Embedded Software Engineer

Summary

The Pennsylvania State University is seeking a motivated and technically strong Embedded Software Engineer to join their Embedded Software Department within the Guidance and Control Technologies Division at the Applied Research Laboratory. This role supports the development of advanced autonomous undersea systems and contributes directly to national defense research initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, integrate, and test embedded software supporting autonomous vehicle guidance and control, including sensor monitoring, actuator and motor control, and algorithms for signal processing, detection, classification, tracking, and decision‑making
• Develop and integrate autonomy‑related capabilities such as sensor fusion, perception, and embedded signal‑processing pipelines
• Collaborate within a multidisciplinary team to integrate complete embedded software systems and support hardware‑in‑the‑loop testing and bench‑level validation
• Prepare documentation, technical reports, and presentations
• Support occasional travel to remote test locations as part of a small engineering and research team

Skills

• Bachelor's Degree - Engineering or Science
• 2+ years of relevant experience (if filled as Research and Development Engineer - Intermediate Professional)
• Writing software for an embedded system
• Proficiency in C or C++ for embedded environments
• Effective interpersonal communication skills, demonstrated through previous success in collaborative, multidisciplinary engineering environments
• Ability to clearly convey technical information in presentations, documentation, and design discussions
• All positions at ARL require candidates to possess the ability to obtain a government security clearance; you will be notified during the interview process if this position is subject to a government background investigation
• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply
• Employment with the ARL will require successful completion of a pre-employment drug screen
• Embedded communication protocols such as UART, SPI, I2C, CAN, and Ethernet
• Microcontroller programming and low-level embedded development
• Linux experience
• Scripting with Python or MATLAB
• Autonomy-related algorithms such as sensor fusion, Kalman filtering, state estimation, or embedded perception/tracking
• Autonomy frameworks (e.g., ROS 2, MOOS-IvP, JAUS-based middleware)
• Real-time embedded systems or RTOS environments
• Hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) environments or lab-based hardware integration
• Use of AI- or LLM-assisted workflows to improve software development efficiency, code quality, or documentation
• Agile development methods and toolsets such as Atlassian
• Unit testing frameworks
• Current eligibility for access to classified information at the Secret level or higher and may be subject to a government background investigation to upgrade clearance eligibility if required

Qualifications

Must Haves

• Bachelor's Degree - Engineering or Science
• 2+ years of relevant experience (if filled as Research and Development Engineer - Intermediate Professional)
• Writing software for an embedded system
• Proficiency in C or C++ for embedded environments
• Effective interpersonal communication skills, demonstrated through previous success in collaborative, multidisciplinary engineering environments
• Ability to clearly convey technical information in presentations, documentation, and design discussions
• All positions at ARL require candidates to possess the ability to obtain a government security clearance; you will be notified during the interview process if this position is subject to a government background investigation
• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply
• Employment with the ARL will require successful completion of a pre-employment drug screen

Nice to Haves

• Embedded communication protocols such as UART, SPI, I2C, CAN, and Ethernet
• Microcontroller programming and low-level embedded development
• Linux experience
• Scripting with Python or MATLAB
• Autonomy-related algorithms such as sensor fusion, Kalman filtering, state estimation, or embedded perception/tracking
• Autonomy frameworks (e.g., ROS 2, MOOS-IvP, JAUS-based middleware)
• Real-time embedded systems or RTOS environments
• Hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) environments or lab-based hardware integration
• Use of AI- or LLM-assisted workflows to improve software development efficiency, code quality, or documentation
• Agile development methods and toolsets such as Atlassian
• Unit testing frameworks
• Current eligibility for access to classified information at the Secret level or higher and may be subject to a government background investigation to upgrade clearance eligibility if required

Benefits

• Penn State provides a competitive benefits package for full-time employees designed to support both personal and professional well-being.
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Robust retirement plans
• Substantial paid time off which includes holidays, vacation and sick time
• Generous 75% tuition discount, available to employees as well as eligible spouses and children