Embedded Systems Engineer IV, R&D
Confirmed on the employer's own hiring board on Oct 23, 2026. First seen by Alion on Aug 7, 2026. ACV Auctions scores B on the Alion truth index.
Who we are looking for:
As an Engineer IV, Embedded Systems within the R&D team, you will serve as a technical anchor for our next-generation hardware platforms. You will design, develop, and optimize high-performance software running on a variety of embedded systems—ranging from single-board computers and edge AI compute modules to custom ARM architecture.
This role requires a unique blend of scrappy, proof-of-concept rapid prototyping and disciplined, production-grade software engineering. You will own the software lifecycle for new devices, ensuring seamless integration between low-level hardware, sensors, edge computing frameworks, and our enterprise cloud infrastructure.
What you will do:
End-to-End Development: Architect, implement, and maintain embedded software from initial conceptual prototypes to ruggedized, scalable, enterprise-level production code.
Platform Ownership: Develop and optimize firmware and middleware on platforms including Raspberry Pi, NVIDIA Jetson, and ARM-based System-on-Modules (SOMs).
Sensor & Peripheral Integration: Write and debug low-level drivers and interfaces for a diverse ecosystem of peripherals, cameras, and environmental sensors via protocols such as I2C, SPI, UART, USB, and PCIe.
Edge Intelligence & Compute: Optimize software on compute-constrained edge devices, including leveraging hardware acceleration (e.g., CUDA, TensorRT on Jetson platforms) for real-time data processing and computer vision pipelines.
System Stability & Lifecycle: Design robust fault-detection, automated recovery mechanisms, and secure over-the-air (OTA) firmware update systems to ensure maximum field stability.
Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner closely with hardware/electrical engineers, mechanical designers, and cloud backend teams to define system architectures and interfaces.
Mentorship & Standards: Drive code quality through rigorous code reviews, automated testing, and comprehensive documentation. Mentor junior and mid-level engineers on the team.
Perform additional duties as assigned.
What you will need:
Ability to read, write, speak and understand English.
BS degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical field (or equivalent practical experience).
6+ years’ Professional experience in embedded software development, with a proven track record of shipping commercial or industrial hardware products
Expert-level proficiency in C and C++; strong scripting skills in Python or Bash for testing and automation.
OS Expertise: Deep experience developing within Embedded Linux environments (including kernel configuration, device tree modification, and custom driver development).
Hands-on experience building applications on Raspberry Pi (Linux/Debian) and NVIDIA Jetson (JetPack ecosystem).
Solid understanding of hardware communication protocols: SPI, I2C, UART, CAN bus, USB.
Experience interfacing with high-resolution image sensors, cameras, or specialized sensors.
Proficiency with modern software engineering tools: Git, CMake, Docker, and CI/CD pipelines tailored for embedded targets.
Familiarity with networking stacks and IoT communication protocols (TCP/IP, UDP, MQTT, gRPC).
Comfortable utilizing lab equipment like oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and multimeters to debug hardware/software boundary issues.
Expert in version control systems including trunk-based development, multiple release planning, cherry picking, and rebase.
Nice to Have Technical Competencies
Experience with custom Linux distribution builders like Yocto Project or Buildroot.
Familiarity with real-time operating systems (RTOS) or bare-metal ARM development.
Experience deploying or optimizing machine learning models at the edge.