Lead Software Certification Engineer

Meet one of your future colleagues! 

About Us: 

Xwing is a cutting-edge aerospace technology company focused on revolutionizing the future of aviation. Backed by industry veterans and top-tier investors, our mission is to build a safer, more efficient, and more accessible air transportation system powered by autonomous flight. By combining artificial intelligence, proprietary software, and hardware solutions, Xwing is bringing uncrewed aircraft to commercial aviation. We are computer scientists, roboticists, and aerospace experts who are at the forefront of the transformation of the aviation industry.

Founded in 2016, Xwing is based in Northern California with offices in San Francisco and in Concord, CA. In 2021, Xwing completed the world's first fully autonomous cargo flight with a remote crew supervising the flight from the ground. In 2023, Xwing became the first company with a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification project for an uncrewed aircraft system for large aircraft.  

Visit xwing.com to learn more, and see all available positions under "Careers" to join our rapidly growing team.

Who We’re Looking For:

We are seeking an experienced Software Certification Engineer to aid in the development of DO-178C safety-critical embedded software.  In this role, you will be responsible for establishing and then leading a team of verification and validation engineers in the development and testing of safety-critical software for autonomous aircraft, following DO-178C and related standards.

Some Key Responsibilities:

• Author and co-author DO-178C plans, standards, reports, and processes to ensure efficient and compliant development.
• Collaborate with the FAA and DERs to agree upon detailed plans for software Means of Compliance for certification.
• Plan and facilitate certification authority compliance audits
• Develop and help implement software testing procedures, tools, tests, and methodologies to ensure compliance with aviation regulations and standards.
• Review software requirements, design documents, test cases, and code to ensure compliance.
• Collaborate with other engineers and stakeholders to ensure timely and efficient software development.
• Analyze test results, identify and help the software team address any issues or bugs found during verification.
• Work with FAA representatives and DERs to validate our plans and processes, and demonstrate that our software is robust and safe through multiple SOI stage gates. 
• Give visibility to leadership on the software certification roadmap and progress 
• Mentor and provide guidance to team members on DO-178C processes
• Contribute to process improvements and the development of best practices on the larger Engineering team

Required Qualifications: 

• Experience successfully planning and performing software certification processes for one or more DO-178 software certification programs
• Strong knowledge of software testing methodologies and tools
• Experience using requirements management tools such as Jama or DOORS to allocate requirements and design verification cases and procedures
• Strong problem-solving skills and attention to detail
• Experience using HIL, SIL, and simulation to perform verification 
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Ability to thrive in a startup environment in the face of ambiguity

Desirable Qualifications:

• 6+ years of experience in software verification and validation, preferably in the aerospace industry
• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related field
• Experience with planning and implementation of software configuration management
• Experience creating and maintaining deterministic build and test pipelines using tools such as git, containers, linux, Jenkins, python, gcc, and bash
• Experience working in an agile program planning environment

Compensation & Benefits:

Base salary range: $130,000 - $ 190,000 a year

Benefits:

• Equity
• 401k
• Unlimited PTO
• Parental leave
• Health, dental, and vision insurance for employees and dependents
• Long-term and short-term disability
• Various voluntary benefits

​​Employment Terms:

To conform to U.S. Government aerospace technology export regulations (EAR / ITAR), applicant must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the U.S. and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire. Employer provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, or veteran status. In addition to federal law requirements, employer complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training. Employer expressly prohibits any form of workplace harassment based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, or veteran status. Improper interference with the ability of employees to perform their job duties may result in discipline up to and including discharge.