Principal Embedded Software Engineer — Automated Test & Verification

Melbourne, FL (Hybrid Remote)

Long Term Contract-to-Hire with benefits

A leading aerospace technology company is seeking an Automated Test & Verification Software Engineer to support the verification, validation, and certification of safety-critical airborne software for advanced aviation systems. This engineer will work closely with embedded software, systems, hardware, quality, certification, and flight-test teams to develop automated test solutions and produce objective evidence that software meets its requirements.

This is a hands-on role for an engineer with aviation-domain experience who understands the rigor of DO-178C software verification. The ideal candidate has experience building automated test frameworks for embedded or real-time systems and can connect requirements, test cases, results, coverage, traceability, and certification artifacts across the airborne software lifecycle.

What You’ll Do

Design, develop, and maintain automated test and verification software for safety-critical embedded aviation systems.
Create automated test frameworks, test harnesses, simulators, stubs, drivers, and data-analysis tools used to verify airborne software.
Translate high-level, low-level, interface, and derived software requirements into complete, traceable, repeatable test procedures and automated test cases.
Develop and execute unit, software integration, hardware/software integration, hardware-in-the-loop, system integration, regression, robustness, and requirements-based testing.
Support verification activities in accordance with DO-178C, including the production and maintenance of certification-quality verification evidence.
Build and maintain requirements-to-test traceability, ensuring every applicable software requirement is verified and that test results are reviewable and reproducible.
Develop automated approaches for structural coverage analysis, including statement, decision, MC/DC, and data/control coupling coverage, as applicable to the project’s Design Assurance Level.
Identify coverage gaps, analyze test results, support root-cause investigations, and work with software engineers to resolve defects and verification anomalies.
Develop test automation in Python, C/C++, MATLAB/Simulink, shell scripting, or comparable languages and environments.
Build test environments that emulate or interface with avionics hardware, sensors, actuators, flight-control computers, communications buses, and external aircraft systems.
Support hardware-in-the-loop and software-in-the-loop test environments, including test-bench configuration, test-equipment integration, automation, and maintenance.
Interface with avionics communication protocols and buses such as CAN, ARINC 429, ARINC 664/AFDX, MIL-STD-1553, Ethernet, RS-232/422/485, SPI, I2C, or UART.
Partner with embedded software, systems, and hardware teams to define testability requirements, test strategies, acceptance criteria, and verification plans early in the development lifecycle.
Support code reviews, test-case reviews, verification reviews, audits, and certification milestones.
Maintain controlled test procedures, test scripts, test reports, problem reports, configuration records, and verification documentation.
Support lab integration, ground testing, flight-test readiness, and post-test data analysis when needed.

Required Qualifications

7+ years of professional experience in software test, verification, validation, test automation, embedded software, or systems integration engineering.
Demonstrated experience verifying embedded, real-time, safety-critical, or mission-critical software in aviation, aerospace, defense, UAS/drone, eVTOL, avionics, automotive safety, medical devices, or a similarly regulated environment.
Hands-on experience developing automated test software, test harnesses, simulation tools, regression suites, or hardware-in-the-loop test solutions.
Strong programming ability in Python and/or C/C++; experience with scripting and test-tool development is essential.
Experience performing unit, integration, system, regression, and requirements-based testing for embedded or real-time systems.
Working knowledge of the software development lifecycle, including requirements, design, implementation, verification, configuration management, issue tracking, and release readiness.
Ability to interpret software requirements, interface-control documents, electrical schematics, hardware documentation, and system-level architecture.
Familiarity with embedded hardware, microcontrollers/processors, RTOS or bare-metal environments, sensors, actuators, and device communication interfaces.
Experience troubleshooting software and test failures using logs, debuggers, telemetry, lab equipment, and structured root-cause analysis.
Strong documentation, analytical, communication, and cross-functional collaboration skills.

Preferred Qualifications

Direct experience supporting DO-178C verification activities for airborne software.
Experience working on software developed to DAL A, DAL B, DAL C, or DAL D objectives.
Familiarity with DO-178C supplements and related guidance, including DO-330 tool qualification, DO-331 model-based development and verification, DO-332 object-oriented technology, or DO-333 formal methods.
Experience creating or reviewing Software Verification Plans, verification procedures, test cases, test reports, Software Accomplishment Summaries, problem reports, or certification-review artifacts.
Experience with structural coverage tools and analysis, including statement coverage, decision coverage, MC/DC, and data/control coupling analysis.
Experience with verification and test toolchains such as VectorCAST, LDRA, Rapita, Cantata, Tessy, IBM Rational Test RealTime, Polyspace, or comparable tooling.
Experience developing or supporting HIL, SIL, PIL, integration-lab, simulation, digital-twin, or automated test-bench environments.
Familiarity with requirements and lifecycle-management tools such as DOORS, Polarion, Jama, Codebeamer, Jira, Git, Jenkins, GitLab CI, or comparable platforms.
Experience with MATLAB/Simulink, model-based testing, test-vector generation, or simulation-based verification.
Familiarity with aircraft and avionics interfaces, including ARINC 429, ARINC 664/AFDX, CAN Aerospace, MIL-STD-1553, Ethernet, or serial communication protocols.
Experience supporting FAA, EASA, military-airworthiness, UAS, or eVTOL certification programs.
Knowledge of DO-254, ARP4754A, ARP4761, systems safety, configuration management, or quality-assurance processes in an aerospace environment.

Job description