TAD PGS, Inc. logo

Embedded Software Engineer

TAD PGS, Inc.

San Diego, CAContract / Full-time$85.54/hrSeen 2w agoSeen in employer's feed today

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At a glance

Compensation
$85.54/hr
Location
San Diego, CA
Schedule
Contract / Full-time
Work Authorization
US work authorization required

Olive lists jobs from US employers, including remote roles you can work from the United States.

Requirements

Credentials this posting asks for.

Secret clearance

Job overview

TAD PGS seeks an Embedded Software Engineer, described in the posting as a Principal Engineer Embedded Cryptographic Software, to support its Software and Digital Technologies department. The role serves on-site at the Rancho Carmel site in San Diego and focuses on cryptographic software. The position is contract-based and requires U.S. citizenship and an active Secret clearance.

Skills & qualifications

RequiredNice to have

Skills

Cryptographic SoftwareC/C++HAIPEOTNKIKECryptographic MechanismsYocto/PetalinuxWindRiver LinuxXilinx PlatformsTCP/IPNetwork ConfigurationSoftware LifecycleFirmware IntegrationReal-Time Embedded SystemsJiraBitbucketGitAgileRustLow-Level Driver DevelopmentLinux Kernel DriversLinux ContainersDockerKubernetesRESTful ServicesSoftware Defined RadiosAvionics Operating SystemCommunication ProtocolsI2CSPIUARTPCIeEthernetVitisVivadoNSA Security StandardsAssembly LanguageBare-Metal Device DriversPowerPCRhapsody

Qualifications

Bachelor's in Computer Engineering or STEM + 5 Years, Master's + 3 Years, or PhD + 1 YearActive Secret ClearanceActive Top Secret ClearanceActive SAP Clearance

Benefits

401(k) Match
Paid Time Off
Medical Insurance

Full job description

We have an outstanding Contract position for anEmbedded Software Engineer to join a leading Company located in the San Diego, CA surrounding area.

Pay Rate: $85.54

US Citizenship is required.

Candidate must possess an Active Secret Security Clearance.

L ooking for a Principal Engineer Embedded Cryptographic Software to support our Software and Digital Technologies department. As a member of the Software and Digital Technologies department, you'll get to work on revolutionary systems that impact people's lives around the world today, and for generations to come. This position will serve on-site at the Rancho Carmel Site in San Diego, CA.

Job Responsibilities:

  • Design, develop, integrate and test software for our end-user customers and businesses, primarily focused on cryptographic software code bases

  • Responsible for the design, architecture, development, and administration of embedded and real time systems

  • W ork with multi-disciplinary teams, such as with Systems Engineering, Digital Engineering, Hardware, and Integration & Test, in an Agile software development environment

  • Analyze system capabilities to resolve problems on program intent, output requirements, input data acquisition, programming techniques and controls

Basic Hiring Criteria:

  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering or another STEM discipline with 5 years of related experience, or Master's degree with 3 years or a PhD with 1 year of experience

  • Current active US Government Secret Clearance

  • Proficient in C/C+

    • Familiarity with HAIPE, OTNK, and/or IKE

  • Experience implementing cryptographic mechanisms using dedicated software libraries

  • Experience with Yocto/Petalinux or WindRiver Linux

  • Experience with Xilinx platforms (Zynq, Ultrascale+ and VERSAL)

  • Experience with TCP/IP and common network configurations

  • Proficient in all areas of the formal software lifecycle process from requirements to testing

  • Experience integrating low-level firmware and software in complex real-time multi-threaded embedded applications

  • Experience with developing and debugging embedded real-time systems

  • Experience using Jira/Bitbucket/Git and the Agile software development process

  • Ability to work full-time onsite at our Rancho Carmel location

Desired Qualifications:

  • Foundational knowledge of Rust

  • Experience with low-level driver development

  • Familiarity with Linux kernel driver development/modifications

  • Proficiency working with Linux containers (Docker, Kubernetes or similar container orchestration platforms)

  • Experience with TCP/IP and common network configurations

  • Experience with RESTful Services

  • Experience with Software Defined Radios

  • Experience with the Avionics Operating System

  • Experience with Communication Protocols (I2C, SPI, UART, PCIe, Ethernet)

  • Familiarity with Xilinx tools (Vitis, Vivado)

  • Familiarity with the latest NSA Security Standards

  • Familiarity with assembly language

  • Familiarity with bare-metal embedded device drivers

  • Familiarity with PowerPC architectures and peripherals

  • Familiarity with IBM tools (Rhapsody, DOORS, ClearCase)

  • Familiarity with Green Hills AdaMulti

  • Current active US Government Top Secret Clearance

  • Current active SAP clearance

Benefits offered vary by contract. Depending on your temporary assignment, benefits may include direct deposit, free career counseling services, 401(k), select paid holidays, short-term disability insurance, skills training, employee referral bonus, and affordable medical coverage plan, and DailyPay (in some locations). For a full description of benefits available to you, be sure to talk with your recruiter.

Military connected talent encouraged to apply.

VEVRAA Federal Contractor / Request Priority Protected Veteran Referrals / Equal Opportunity Employer / Veterans / Disabled

To read our Candidate Privacy Information Statement, which explains how we will use your information, please visithttp://www.tadpgs.com/candidate-privacy/orhttps://pdsdefense.com/candidate-privacy/

The Company will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records in accordance with federal, state, and local laws and/or security clearance requirements, including, as applicable:

  • The California Fair Chance Act

  • Los Angeles City Fair Chance Ordinance

  • Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers

  • San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance

How this job compares

Set against the 1,318 open Embedded Software Engineer jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 5, 2026.

Pay
  • This posting$85.54/hr
  • California median$48–67/hr22 hourly ranges
  • US median$60–70/hr97 hourly ranges

This rate, $85.54/hr, is 48% above the California median midpoint ($58/hr) — in the top quarter of Embedded Software Engineer hourly ranges in California.

Openings
Olive Jobs lists 427 open Embedded Software Engineer jobs in California and 1,318 across the US. 2% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
Hiring the most in California
Experience
This posting asks for at least 1 year of experience — less than three in four Embedded Software Engineer postings that state a minimum ask for (median 5 years, across 1,092 postings).
Education
563 of the 1,318 open Embedded Software Engineer jobs (43%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.

Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on November 5, 2026. Pay medians are the middle values of the low ends and of the high ends of postings that list both ends of a range in the same cadence (a yearly salary or an hourly rate); a range's midpoint is halfway between its ends. Pay and experience figures resting on fewer than 20 postings are left out.

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