Embedded Team Lead

Description XTEND, a global leader in advanced human-guided autonomous drone systems, is looking for an Embedded Team Lead to join our R&D organization and lead the development of the firmware and low-level software that power our real-time autonomous and mission-critical systems used by defense and security forces worldwide. In this role, you will combine hands-on technical leadership with people management, guiding a team of embedded engineers while actively contributing to the design, implementation, and bring-up of firmware for our airborne platforms and payloads. You will own the embedded layer end-to-end - from microcontroller firmware and low-level drivers, through hardware/software integration, to production support and field-deployed systems. This is a unique opportunity to lead development at the point where software meets hardware, in systems that operate in the most demanding real-world environments. Responsibilities: • Lead and mentor a team of embedded software engineers, fostering ownership, accountability, and technical excellence • Take full ownership of embedded delivery, from architecture and board bring-up through serial production and field deployment • Act as a hands-on contributor to embedded C development for real-time, resource-constrained, mission-critical platforms • Drive hardware/software integration together with electrical, mechanical, and systems teams - from prototype through production • Ensure reliability, deterministic real-time behavior, and efficient resource utilization of firmware running on fielded systems • Conduct code and design reviews, enforce best practices, and maintain high development, testing, and documentation standards • Manage sprint planning, task prioritization, technical roadmap alignment, and delivery timelines within an Agile framework • Support recruitment, onboarding, and professional development of embedded engineers Requirements • 5+ years of hands-on real time embedded software and firmware development experience, including strong expertise in C • Proven experience leading and mentoring engineers in a technical team environment • Strong embedded system design and architectural experience • Deep understanding of embedded fundamentals: real-time behavior, interrupts, memory management, concurrency, and low-level debugging • Hands-on experience with ARM microcontroller platforms (STM32 or similar), including firmware implementation and hardware bring-up • Experience implementing and troubleshooting embedded communication interfaces such as I2C, UART, SPI, GPIO, and CAN • Ability to read schematics and work at board level, with proficiency using oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and hardware debuggers • Strong experience working in Linux environments, with Git-based workflows and modern development tools • Strong ownership mindset and ability to lead technical initiatives end-to-end Advantages: • Experience with bootloaders and secure firmware update mechanisms • Experience with sensor integration • Experience supporting NPI, serial production, or fielded hardware systems, including production test infrastructure • Experience scaling teams or leading multi-disciplinary projects Apply now to join XTEND and be a key player in transforming the future of human-machine interaction!