Embedded Software Team Leads – Bare Metal | Networking | Cryptography

Reston, VA or McLean, VA | Onsite | U.S. Citizenship Required | Top Secret Clearance Required

District Partners is supporting a rapidly scaling defense tech firm is hiring multiple Embedded Software Team Leads (six roles available) to drive the development of mission-critical embedded platforms in the areas of bare-metal systems, secure networking, and cryptographic infrastructure. These roles are ideal for deeply technical leaders who want to roll up their sleeves, own system-level software, and lead high-impact development teams in fast-paced, security-focused environments.

Top 3 Professional Attributes:

• Hands-on technical leadership – leads by example in architecture, code quality, and delivery.
• System-level problem solver – understands how hardware, software, and security intersect.
• Mission ownership mindset – thrives in high-stakes environments with a bias toward execution.

Required Technical Skills:

• 8+ years of experience in embedded software development using C, C++, or Rust.
• 5+ years of experience leading engineering teams delivering production-grade code.
• Deep knowledge of bare-metal system design – including ISRs, MMUs, bootloaders, memory management, and I/O (UART, SPI, I2C, eMMC, etc.).
• Proven experience working with System-on-Chip (SoC) architectures and custom hardware integration.
• Strong grasp of networking protocols and secure communications frameworks.
• Experience designing or integrating low-level cryptographic solutions, entropy generation, and control flow integrity protections.
• Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines, static code analysis, and advanced debugging.
• Commitment to clean, tested, and well-documented code with a focus on long-term maintainability.

What You’ll Do:

• Lead and mentor a team of 5–8 embedded engineers; drive team performance and technical direction.
• Design and develop high-assurance, low-level embedded software for secure systems.
• Collaborate with hardware, systems, and external teams to deliver integrated capabilities.
• Own and manage software execution plans, technical roadmaps, and sprint-level priorities.
• Review, refactor, and contribute to the codebase as needed to meet high-urgency deadlines.
• Serve as a technical point-of-contact for internal and external stakeholders.
• Triage complex system failures and drive root cause resolution at the firmware/hardware boundary.

Location & Clearance:

• Must be onsite in Reston or McLean, VA
• Must be a U.S. Citizen with an active Top Secret clearance
• Relocation assistance is provided

Compensation & Perks:

• Up to $200,000 base salary
• Equity options included based on experience and technical leadership
• Opportunity to work on programs of national importance with cutting-edge technology and real-world impact

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