Flying with Confidence: A Day in the Life of an Embedded Software Engineer in the Aviation Industry

A Career Path Driven by Curiosity

Nothing was set in stone. Manoah starts with a two-year technical degree (DUT) in electrical engineering and industrial computing, where he learns to decode analogue and digital electronics: how electricity is managed, stored, transformed and distributed. Then comes a spark for the invisible world of signal propagation and processing, which leads him to a professional bachelor’s degree in radio communications. He no longer looks only at circuits, but at how systems communicate with each other through waves and antennas.

Next, he wants to bring all these building blocks together. His master’s degree in embedded systems and microsystems merges electronics and computer science, with low-level programming at the heart of the machine. His time at LAAS-CNRS, where he designs ecosystem monitoring systems, confirms his choice: systems engineering.

His first professional steps are at Dassault Aviation, which he describes as “a true school of rigour” and which anchors him durably in aeronautics.

A Job That Goes Beyond Code

Many people imagine it’s just a matter of programming and testing drone software. That’s only part of Manoah’s role. His current mission is to get existing drones qualified so they can fly in new environments. He implements low-level code on microcontrollers in C and C++, for real-time systems that must respond rapidly. He then verifies that this code meets performance and robustness criteria. As a systems engineer, he also makes sure the project complies with the rules set by the authorities for flying in airspace.

“I write code that simply isn’t allowed to crash in mid-flight.”

To keep everything demonstrable during an audit, Manoah tracks every requirement with the DOORS tool. A requirement can’t simply be deleted there: even if a client no longer needs it, the deletion remains traced, with its date and context.

The level of rigour depends on how critical the system is. After DO-178C, the historical reference for airborne embedded software, Manoah now works with SAIL levels, which follow the same logic. A low-risk component, such as a USB port that streams a movie on a plane, has few requirements. Anything affecting flight safety has many more.

“The more a system impacts the aircraft, the higher its criticality and the more rules must be followed.”

The Big Challenges: Reliability, Cybersecurity, AI

The first challenge is safety. As drones begin to operate in the airspace of major cities, it will be necessary to prove to the authorities that they won’t crash into a populated area. This means pushing testing and analysis ever further.

“We will have to guarantee and prove to the authorities that a drone won’t crash unexpectedly onto a city full of civilians.”

Cybersecurity comes on top of that. A drone follows a flight plan with authorized and restricted zones. If protection wasn’t designed in from the start, that plan can be altered by an intrusion: fake GPS data to make the drone drift off course, or remotely disabling the ventilation, which can cause overheating above a sensitive area. There are ways to strengthen the aircraft’s robustness, but…

“Zero risk doesn’t exist.”

When an error is detected late in the development cycle, Manoah starts by understanding why it occurs, how it repeats and what its real impact is. Not all problems are equal: an air-conditioning failure in a car doesn’t carry the same weight as a brake failure. Once the problem is pinned down, he builds a plan with the software, mechanical, and integration teams to find a solution collectively.

AI, finally, is being integrated quickly into a sector that has kept a start-up spirit. For Manoah, it will shift the developer’s job toward an integration role: receiving an answer to an issue, integrating it into the existing system and making sure the whole remains consistent.

“Our role will mainly be to assemble technology building blocks and make them reliable.”

Innovation, at the Pace of New Needs

Every new client comes with specific needs. One example: a farmer who wants to monitor their plots to spot well-watered areas and dried-out land, or to check that the entire field has been sown. Meeting this need requires developing drones and interfaces able to quickly process the relevant data. This variety of projects feeds innovation day to day.

Why Ekkiden

Having worked in consulting before, Manoah thought he would move away from it. Then Arthur reached out, and the conversation was different: “cordial, almost friendly.” That’s what made him want to continue the adventure with Ekkiden. On mission for seven months, he feels well supported.

“I know that if I have an issue, I can talk about it easily, and that I’ll be listened to.”

His Advice for Getting Into Critical Embedded Software

• Stay curious: technologies and languages evolve very fast, so don’t lock yourself into a single field too early.

• Understand what’s out there and carry out projects on your own.

• Be versatile, then, once in a role, rigorous and reliable: in this job, these qualities are non-negotiable.

“Be versatile, curious, and once you’re on the job: rigorous and reliable.”