Zipline
Staff Embedded Software Engineer - Avionics SW
$160K–$250K
South San Francisco, California, USA +1 · Staff · Full-time · Posted Oct 22, 2026
- Location
- South San Francisco, California, USA
South San Francisco, California, United States - Experience
- Typically 5+ years in embedded/flight-critical systems OR equivalent demonstrated impact.
- Education
- Bachelor’s degree in EE/CS or equivalent experience.
About the job
Own and deliver flight- and safety-critical avionics software and validation infrastructure for Zipline’s autonomous aircraft fleet.
What you'll do
- Own avionics subsystems end to end, including design, implementation, and production readiness.
- Develop embedded Linux software and tools for diagnostics, deterministic testing, logging, and regression analysis.
- Lead hardware-in-the-loop, bench, and field validation; resolve critical incidents and drive fixes through to measurable fleet results.
What they ask for
- Production embedded software experience in C++ or Rust and experience with embedded Linux.
- Track record deploying embedded software in safety- or mission-critical systems, with experience in fault management, deterministic real-time requirements, and validation strategies.
- Ability to read schematics, bring up peripherals from datasheets, and debug hardware/software interactions using tools such as oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, JTAG, and telemetry.
- Bachelor’s degree in EE/CS or equivalent experience; comfortable with field testing, occasional travel, and critical incident response outside standard hours.
Nice to have
- Experience with bare-metal or RTOS environments.
Pay
$160,000 - $250,000 USD base salary; $160,000 - $190,000 USD base salary; $190,000 - $220,000 USD base salary; $220,000 - $250,000 USD base salary
Tools
C++, Rust, embedded Linux, GNSS, Cellular, IMU, JTAG
Model-written summary · the original posting is authoritative