Job Details

Senior Software Engineer

Location: Santa Barbara, CA (Onsite)

About Sonatech

Sonatech LLC is a leader in undersea acoustics, providing advanced technologies to support U.S. Navy missions. Our embedded software is a core component of high-performance, mission-critical systems deployed across a variety of naval platforms-often requiring real-time responsiveness, secure operation, and seamless hardware integration.

We foster a collaborative engineering culture where innovation, technical ownership, and cross-disciplinary teamwork are deeply valued. Our Santa Barbara office, located just minutes from the beach, offers a supportive, collaborative environment where engineers are trusted with technical ownership and meaningful impact.

Job Summary

We are seeking a Senior Software Engineer to take technical ownership of embedded software development for advanced undersea acoustics systems. This hands-on role includes leading architecture and design decisions, influencing technical direction across the engineering team, and delivering robust, production-ready software as an individual contributor.

In addition to core embedded development, the engineer will help integrate our products into larger, complex systems. The engineer will help develop secure interfaces, support containerized deployments using Kubernetes, contribute to cybersecurity compliance, and enable interoperability with external systems developed by other integrators.

The candidate will shape software architecture decisions and serve as a key technical voice within the project team.

This is a full-time onsite position based in Santa Barbara, CA.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the technical execution of software projects from architecture through deployment.
• Define and evolve system-level software architecture, interface design, and implementation strategy.
• Provide technical leadership and influence across projects and subsystems.
• Collaborate closely with hardware, systems, FPGA, and test teams to ensure effective system-level integration.
• Collaborate with the Project Manager to plan sprints, define milestones, and track execution.
• Design and implement secure software interfaces for integration with external systems and third-party platforms.
• Contribute to containerized deployments and overall system design using Kubernetes in secure environments.
• Apply cybersecurity principles, NetBoot approach, SBOM standards, performance monitoring and fault location techniques.
• Support system-level observability and integration with upper-tier logging frameworks (e.g., Fluentd).
• Participate in and lead code reviews, design discussions, and troubleshooting.
• Contribute to documentation, verification, and compliance with standards such as CMMC and NIST 800-218.

Requirements

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related field.
• 10+ years of professional experience in embedded software development.
• Strong proficiency in C, C++ (preferably C++11 or later) and Python.
• Deep understanding of embedded Linux, bare-metal firmware, and real-time systems.
• Demonstrated experience taking ownership of software architecture and execution in a cross-functional engineering environment.
• Experience collaborating across disciplines to integrate embedded systems into larger networked or software-defined systems.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to work with systems, hardware, FPGA, and software teams.
• U.S. Citizenship and eligibility for DoD Secret security clearance.
• Onsite attendance required (remote work not available).

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience using Python for scripting, test automation, or reviewing DSP-related models; ability to support translation into C++.
• Familiarity with SBOM standards (e.g., SPDX, CycloneDX) and experience with associated tooling.
• Experience with embedded Linux build systems such as Yocto or Buildroot.
• Hands-on experience with DevOps practices and CI/CD tools (e.g., GitLab CI, Kubernetes).
• Experience with automated security testing tools (e.g., GitLab SAST, SonarQube).
• Understanding of software quality assurance, secure software development, and system-level integration.
• Experience with system-on-chip (SoC) architectures, especially CPU–FPGA shared memory interaction.
• Exposure to digital signal processing (DSP), undersea acoustics systems, or other signal-processing domains.
• Knowledge of cybersecurity compliance frameworks such as CMMC or NIST 800-218.

Benefits

• Salary range: $145,000 – $185,000 annually, depending on experience and technical leadership scope.
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• Life insurance, paid vacation, and sick leave.
• 3% 401(k) company contribution (no match required).
• Professional development and training opportunities.

Compensation may exceed the posted range for exceptionally qualified candidates.

Sonatech is an EEO/AA/Disability/Vets Employer