Lead Embedded Software Engineer

Do you want to change the world? Zipline is on a mission to transform the way goods move. Our aim is to solve the world’s most urgent and complex access challenges by building, manufacturing and operating the first instant delivery and logistics system that serves all humans equally, wherever they are. From powering Rwanda’s national blood delivery network and Ghana’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution, to providing on-demand home delivery for Walmart, to enabling healthcare providers to bring care directly to U.S. homes, we are transforming the way things move for businesses, governments and consumers. The technology is complex but the idea is simple: a teleportation service that delivers what you need, when you need it. Through our technology that includes robotics and autonomy, we are decarbonizing delivery, decreasing road congestion, and reducing fossil fuel consumption and air pollution, while providing equitable access to billions of people and building a more resilient global supply chain.

 

Join Zipline and help us to make good on our promise to build an equitable and more resilient global supply chain for billions of people.

About You and The Role  

The Embedded Software team is responsible for designing robust systems that power our life-saving drone delivery service in some of the toughest environments on Earth. Our team is responsible for the software stack from bare-metal through the operating system, firmware, peripheral drivers, core libraries, and the tools plus test systems that enable our team to develop reliable safety-critical systems at high velocity. This spans from our aircraft, to our ground infrastructure, to our hardware testers.

As an Embedded Software Engineering Lead, you and your team will be responsible for a large portion of this stack. We are looking for a hands-on leader with a strong command of embedded software development and the proven capacity to grow a high-performing team.

What You'll Do  

• Lead, mentor, and grow a team of embedded engineers by providing a clear vision and setting ambitious goals, all while maintaining a stringent focus on technical excellence.
• Provide technical leadership in system level design by bringing expertise in either Linux, Microcontrollers, or Real-Time Operating Systems.
• Cultivate a team culture that champions a bias to action and strives for radically simple designs.
• Coordinate across teams such as the electrical engineers to architect safety-critical avionics systems, which include flight computers, radios, safety systems, and communication buses.
• Create reliable drivers for peripheral devices and radios used in flight computers, such as Inertial Measurement Units and GNSS Receivers.
• Develop a microprocessor framework to expedite firmware development processes.
• Lead the technical direction of your team.

What You'll Bring 

• Proven experience in leading engineering teams to successfully deliver embedded software solutions, demonstrating the level of rigor required for high-volume or safety-critical applications.
• A knack for thinking from first principles and a genuine passion for solving complex challenges.
• Experience managing a small, high performing team of engineers.
• Strong at team building, including identifying and attracting talent, mentoring and growing the next generation of technical leaders.
• Deep technical expertise in embedded software engineering, with a track record of making impactful architectural-level contributions.
• Strong software engineering skills, with proficiency in at least one strongly typed language. We use Rust and C++ onboard, and python for tooling.
• Strong software architecture skills, having designed and shipped solutions for complicated real-world use cases.
• Strong technical leadership skills and experience owning large technical systems that other engineers will contribute to.

What Else You Need to Know