Freelance Software Engineer Startup Jobs in Michigan

About the Role:

We are seeking an accomplished Staff Embedded Software Engineer to play a key role in the development of next-generation automotive infotainment platforms. As a Staff Engineer, you will provide both technical leadership and hands-on expertise in the design, integration, and optimization of embedded audio software for our QNX-based infotainment HPC, running on Qualcomm Snapdragon SoCs. This role focuses on software below the application layer—encompassing the audio DSP stack, QNX audio resource managers and drivers, and SoC-level audio hardware enablement—to deliver robust, low-latency audio platforms that support multi-zone playback, voice/phone integration, navigation and ADAS chimes, and other advanced in-vehicle audio experiences.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead bring-up and integration of audio subsystems on new SoC platforms and hardware revisions, working closely with Qualcomm FAE/support, QNX/BlackBerry support, and internal hardware teams.
• Design and implement low-latency, multi-zone, multi-stream audio routing architectures to support features such as simultaneous navigation prompts, phone calls, media playback, ADAS chimes, and multi-speaker/zone output.
• Debug and resolve complex audio issues across the stack — pops/clicks, latency, synchronization, underruns/overruns, power-state transitions, and audio-video sync.
• Define and enforce automotive-grade quality practices: functional safety considerations, startup/boot time budgets, resource/power constraints, and long-term serviceability.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with application-layer teams (Android Automotive / AAOS or other infotainment frameworks), hardware/EE teams, and Qualcomm partner engineering.
• Mentor mid-level and senior engineers, perform design and code reviews, and set technical standards and best practices for the audio domain within base software.
• Partner with your manager on technical roadmap planning, estimation, and hiring/growth of the audio competency within the team.
• Drive root-cause analysis and resolution of field/production issues related to audio.
• Support the architecture and technical roadmap for audio software on our QNX-based infotainment HPC (Qualcomm Snapdragon SoC), spanning audio DSP (ADSP/QDSP6), QNX audio drivers/resource managers, and audio HAL/middleware integration.

Basic Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related field
• A minimum of 8 years of professional embedded software development experience, with a significant focus on audio software on Qualcomm Snapdragon (or similar Qualcomm) SoC platforms.
• Deep, hands-on experience with the Qualcomm audio stack: ADSP/QDSP6, AudioReach (or QACT/ACDB tooling), and integrating it into a QNX environment.
• Hands-on experience with QNX software development: resource managers (io-audio or equivalent), QNX audio driver architecture, IPC (message passing, pulses), and BSP-level bring-up on QNX.
• Strong C/C++ programming skills and comfort working across QNX resource manager/driver, HAL, and DSP firmware/config boundaries.
• Solid understanding of audio signal chains: codecs, amplifiers, DSPs, sample rate conversion, mixing/routing, echo cancellation, and low-latency audio paths.
• Experience debugging with tools such as JTAG/T32, QNX Momentics/System Analysis Toolkit, oscilloscopes/audio analyzers, logic analyzers, and Qualcomm-specific diagnostic/tracing tools.
• Track record of technical leadership: driving architecture decisions, mentoring engineers, and working across hardware/software boundaries.
• Experience in automotive or another safety/quality-regulated embedded industry (automotive, aerospace, medical devices, industrial) preferred.

Preferred Requirements:

• Experience with QNX Platform for Digital Cockpits (QNX PDC) or QNX Hypervisor in an automotive HPC context.
• Familiarity with automotive audio standards and use cases: multi-zone audio, active noise cancellation, engine sound enhancement, external mic/speaker arrays, phone/voice assistant integration.
• Experience with functional safety standards (ISO 26262) as applied to software development, including relevant QNX safety-certified configurations.
• Familiarity with AUTOSAR Adaptive, or other automotive middleware frameworks, and how they interface with a QNX-based audio subsystem.
• Experience with CI/CD for embedded targets, automated audio validation/test frameworks.
• Experience leveraging generative AI tools (e.g., Claude, GitHub Copilot, or similar) to accelerate embedded software development — code generation/review, debugging, test-case generation, and documentation.