Head of Software

Head of Software (Embedded Systems / Robotics)

Advanced Robotics & Autonomous Systems

Paris, France

Airbotics Talent are partnered with a well-funded European robotics company developing a new generation of advanced autonomous systems.

We are looking for a Head of Software to take complete ownership of embedded software across the platform, while building and leading the engineering team around them.

This is not a purely managerial position. You will remain deeply hands‑on with firmware and embedded systems while establishing the software architecture, engineering standards, security and development practices required to deploy highly reliable software onto complex physical systems.

The Role

You will own embedded software development end-to-end, from low‑level firmware and hardware bring‑up through embedded Linux, communications, security, testing and deployment.

This includes:

• Designing, developing and maintaining reliable firmware in C and C++ for embedded microcontrollers across bare‑metal and RTOS environments
• Bringing up new hardware, including bootloaders, device drivers and board support packages
• Developing software for embedded Linux and RTOS‑based systems
• Implementing and debugging communications across Ethernet, TCP/IP, USB, CAN, SPI, I2C, UART and wireless technologies
• Integrating sensors, actuators, communications hardware and other peripherals
• Developing real‑time control, communications and telemetry paths
• Architecting and implementing security at operating system level, including encryption and secure storage
• Optimising firmware for performance, memory footprint, reliability and power consumption
• Building automated unit, integration and hardware‑in‑the‑loop testing
• Troubleshooting complex hardware/software problems during development and field deployment
• Working closely with electronics, mechanical and autonomy engineers to translate system requirements into robust embedded solutions
• Establishing software engineering standards, code review practices, deployment processes and development tooling
• Building and leading the embedded software team as the organisation scales

You will operate as a player‑coach: writing and reviewing production code yourself while recruiting, developing and leading the team responsible for one of the most critical layers of the platform.

The Person

This role is suited to an embedded software leader who has built and deployed software onto real physical systems and wants to remain close to the engineering.

You are likely to have:

• 7+ years of embedded software engineering experience within robotics, aerospace, automotive, medical devices, communications or another complex hardware environment
• Deep hands‑on C and C++ development experience with evidence of software deployed onto real‑world systems
• Strong experience developing firmware for microcontrollers, ideally including STM32
• Experience across embedded Linux and/or RTOS environments
• Experience developing embedded software for wireless communications systems using technologies such as Bluetooth/BLE, Wi‑Fi, LoRa, UWB or similar
• Strong knowledge of communication protocols and interfaces including Ethernet, TCP/IP, USB, CAN, SPI, I2C and UART
• Strong hardware/software integration capability, including reading schematics and datasheets and debugging using oscilloscopes, logic analysers and JTAG/SWD
• Experience with board bring‑up, bootloaders, device drivers and board support packages
• Demonstrable experience architecting and implementing security at operating system level
• Experience with disk encryption technologies such as LUKS
• Previous experience leading engineers and building strong software engineering practices

Experience with Rust, Nix/NixOS, ROS 2, digital signal processing, Protobuf/DDS, CI/CD for embedded systems, automated hardware testing or safety‑critical software development would be advantageous.

This role is unlikely to be a fit if:

• Your recent experience has moved entirely away from hands‑on embedded software development
• Your background is primarily application, cloud, web or enterprise software without significant embedded systems experience
• You have not personally developed and debugged firmware running directly on physical hardware
• You lack strong C/C++ experience or exposure to embedded Linux/RTOS environments
• You have limited experience working at the hardware/software boundary
• You are looking for a purely strategic or people‑management leadership role

Why Join?

• Own the embedded software architecture of a completely new generation of autonomous systems
• Build the embedded software function and team from the ground up
• Remain deeply hands‑on while operating at leadership level
• Solve challenging problems spanning firmware, embedded Linux, communications, security and real‑world hardware
• Work closely across electronics, mechanical engineering, autonomy and systems development
• Join a well‑funded European deep‑tech company at a formative stage of growth

This position is based in Paris and requires regular hands‑on access to hardware and engineering facilities, alongside travel for system integration and field testing. Relocation support is available.

The search is international, with our client interested in exceptional European engineering talent currently based across Europe, the US and other global technology hubs who would consider relocating to Paris.

Our client is looking to make this hire immediately.

Airbotics Talent are committed to providing Equal Employment Opportunities. All candidates are assessed solely on suitability for our clients’ requirements without regard to age, gender, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, disability, medical history or marital status.