Senior Command and Control Software Engineer

About the role

We are seeking a senior embedded engineer to develop edge software and real-time pipelines on deployed NVIDIA Jetson(ARM/Linux) devices. The role involves integrating edge software with radios and RF front-ends, designing wire-level data formats, and setting technical direction for the embedded codebase.

Responsibilities

• Develop edge software and real-time pipelines in modern C++ that run on deployed NVIDIA Jetson(ARM/Linux) devices and support Command & Control (C2) systems
• Build low-latency, high-throughput data flows between processing stages using zero-copy IPC and pub/sub messaging (e.g. iceoryx2, ZeroMQ)
• Integrate edge software with radios and RF front-ends; work close to the signal — IQ data, spectral processing, detection, and direction finding
• Design and own wire-level data formats, packet ABIs, and interface contracts (e.g. Protobuf) that guarantee reliable data exchange across systems and teams
• Design and implement event-driven alerting and architecture that surface important information about sensor detections
• Develop telemetry software for edge devices that communicate with remote C2 systems, and build and maintain on-device storage for operational and sensor data
• Integrate and optimize edge ML inference (e.g. TensorRT / ONNX) into the real-time path where it adds operational value
• Own the build and deployment workflow (CMake, Conan, Docker) and drive hardware-in-the-loop bring-up
• Work closely with systems, hardware, and integration teams to deliver end-to-end functionality, and set technical direction for the embedded codebase

Requirements

• 3+ years of professional software engineering experience, with substantial time in edge, embedded, or systems-level environments
• Strong modern C++ (C++17/20) on Linux, plus Python for tooling and automation
• Experience building real-time or low-latency systems: deterministic pipelines, queuing, concurrency, and processing under throughput and timing constraints
• Demonstrated ownership of wire-level data formats, custom protocols, or packet/interface contracts (Protobuf or equivalent)
• Comfort with C++ build and dependency tooling (CMake, a package manager such as Conan) and containerized dev/deploy workflows (Docker)
• Track record of taking embedded software from bring-up through deployment on real hardware, working across firmware, host software, sensors, and integration teams
• Able to set technical direction and own a meaningful slice of architecture on a small team

Qualifications

• RF / DSP fundamentals: IQ data, spectral processing, detection, or direction finding
• Experience on NVIDIA Jetson or comparable ARM/SoC edge platforms
• Zero-copy IPC or shared-memory pub/sub frameworks (iceoryx2, DDS, or similar)
• Edge ML inference deployment (TensorRT, ONNX)
• Sensor integration and fusion (IMU, multi-rate sensor inputs)
• Background in defense, EW/SIGINT, or other mission-critical real-time systems

Benefits

The salary range for this role is $140,000—$220,000 USD per year. Forterra offers competitive benefits for full-time employees including: Premium Healthcare Benefits, Life/AD&D, short and long-term disability insurance, parental leave, PTO, tuition reimbursement, and a 401(k) retirement savings plan with company match. Additionally, Forterra provides a minimum of 7 weeks fully paid parental leave, a $9k annual tuition reimbursement or professional development stipend, and a fully stocked beverage refrigerator. Forterra is an equal-opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion.