Engineer II Embedded Software at BAE Systems
Boulder, CO
$79,365–$134,921from the description
Jul 20, 2026
Boulder, CO
Jul 21, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A mid-level embedded software engineering role focused on writing, testing, and integrating software for satellite, airborne, or ground systems. The work spans the full development lifecycle — from requirements and architecture through to integration and documentation — using languages such as C/C++, Rust, Python, and Embedded Linux. An active Secret clearance is required, and the position is fully on-site.
Mid level · 2+ years · Boulder, CO · Secret clearance · Full-time
“or” means any one of them counts — you don't need all of them.
Posted 2 times — it's one opening, so apply once.
We read this from the posting text with AI. Skim the description below before ruling yourself out.
How this req sits in the market our data
Rare in this occupation — lead with these, and say what you built with them.
Most people in this occupation already list these. Still required — just not what gets you shortlisted.
What the occupation pays Median $168,179 (middle half $132,051–$211,194). This posting is about at that midpoint.
Estimated from BLS employment for this occupation and area, per-skill prevalence across our listing corpus, and published wage benchmarks — as of Jul 28, 2026. It is a model, not a headcount.
Why we read it this way (10)
The role is titled 'Engineer II Embedded Software', which maps to a Mid-level band (2+ years required, 'II' in the title).
The clearance gate is nuanced: the JD requires a current, active Secret clearance AND the ability to obtain/maintain TS/SCI. The hard gate is Secret; TS/SCI eligibility is an additional condition but not a current possession requirement — the clearance requirement is set to Secret accordingly.
The required skills section lists Rust, C/C++, Python, and Embedded Linux as an 'experience in one or more of' list — meaning the candidate must have at least one, not necessarily all. They are captured as the required/preferred flag with each listed as an alternative of the others to reflect this OR-gate structure.
Similarly, MQTT/ZeroMQ are listed as a required messaging area (one or more), and PetaLinux/Yocto are listed as required embedded Linux distribution options — each pair is captured as one skill with alternatives.
FPGA interaction and device tree development appear in the required section; FPGA is captured as a named technology. Device tree development is a sub-practice of embedded Linux development and is not a separately named tool, so it is not emitted as a standalone skill.
CI/CD, Containerization, and Ruby appear only in the introductory narrative ('Technology areas include…'), not in the formal requirements block — they are marked as preferred.
Yocto appears in both the required section (as PetaLinux/Yocto alternative) and again under Preferred (Yocto Project and OpenEmbedded specifically) — it is captured once under the required pairing and once as a standalone preferred skill reflecting the deeper hands-on Yocto experience called out in the preferred section.
The work location is on-site five days per week; the posting does not name a specific city, but BAE Systems Space & Mission Systems (SMS) is headquartered in Boulder/Westminster, CO — CBSA set to Boulder, CO (14500) as best available inference.
Degree requirement is set to None because the JD explicitly states 'Related technical experience may be considered in lieu of education.'
Requires a Secret clearance — the cleared population is a small fraction of this occupation, so the real candidate pool is materially smaller than the estimate below, which does not model clearance.
Read the full posting
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