Embedded Software Engineer

Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)

Full-time | Negotiable | Entry (0-2 yrs)

The CSIR has a vacancy for an Embedded Software Engineer in the Radar and Electronic Warfare Impact Area within the Defence and Security Cluster. The incumbent will be responsible for designing and developing software applications, tools, modules, libraries and sub‑systems for use in the Integrated Radar Software Solutions Research Group. This role will play a vital part in high‑impact projects from advanced land and naval surveillance radar sensors to SAR sensing systems in UAV and spaceborne platforms.

This position is based in Pretoria and will report to the Research Group Leader.

• Develop cutting-edge real‑time software;
• Push the boundaries of current technology in processing throughput;
• Collaborate within a multi‑disciplinary team to design, develop and implement breakthrough radar technologies in South Africa, set for successful deployment within the global defence market;
• Develop high‑performance systems that challenge the limits of radar and system design;
• Engineer groundbreaking solutions at the heart of next‑generation radar systems.

• A Bachelor of Engineering degree in electronic or computer engineering with at least three years' experience in embedded software engineering; OR
• A Master's degree in electronic or computer engineering with at least one year experience;
• Experience in the following is required:
  • Digital signal processing or sensing systems;
  • High‑speed data handling;
  • C++ (preferably, otherwise C or C#) for resource‑constrained environments, and/or Python;
  • Data structures, algorithms, concurrency and code optimisation;
  • GIT Version Control and CI/CD tools;
  • Real‑Time Operating Systems (RTOS) like FreeRTOS, VxWorks or QNX, as well as Embedded Linux;
  • Use of JTAG debuggers, oscilloscopes and logic analyzers to troubleshoot hardware‑software interactions;
  • Understanding of how networks work;
  • Understanding of communication protocols (SPI, I2C, UART, Ethernet, PCIe, ETC.);
  • Modern C++ standards and libraries;
  • Object‑oriented programming;
  • GPGPU programming (CUDA);
  • Control system development;
  • Data acquisition;
  • Radar, Communications or Electronic Warfare signal processing;
  • UI/UX development (e.g. in Qt);
  • Embedded systems;
  • Managing high‑rate data streams and Direct Memory Access (DMA);
  • Production software environments;
  • End‑to‑end lifecycle of software development.
• High ownership and autonomy across the end‑to‑end lifecycle of software development.
• Ability to quickly understand and navigate complex systems and established code bases.
• Experience in the following will be advantageous.

• Learning and development opportunities.
• Competitive and market‑related remuneration packages.
• Total guaranteed salary packages which encompass contributions to the pension fund, risk insurance and medical scheme.
• We openly acknowledge and reward our employees' contributions and accomplishments through our esteemed CSIR Excellence Awards.

South African citizenship and security clearance are required for this position.

PLEASE NOTE THAT FEEDBACK WILL BE GIVEN TO SHORTLISTED CANDIDATES ONLY.

For more info, please contact the CSIR Recruitment Centre on or email us at .

The CSIR is an equal opportunity employer. As such, it is committed to the Employment Equity Act and will, through the filling of this vacancy, give preference to candidates from designated groups in terms of the Employment Equity Act. By applying for this position at CSIR, the applicant understands, and agrees that CSIR may solicit a credit and criminal report from a registered credit bureau and/or South African Police Services (in relation to positions that require trust and honesty and/or entail the handling of cash or finances), and may also verify the applicant’s educational qualification and employment history.

CSIR reserves the right to remove the advertisement at any time before the stated closing date and further reserves the right not to appoint if a suitable candidate is not identified.