Nominal
Software Engineer - Systems & Real-Time (RTOS / HIL)
Nominal, Los Angeles, California, United States, 90079
About Nominal
Nominal is building the software infrastructure that powers the world’s most advanced hardware systems — from spacecraft and autonomous vehicles to next-generation industrial machines. Our platform ingests high-rate telemetry, validates complex autonomy software in real time, and helps engineering teams iterate faster without sacrificing safety or precision. We’re a small, fast-moving team of engineers and operators who own problems end-to-end, work across disciplines, and thrive on solving challenges at the intersection of hardware and software. As a dual-use platform, we're serving top-tier commercial and defense customers, including the U.S. Navy, United States Air Force, Shield AI, and Anduril.
We’re backed by top-tier investors — Sequoia, General Catalyst, Founders Fund, Lux Capital, and Lightspeed Ventures — who share our mission to accelerate innovation in mission-critical systems. Our team brings experience from SpaceX, Palantir, Anduril, Applied Intuition, and other leading companies, united by a common goal: enabling hardware engineers to push the boundaries of advanced technology with speed, safety, and precision.
As a
Systems-Level Software Engineer , you’ll architect and implement the real-time backbone of Nominal’s test automation and simulation platform. You’ll work across the full stack of hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) systems, from deterministic task scheduling and bus I/O to distributed telemetry and timing synchronization — ensuring our software behaves predictably under the tightest latency budgets. If you thrive at the boundary between software and the physical world — where timing matters as much as correctness, this role is for you.
About the Role
Design and implement
hard real-time components
for data acquisition, control, and simulation using
C++ and/or Rust .
Develop deterministic communication layers for
CAN, EtherCAT, serial, and MIL-STD-1553
or similar field buses.
Architect the
core HIL runtime , including task schedulers, timing controllers, and synchronization primitives.
Integrate with embedded targets, flight computers, and sensor networks to validate autonomy and control software.
Collaborate with our infrastructure and visualization teams to connect real-time execution with distributed telemetry, playback, and analysis pipelines.
Profile, benchmark, and harden low-latency systems to meet
microsecond-level timing guarantees .
Establish testing and verification standards for real-time correctness and timing determinism across the platform.
⚡ Skills That Accelerate Us
4+ years of systems-level or embedded software development
in C++ (C++17 or newer) or Rust, with a deep understanding of
real-time constraints
and
deterministic scheduling .
Experience with
RTOSs
such as
QNX, RTEMS, FreeRTOS, VxWorks , or Linux PREEMPT-RT.
Background in
HIL or SIL testing , real-time control loops, or simulation frameworks for aerospace, automotive, or robotics.
Strong grasp of
hardware interfaces , timing jitter, interrupt handling, and low-level I/O.
Familiarity with
signal acquisition, control systems, and sensor fusion
concepts.
Bonus: experience with
LabVIEW, NI TestStand, PXI/DAQ systems , or integration with external test equipment.
Bonus: knowledge of
time-synchronized networking (PTP/NTP) ,
DDS , or
real-time middleware
(ROS 2, RTI Connext).
Ability to debug at multiple layers — from driver-level to distributed telemetry — and to reason clearly about timing and causality.
✨ Benefits/Perks
100% coverage of medical, dental, and vision insurance
Unlimited PTO and sick leave
Free lunch, snacks, and coffee
Professional Development Stipend
Annual company retreat
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin.
ITAR Requirements
To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR.
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We’re backed by top-tier investors — Sequoia, General Catalyst, Founders Fund, Lux Capital, and Lightspeed Ventures — who share our mission to accelerate innovation in mission-critical systems. Our team brings experience from SpaceX, Palantir, Anduril, Applied Intuition, and other leading companies, united by a common goal: enabling hardware engineers to push the boundaries of advanced technology with speed, safety, and precision.
As a
Systems-Level Software Engineer , you’ll architect and implement the real-time backbone of Nominal’s test automation and simulation platform. You’ll work across the full stack of hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) systems, from deterministic task scheduling and bus I/O to distributed telemetry and timing synchronization — ensuring our software behaves predictably under the tightest latency budgets. If you thrive at the boundary between software and the physical world — where timing matters as much as correctness, this role is for you.
About the Role
Design and implement
hard real-time components
for data acquisition, control, and simulation using
C++ and/or Rust .
Develop deterministic communication layers for
CAN, EtherCAT, serial, and MIL-STD-1553
or similar field buses.
Architect the
core HIL runtime , including task schedulers, timing controllers, and synchronization primitives.
Integrate with embedded targets, flight computers, and sensor networks to validate autonomy and control software.
Collaborate with our infrastructure and visualization teams to connect real-time execution with distributed telemetry, playback, and analysis pipelines.
Profile, benchmark, and harden low-latency systems to meet
microsecond-level timing guarantees .
Establish testing and verification standards for real-time correctness and timing determinism across the platform.
⚡ Skills That Accelerate Us
4+ years of systems-level or embedded software development
in C++ (C++17 or newer) or Rust, with a deep understanding of
real-time constraints
and
deterministic scheduling .
Experience with
RTOSs
such as
QNX, RTEMS, FreeRTOS, VxWorks , or Linux PREEMPT-RT.
Background in
HIL or SIL testing , real-time control loops, or simulation frameworks for aerospace, automotive, or robotics.
Strong grasp of
hardware interfaces , timing jitter, interrupt handling, and low-level I/O.
Familiarity with
signal acquisition, control systems, and sensor fusion
concepts.
Bonus: experience with
LabVIEW, NI TestStand, PXI/DAQ systems , or integration with external test equipment.
Bonus: knowledge of
time-synchronized networking (PTP/NTP) ,
DDS , or
real-time middleware
(ROS 2, RTI Connext).
Ability to debug at multiple layers — from driver-level to distributed telemetry — and to reason clearly about timing and causality.
✨ Benefits/Perks
100% coverage of medical, dental, and vision insurance
Unlimited PTO and sick leave
Free lunch, snacks, and coffee
Professional Development Stipend
Annual company retreat
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin.
ITAR Requirements
To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR.
#J-18808-Ljbffr