The posting
About the Role
X Shore is rebuilding operations and product development under new ownership. We are now looking for an Embedded Software Engineer to build and maintain the software that runs on board our electric boats — the control units, the onboard gateway, and the CAN networks that decide how a boat starts, drives, charges, and reports back from the water.
This is a hands-on engineering role with real ownership. You will write the code, put it on the target, and prove that it works — on a bench you built, on a test rig, and on a boat. We care about what runs on the hardware, not what compiles on a laptop. The role is hybrid, with regular days on-site in Nyköping where the boats, the benches, and the production line are.
Role Purpose
Develop, test, and maintain the embedded software in X Shore boats — from firmware on onboard control units to services on the connected gateway — ensuring that what we ship is verified on target hardware and documented well enough to be serviced in the field.
Core Mission
Make onboard software something the rest of the company can rely on. Deliver software that behaves predictably on the water, fails in ways we can diagnose, and comes with the interface documentation and diagnostics that let production and service do their job without calling development.
Key Responsibilities
- Develop and maintain embedded software in C for onboard control units, and in Python for tooling, diagnostics, and test automation
- Design, implement, and debug CAN-based communication between onboard systems, including NMEA 2000 traffic
- Test your own code on target hardware — on the bench, on test rigs, and on boats
- Build the test setups, harnesses, and simple rigs needed to verify the code when no test environment exists
- Take part in bring-up of new hardware together with electrical engineering
- Debug field issues together with service: read logs and CAN traces, reproduce the fault, and deliver a fix
- Maintain build, flashing, and provisioning tooling so releases are reproducible and traceable
- Own the interface documentation for the systems you work on — message definitions, signals, parameters, and service procedures
- Take part in code reviews and technical discussions across the software team
- Support production with end-of-line test and software procedures on the line
- Contribute to release decisions by stating clearly what has been verified, on which hardware, and what has not
- Feed lessons from delivered boats back into the software — better diagnostics, better logging, fewer repeat visits
Technical Depth — What We Need
X Shore boats run distributed embedded systems: bare-metal control units in C communicating over CAN, and a Linux-based onboard gateway handling logging and connectivity to shore. On top of that sits a delivered fleet across the Eelex 8000 and X Shore 1 platforms that has to keep working in the field. We are open on years of experience — we hire on demonstrated skill, and we expect you to go deep on the systems you own.
- Write, debug, and maintain bare-metal C on onboard control units
- Work on the Linux side as well as the firmware side — services and tooling on the gateway, cross-compilation, and getting data off the boat
- Use Python effectively for test automation, diagnostics, log analysis, and internal tooling
- Use AI tools as a normal part of development — writing, reviewing, and analysing code, logs, and traces — while staying accountable for everything that ends up on the target
- Work confidently with CAN: interpret traces, work with signal and message definitions, and separate a software fault from an electrical one
- Use a debugger, a CAN interface, and basic lab instruments as ordinary parts of the working day
- Work confidently in Git day to day, including branching and releases that can be traced back to source
- Put together a bench setup when the one you need does not exist — power, CAN, harnesses, and enough load or simulation to exercise the code before it reaches a boat
- Containerize builds and test environments with Docker so cross-compilation and verification are repeatable — strongly preferred
- Judge when a problem belongs in software and when it belongs in hardware, and say so with evidence
Qualifications
Required
- Solid programming skills in C, applied to embedded targets
- Working knowledge of Python
- Comfortable working with AI tools in daily development, and able to review and verify what they produce
- Confident with Git in a team setting
- Practical experience with CAN bus — development, integration, or diagnostics
- Hands-on with hardware: flashing, probing, measuring, and building simple test setups without waiting for someone else to do it
- Able to read a schematic well enough to work with electrical engineers on bring-up and fault-finding
- Fluent in English; Swedish is an advantage
- Able to be on-site in Nyköping on a regular basis
Nice to Have
- Docker and containerized build or test environments
- Experience from boats, marine electronics, or NMEA 2000 — good to have, not a requirement
- Embedded Linux: cross-compilation, system services, and Debian- or Yocto-based platforms
- MQTT, connected devices, or fleet-scale software updates
- Cyber security for embedded and connected products — secure boot, signed firmware updates, key and certificate handling; an area we will be building up over the coming year
- Battery systems, electric drivetrains, or high-voltage environments
- Automotive, off-highway, industrial vehicle, or other safety-relevant embedded background
- CI/CD for embedded — automated build, flashing, and hardware-in-the-loop test
- Experience from a company in growth, transformation, or restart phase
Non-Negotiables
- Tests on real hardware before calling something done
- Builds a test setup when one is needed rather than waiting for one to appear
- Writes code that someone else can read, review, and service
- Says early when something is unverified or unfinished, regardless of schedule pressure
- Takes ownership of a problem through to resolution — including the part that turns out not to be software
- Documents interfaces and diagnostics as part of the work, not afterwards
- Comfortable working in an environment where processes are still being built
Personal Qualities
To succeed in this role we believe you:
- Are curious about how the whole boat works, not only your own module
- Prefer measuring to guessing, and trust a trace over an assumption
- Are pragmatic — you look for the simplest solution that holds up on open water
- Communicate clearly with people who are not software engineers
- Are comfortable in ambiguity and can create structure where little exists
- Have strong drive and see problems through to resolution
- Thrive in a small, fast-moving team where every person’s contribution is visible
Key Interfaces
- Head of Software — direct reporting line; priorities, technical direction, and release decisions
- Electrical engineering — hardware bring-up, schematics, CAN topology, and fault isolation
- Production — end-of-line test, software provisioning, and support on the line
- Service and aftermarket — field faults, diagnostics, and software updates on delivered boats
- Component suppliers — interface specifications, firmware versions, and integration issues
What We Offer
At X Shore you get the chance to be part of an exciting journey with significant responsibility and real impact. Your code goes into boats that people take out on open water, and you will see the result of your work at the quay rather than in a backlog.
This is not a maintenance role. It is a building role — the software structure, test practices, and diagnostics you put in place now will shape how every X Shore boat behaves for years to come.
