Yocto Linux Staff Engineer (AU) in Sydney, New South Wales at DroneShield Group Pty Ltd

Work with cutting edge AI technology, making the world a safer and more secure place. DroneShield (ASX:DRO) offers an opportunity to solve some of world’s most challenging technical problems in the rapidly growing counter-drone sector.

Our customers operate in some of the most challenging and high-stakes environments in the world, including military organisations, government agencies, airports, critical infrastructure operators, and law enforcement. Protecting airspace in these settings requires technology that performs under pressure and teams that understand what’s at stake. At DroneShield, employees work at the leading edge of counter-drone innovation, helping to address real-world security challenges as drone threats continue to evolve globally.

With one of the largest listed defence company market capitalisations in Australia, now part of the ASX200 index, DroneShield is experiencing a period of hypergrowth. Revenue has surged from A$57 million in 2024 to over A$217 million in 2025, representing growth of more than 400% year-on-year, with record profitability and cashflow. The total addressable global market for counter-drone is assessed at approximately $100 billion, and is currently at the nascent stage with much of the growth still to come, with DroneShield well positioned as a global market leader, and the only public listed pure-play business in this sector.

The company has grown from 11 employees in 2017 to over 450 staff globally today, and is on track to reach around 550 by the end of 2026. This expansion includes investment of over A$50 million annually in R&D, a global pipeline exceeding A$2.5 billion, and continuous scaling of production capacity to meet accelerating demand.

The role is based at DroneShield’s central Sydney headquarters. Overseas on-the-ground presence includes Virginia (USA), Netherlands, Denmark, Mexico and Dubai, as well as distributors in over 70 countries worldwide.

About the role

Join DroneShield as an Embedded Linux Staff Engineer and play a hands-on role in building practical tools that support our embedded software and R&D teams. You’ll be working at the cutting edge of defence technology, helping deliver real-world solutions that make a difference. From improving CI/CD pipelines to automating deployments across containerised and Hardware-in-the-Loop environments, this role offers the chance to take ownership of systems that directly impact product quality, reliability and speed of delivery.

We’re looking for a proactive Linux professional with solid experience in CI/CD, Python, C/C++, Yocto and Linux-based environments, who enjoys improving legacy systems and building smart tooling for developers. You’ll thrive here if you have strong attention to detail, enjoy problem-solving, and can work both independently and as part of a fast-paced team. If you have a “can do” attitude and want to contribute to meaningful technology in a collaborative Australian workplace, DroneShield would love to hear from you.

Responsibilities, Duties and Expectations

• Act as the technical authority for embedded Linux build systems, CI/CD architecture, and Yocto‑based workflows across the organisation
• Define and drive the long‑term strategy and roadmap for embedded Linux build, integration, and release infrastructure supporting multiple hardware platforms and product lines
• Design, add, maintain and evolve pipelines/jobs for nightly builds, merge builds, commit builds, and ad‑hoc builds, ensuring scalability, reproducibility, and auditability
• Architect and maintain multi‑configuration Yocto build systems, including BSP variants and long‑lived product branches
• Lead initiatives to improve CI performance, reliability, flexibility, and developer experience, reducing feedback loops while increasing confidence in outputs
• Establish metrics and observability for CI/CD health, failure analysis, and infrastructure utilisation
• Architect and automate continuous delivery pathways for embedded Linux images, containers, and artefacts into test, validation, and staging environments
• Support team velocity via user friendly tools and short development cycles for the build-deploy-test process
• Reduce friction and risk when deploying software to containerised infrastructure and Hardware‑in‑the‑Loop (HIL) test systems
• Own, extend and streamline DroneShield’s HIL test infrastructure operating on specialised embedded hardware
• Design and maintain tooling for runner provisioning, lifecycle management, health monitoring, and observability
• Integrate tools into automated workflows to improve feedback on code quality, security, static analysis, testing, and documentation quality
• Own, maintain, and modernise legacy build systems, scripts and tooling, reducing technical debt over time
• Improve system reliability by adding tests to exercise all pipeline and deployment actions, identifying and mitigating single points of failure
• Write, maintain and set standards for high‑quality internal documentation across build systems, tooling, and workflows
• Collaborate closely with software, firmware, hardware, QA, and systems engineering teams, leading by influence and technical expertise

Qualifications, Experience and Skills

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Mechatronics, IT, or a related technical discipline, or equivalent practical experience
• 5+ years’ experience designing, building and maintaining CI/CD systems
• Proven experience with CI/CD platforms with experience integrating Embedded Devices to GitLab CI, GitHub Actions, Jenkins, or equivalent
• Strong experience with development and collaboration tools including Git, Jira, Confluence, Docker, and Linux‑based environments
• Advanced Python expertise (required) for tooling, automation, and system integration
• C/C++ experience on a Linux platform, Golang is nice to have
• Strong background in DevOps practices, automated testing, infrastructure reliability, and monitoring
• Deep practical experience with the Yocto Project, including layers, recipes, BSPs, SDKs, and release management
• Experience with alternative embedded Linux build systems such as Buildroot
• Strong proficiency working in a Linux‑first, command‑line‑driven environment
• Multiple years’ experience with embedded device build, integration, and test workflows
• Hands‑on experience designing, operating, or maintaining Hardware‑in‑the‑Loop (HIL) test systems
• Familiarity with cross‑compilation, device trees, bootloaders, and secure embedded Linux deployment practices

Non‑technical skills

• Strong written and visual communication skills, capable of engaging both engineers and senior stakeholders
• Strong experience producing clear, instructional technical documentation for complex systems
• Excellent systems‑level troubleshooting and root‑cause analysis abilities
• Ability to balance long‑term strategic improvements with short‑term delivery needs
• Comfortable working autonomously while providing mentorship and technical leadership in a fast‑paced environment
• Strong organisational skills, with the ability to prioritise, multi‑task, and meet deadlines under pressure
• A proactive “can‑do” attitude and willingness to assist with a wide variety of tasks, including occasional work outside the core role

Note for recruitment agencies: We do not accept unsolicited candidates from external recruiters unless specifically instructed.