Application Engineer, Data Center Hardware/Firmware

Responsibilities

• Partner with Product and GTM teams pre-contract to assess customer hardware environments and build proof-of-concept integration layers that demonstrate Karman's value
• Design and implement the hardware integration layer between Karman and customer infrastructure; review both Utilidata and customer hardware designs to identify integration points and gaps
• Write and modify embedded firmware to adapt Karman to each customer's platform
• Own end-to-end technical execution for customer hardware integrations, from kick-off through design, validation, release, and deployment
• Lead customer-facing technical calls, on-site visits, and requirements reviews with customer engineering, IT, and operations teams
• Create and maintain customer integration artifacts, including HW Design Review Checklists, Validation and Test Checklists, Installation and Power-Up Guides, HW Release Timelines, KPI trackers, and After-Action Reports
• Develop HW Design Collaterals covering layout, schematic, power, IO, signal integrity, thermal, and RFI requirements
• Produce SOM and metrology bring-up documentation, including HW Bring-Up and Power-Up Guides and design reviews for schematics, layouts, and test results
• Track hardware KPIs and risks; escalate and coordinate resolution across engineering teams
• Take an AI-first approach to automating processes and generating integration and deployment artifacts
• Participate in roadmap meetings, sprint planning, and design reviews with the HW team to maintain current product knowledge
• Serve as the feedback loop between field deployments and core engineering, translating integration learnings into product improvements
• Build out repeatable processes, templates, and best practices to scale the Application Engineering function

Requirements

• 8+ years of hands-on hardware and embedded firmware engineering experience, with a demonstrated ability to independently design, implement, and validate hardware solutions from concept through production
• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, computer science or similar field OR equivalent training and on the job experience
• Proven experience designing hardware integration points, including PCB-level design, interface definition, and system bring-up, owned end-to-end
• FPGA development experience spanning both hardware design/RTL and firmware
• Proficiency writing, modifying, and debugging embedded firmware independently
• Working knowledge of embedded and data center interfaces and protocols (e.g., I2C, UART, PCIe, Ethernet)
• Ability to read and critically review schematics, PCB layouts, and test results
• Demonstrated ability to produce structured engineering artifacts, including design review checklists, test plans, validation procedures, and deployment documentation
• Strong communication skills with the ability to present technical content to both engineering and non-engineering audiences
• High learning agility in fast-moving, early-stage product environments
• Experience in data center infrastructure, power electronics, or energy management hardware
• Willingness to travel for customer kick-offs, on-site reviews, and deployment validation
• Master’s degree in Electrical Engineer or related field
• Familiarity with System-on-Module (SOM) platforms or metrology hardware
• Knowledge of power quality, thermal management, or power sequencing
• Experience with embedded Linux, BSP bring-up, or Yocto-based OS customization
• Familiarity with on-device messaging and serialization patterns (e.g., ZeroMQ, Protobuf, gRPC, REST APIs)
• Prior experience in a customer-facing technical role such as Field Application Engineer or systems integration engineer