Staff Embedded Software Engineer, Virtualization in Vancouver

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Staff Embedded Software Engineer, Virtualization based in Canada. Join a forward-thinking engineering team working at the intersection of embedded software, virtualization, and next-generation automotive technology. In this senior technical role, you will transform real-world ECU firmware into high-performance virtual devices that run on workstations and cloud infrastructure. Your work will help engineering teams develop, test, and validate vehicle software faster, even when physical hardware is unavailable. You will build virtualization layers, model hardware peripherals, and improve development workflows across multiple vehicle domains. Collaborating with hardware, middleware, and application software specialists, you will shape scalable engineering solutions that bridge the gap between physical systems and software-based environments. This is an opportunity to influence technical architecture, elevate engineering practices, and accelerate the development of software-defined vehicles.

Accountabilities

• Maintain and enhance the user-space runtime that enables production embedded firmware to run on host machines, translating real-time operating system concepts into POSIX-compatible implementations where appropriate.
• Integrate ECU firmware with modeled libraries and peripheral interfaces, including GPIO, CAN, LIN, PWM, watchdogs, and ADC/DAC, allowing existing firmware to operate in virtual environments with minimal modification.
• Develop functional hardware and peripheral models in C or Python, working closely with hardware engineers to reproduce realistic device behavior, edge cases, and expected system interactions.
• Own build scripts, toolchains, and configurations for generating both host-executable binaries and target microcontroller images, ensuring fast, consistent, and reproducible builds.
• Extend hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing frameworks and Pytest suites to support virtual configurations, inject faults, capture traces, and validate timing and communication traffic against reference results.
• Investigate discrepancies between firmware assumptions and host behavior, using low-level debugging tools such as GDB to identify root causes and resolve integration issues.
• Collaborate with operating system, middleware, hardware, and application software teams to define robust abstractions, validate peripheral models, and improve system integration.
• Lead technical design reviews, establish high engineering standards, and mentor colleagues on real-time systems, clean software architecture, and maintainable C, C++, and Python practices.

Requirements

• At least 10 years of hands-on embedded firmware development experience, including substantial experience porting or modifying RTOS-based systems.
• Bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• Expert-level proficiency in C, strong C++ skills, and the ability to write production-quality Python code.
• Deep understanding of real-time operating system fundamentals, including tasks, interrupt service routines, schedulers, queues, and timers, as well as how these concepts map to POSIX user-space primitives.
• Proven experience in embedded systems optimization and low-level debugging, with proficiency in GDB and familiarity with hardware or protocol analyzers.
• Solid knowledge of multithreaded and multicore programming, concurrency, and system-level performance considerations.
• Experience developing software for automotive communication networks such as CAN, LIN, and Ethernet, including user-space interfaces such as SocketCAN.
• Hands-on ownership of Bazel or comparable build systems, along with cross-compilation toolchains for heterogeneous embedded targets.
• Strong communication, analytical problem-solving, and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively across multidisciplinary teams in a fast-paced environment.
• A strong interest in virtualization, rapid prototyping, and engineering practices that shorten the path from concept to production.

Preferred

• Experience developing functional peripheral or integrated circuit models using QEMU, Renode, custom stubs, or similar tools.
• Familiarity with safety-critical coding standards such as MISRA or CERT and automotive protocols such as DoIP and SOME/IP.
• Experience comparing virtual ECU results with physical HIL data to identify and close fidelity gaps.
• Exposure to Synopsys Virtualizer Development Kit or comparable virtualization tools.

Benefits

• Competitive annual base salary: CAD-equivalent compensation aligned with the advertised range of $137,300–$181,890, with the applicable amount depending on location, experience, skills, qualifications, and other relevant factors.
• Annual performance bonus: Eligible for a target bonus of 15% of base salary, subject to the applicable plan terms and company performance. Payments are discretionary and not guaranteed.
• Equity participation: Eligible for restricted stock units (RSUs), subject to board approval, vesting requirements, and the terms of the applicable equity incentive plan.
• Comprehensive benefits package: Health coverage, retirement savings, paid time off, and family planning programs, with specific offerings varying by country.
• Hybrid work environment: A hybrid arrangement designed to combine collaboration with flexibility. The advertised locations include Vancouver, British Columbia, Irvine, California, and Palo Alto, California; the specific arrangement for a Canada-based hire should be confirmed during recruitment.
• Technical leadership and impact: The opportunity to shape virtualization architecture, mentor engineers, and contribute to the evolution of software-defined vehicle technology.
• Collaborative engineering culture: Work alongside specialists across embedded software, hardware platforms, operating systems, middleware, and vehicle application domains.