Zipline
Senior Embedded Software Validation Engineer - Avionics SW
$160K–$250K
South San Francisco, California, USA +1 · Senior · Full-time · Posted Sep 22, 2026
- Location
- South San Francisco, California, USA
South San Francisco, California, United States - Experience
- 5+ years in software development, software systems engineering, or software validation with robotic systems.
- Education
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science/Engineering, Software Engineering, or a related field.
About the job
Leads validation of avionics software and hardware for autonomous drones, ensuring reliable performance and providing evidence for safe software releases.
What you'll do
- Develop validation strategies and run nominal, stress, and edge-case tests from simulation through flight testing.
- Build and maintain test infrastructure, automated tools, metrics, visualizations, and performance and safety monitors.
- Debug system failures, document findings, and establish validation evidence and release criteria.
What they ask for
- 5+ years of software development, software systems engineering, or software validation experience with robotic systems.
- Experience developing validation strategies for autonomous robotics and root-causing failures in complex autonomous systems.
- Strong experience in one or more of: Embedded Linux, PREEMPT_RT, firmware/RTOS, safety-critical systems, 802.11, or Ethernet.
- Proficiency with Rust or another safety-critical programming language, such as MISRA C or C++; experience deriving software safety or performance requirements from functional safety requirements or similar decompositions.
Nice to have
- Familiarity with Python and SQL.
Pay
$160,000 - $250,000 USD starting cash range; $160,000 - $190,000 USD base salary; $190,000 - $220,000 USD base salary; $220,000 - $250,000 USD base salary
Tools
Embedded Linux, PREEMPT_RT, RTOS, 802.11, Ethernet, Rust, MISRA C, C++
Model-written summary · the original posting is authoritative