Firmware/PHY Engineer

Location: Redmond, WA (onsite) • Duration: 8+ month contract • Compensation: $70–80/hr W2 • Work authorization: US Citizen, GC holders, or authorized to work in the U.S.

About the role

Join an engineering team developing a satellite broadband system that connects satellites in orbit with ground terminals. This team works at the intersection of RF, digital signal processing, embedded firmware, and hardware testing to characterize and improve real-world wireless links. This is a hands-on, lab-based opportunity where you’ll work directly with early-stage silicon and hardware, bringing up new devices, debugging issues, developing firmware, and building automation that replaces manual bench testing. You’ll play a key role in making PHY testing more repeatable, scalable, and data-driven.

Responsibilities

• Perform post-silicon bring-up and debug of early-stage hardware and embedded systems.
• Develop and modify low-level embedded firmware, primarily using bare-metal C, to support hardware testing and characterization.
• Build hardware-in-the-loop (HITL) test automation using Python to drive real hardware and laboratory test equipment.
• Configure and troubleshoot lab setups using Vector Signal Analyzers (VSAs), Vector Signal Generators (VSGs), and Rohde & Schwarz equipment.
• Characterize wireless link performance across different operating conditions, accounting for path loss, cabling, attenuation, and other bench variables.
• Develop automated BLER, SNR/EsNo, MCS, and parameter sweeps to evaluate PHY performance and enable repeatable regression testing.
• Create automated test reports with clear pass/fail results, summary statistics, and test data.
• Debug hardware, firmware, and test-setup issues in the lab and identify root causes.
• Document test frameworks and procedures so the broader engineering team can add and execute new test scenarios.
• Apply knowledge of embedded concepts such as interrupts, timing, and hardware/firmware interactions.

Requirements

• RF / Wireless Communications Expertise: Strong understanding of wireless communication fundamentals including BLER, SNR/EsNo, modulation and coding schemes (MCS), link budgets, and path loss.
• Embedded Firmware Development: Hands-on experience developing and debugging bare-metal C firmware on embedded hardware, including understanding of interrupts, timing, and hardware/firmware interactions.
• Early-stage firmware development: Experience bringing up and debugging new or early-stage silicon, boards, or hardware in a laboratory environment.
• Hardware-in-the-loop (HITL) test automation: Has personally built automated test frameworks that drive real hardware.

Nice-to-haves

• Experience with satellite, aerospace, or broadband communications.
• Experience working in fast-moving, hardware-in-the-loop engineering environments.
• Experience with AI-assisted software development tools.
• Familiarity with DSP, modulation/coding, or PHY-layer performance characterization.
• Hands-on experience with Rohde & Schwarz equipment, VSAs, VSGs, or similar RF test instrumentation.
• Experience developing automated regression testing and pass/fail reporting for hardware or PHY systems.

Pay

$70–80 per hour (W2).