

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE:
• Bachelor's or master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Embedded Systems, or related field.
• 8+ years of professional experience in embedded software and systems engineering.
• Advanced graduate?level work or specialization in image processing, radar processing, controls, telecommunications, or embedded systems is beneficial.