Senior Embedded Software Engineer

About the role

About Urban Sky

Urban Sky is a venture-backed aerospace startup on a mission to pioneer humanity’s routine, easy access to the stratosphere and the value locked within it. We design, build, operate, and sell stratospheric balloon systems. The data we collect supports a wide range of applications, from real-time wildfire monitoring to urban mapping. Our technology is also employed by government customers including the Department of War (DoW), NASA, and others. Urban Sky sends flight vehicles to the stratosphere on a weekly basis.

Our team consists of engineers, makers, developers, and doers who believe in the power of human potential when passion meets utility within a small, supportive team. At Urban Sky we strive to create a team culture grounded in candor, inclusion, respect and empowerment.

We aim to build the next chapter of stratospheric history in Denver and Texas and are seeking self-starting, open-minded, and hard-working team members.

About Role

HUSKY is the avionics bus of every balloon Urban Sky flies – the embedded Linux flight computer that powers, connects, and controls the balloon and the payloads it carries. Its software is a Go-based control plane running on the flight computer: it reads the vehicle’s sensors and batteries, controls power to payloads and radios, moves commands and telemetry between the vehicle and mission control over RF and satellite links, and gives operators the APIs and interfaces they use to run a flight.

Urban Sky is seeking a Senior Firmware Engineer to own this software. You’ll be responsible for making HUSKY reliable, secure, and easy to evolve as the fleet grows and new payloads and customers come on board – from the code that talks to hardware, to the architecture, to how it’s built, tested, and shipped to vehicles in the field. You’ll also carry the platform forward as a product: defining what the next revisions need, working with engineers to bring them up, and supporting the defense customers who integrate with it. This is a high-ownership role where your decisions directly affect flight safety and mission success, every week.

Key Responsibilities

Own the HUSKY flight software end-to-end – architecture, development, quality, and release – as the technical lead for the platform

Keep the vehicle’s hardware working through software: sensors, batteries, power distribution and outputs, GNSS, radios, and the mechanisms and payloads that connect to the bus

Make communications dependable over unreliable links: command and telemetry between the vehicle, its subsystems, and mission control – across RF, satellite, and IP links – with data that survives outages and reboots

Design for flight safety as a primary constraint: fault detection and isolation, watchdogs, graceful degradation, safe-state and safe-default behaviors, and documented failure modes

Own how HUSKY software is built, secured, and delivered to the fleet: CI/CD, release and configuration management, and defense variants

Build and maintain the test infrastructure the platform needs

Define and document the interfaces between HUSKY and the microcontroller subsystems, payloads, and mission control systems it connects to

Implement security controls and support defense accreditation (encrypted communications, hardened configurations, secure boot, access control; STIG/RMF/ATO requirements)

Serve as a technical point of contact for defense customers integrating with HUSKY – interface definition, integration support, and network integration exercises

Qualifications

5+ years of embedded software engineering, with a track record of owning production software on Linux-based embedded devices

Proficiency in Go, plus strong systems programming fundamentals

Experience developing on Linux SOM/SBC platforms (e.g., NXP i.MX, Toradex, Jetson, or similar) – board bring-up, device trees, kernel/driver configuration, and peripheral integration

Experience with embedded Linux build environments such as Yocto and Buildroot, and with shipping and updating containerized software on devices in the field

Experience with Zephyr RTOS firmware on microcontrollers, and defining interfaces between Linux and MCU subsystems

Deep understanding of how software meets hardware on Linux

Solid networking fundamentals (TCP/IP, RPC, serialization) and experience making systems reliable over intermittent, bandwidth-constrained links

Experience defining system architecture and interfaces

Comfortable owning a codebase end-to-end

Hands-on with hardware and comfortable in the lab and the field

Clear technical communicator, credible with engineers and with customers

Nice-to-Haves / Preferred Skills

Nordic nRF / ARM Cortex-M microcontroller experience

Aerospace, avionics, UAS, robotics, or satellite platform experience, including operation in extreme environments

RF and satellite data link integration

GNSS, IMU, or sensor integration experience

Power systems and battery management experience

Security hardening and DoD accreditation

Model-based systems engineering (MBSE) or formal requirements traceability

Requirements

Must be US Citizen or Permanent Resident

Ability to obtain and maintain a US security clearance may be required for certain programs

Must be located near Denver, CO or willing to relocate; role is on-site at our Denver headquarters (4800 Race St)

Travel expected to support field campaigns, test flights, and customer integration

Benefits

Stock Options

Medical, Vision and Dental

Unlimited / Felxable Leave Policy

Cell Phone Bill Stipend

Urban Sky is an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, protected Veteran Status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

The Pay Range For This Role Is

140,000 - 200,000 USD per year(Denver CO HQ)