Job Description
Job Description
Job Description
Salary:
Embedded Software Designer
Burlington ON Hybrid
**Please note that to be considered for any position at PV Labs, all candidates must be eligible to meet the requirements of the Canadian Controlled-Goods Program of the Defense Production Act and be able to hold and maintain a Canadian Security Clearance. If you are not clear about your eligibility, please consult the Government of Canada website HERE**
About the Role
This is not a narrow, stay-in-your-lane software role.
As an Embedded Software Designer at PVLabs, you design and build real-time software systems that sit at the core of our airborne optical platforms. Your work spans the full lifecyclearchitecture, design, implementation, verification, debug, deployment, and long-term evolutionof software that directly controls flight-proven, stabilized gimbals and ISR payloads.
We treat software as a product, not a by-product. Our architecture is modular, component-driven, and intentionally designed for change. Youll work on distributed, multi-processor real-time systems where clarity, testability, and long-term maintainability matter as much as raw performance. Monolithic codebases and just make it work thinking dont survive here.
Youll collaborate closely with systems, electrical, mechanical, and optical engineersnot as support, but as a peerbringing software judgment to the table as we solve hard problems in stabilization, sensing, and control within demanding operational environments.
What Youll Be Responsible For
Reporting to the VP, New Product Introduction, and working closely with Program and Project leads, you will:
- Architect, design, implement, and verify complex real-time embedded software in C++ (with some legacy C) across multi-processor systems
- Actively participate inand often leaddesign and code reviews with a critical, constructive mindset
- Work with cross-disciplinary teams to ensure requirements are understood, documented, and traceable
- Develop software aligned with military-class development and verification standards
- Maintain source control, build artifacts, and package integrity to meet both internal and customer expectations
- Contribute toand improveour engineering standards, knowledge bases, and development workflows
Technical Skills Youll Need
- Strong C++ and C experience in real-time embedded systems
- Multi-process and multi-threaded application development
- Embedded development on microcontroller and FPGA SoC platforms
- Proficiency with debugging tools (e.g., GDB)
- Comfort in Linux-based, command-line development environments
- Experience with common embedded communication protocols (UART, IC, SPI, CAN, Ethernet)
- Scripting with Bash and Python; fluent with Git
- Ability to read and understand electrical schematics
High-Value (Nice-to-Have) Skills
- Board Support Package (BSP) porting to new hardware
- Linux driver development
- Designing for aircraft safety and certification constraints
- GPU architecture and CUDA programming
- MATLAB experience
About You as an Embedded Software Engineer
At PVLabs, how we work matters as much as what we build.
Were looking for engineers who combine deep technical skill with professional maturity and strong judgment. Youre curious, detail-driven, and motivated by solving hard problems properlynot just quickly.
About You:
- Bring creativity, curiosity, and a disciplined approach to problem-solving
- Step into ownership naturally and arent afraid to lead when needed
- Communicate technical ideas clearlyand know when to ask for help
- Take a continuous-improvement mindset to code, process, and tooling
- Participate in requirements development and provide realistic cost and schedule estimates
- Drive design and code reviews rather than observing from the sidelines
- Give and receive feedback constructivelywe succeed as a team
- Prefer small, highly communicative teams over rigid silos
- Manage your time and priorities with professionalism and autonomy
Qualifications
- Eligibility to meet Controlled Goods Program requirements and hold a Canadian Security Clearance
- Degree or technical diploma in Software Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or equivalent experience
Whats in It for You
Youll work on real, fielded technology: stabilized opto-mechanical platforms, high-speed data systems, control systems, camera and lens systems, real-time video pipelines, distributed I/O, and advanced laser-enabled payloads.
These systems operate in demanding ISR environments where precision and reliability matter.
Youll join a team of brilliant engineers with serious technical depth and the autonomy to do meaningful work. We value Mastery, Autonomy, and Purpose, and we strive for Resiliency, Innovation, and Productivity in everything we build. We move fast. We build complicated, expensive things that fly.
We dont do egowe do execution. If you want hands-on impact, technical ownership, and work that genuinely matters, PVLabs is where youll find it.