Principal Embedded Firmware Engineer

About the Role

This is a player-coach role for an engineer passionate about teaching complex embedded systems concepts and product development to less experienced engineers. The role suits a product development engineer who enjoys the fast-paced environment of consulting and is experienced with complex technical projects. The ideal candidate is an engaging leader able to connect scientific theory with engineering design to create novel products and define the technical roadmap for the firmware team, while also being an exceptional listener and communicator able to interpret client needs, represent sound development methodology, and articulate clear technical vision to both technical and non-technical stakeholders. This is a strategic problem solver who can jump into unfamiliar fields, identify core firmware issues, and quickly contribute to solutions, while also serving as a collaborative mentor who enjoys working with and elevating teams of scientists, engineers, manufacturing partners, and industrial designers. The role requires a hands-on architect and system thinker who can design robust and scalable firmware solutions, build refined prototypes, and provide high-level technical oversight.

Responsibilities

• Have direct responsibility for the implementation of embedded software solutions for client projects from ideation, through design, development, and into production.
• Act as a player-coach for the engineering team, supporting and mentoring product development teams to advance new technologies and bring new products to market, and coaching engineers on essential professional skills like project management and project scoping.
• Serve as a technical backstop, providing expert guidance and oversight for embedded firmware solutions, and actively mentor junior engineers to foster their growth and technical excellence.
• Champion and implement cutting-edge best practices across the firmware development lifecycle, including advanced source code management, robust version control, streamlined DevOps, and comprehensive automated testing strategies.
• Conduct in-depth electrical characterization and debugging using advanced test equipment (e.g., oscilloscopes, logic analyzers) to diagnose intermittent and complex hardware/firmware interactions and ensure robust system performance.
• Create innovative firmware solutions to solve complex and often unique problems, with few or ambiguous requirements.
• Contribute strategically to new business opportunities and project scoping, translating technical vision into actionable plans, and collaborate with team members to incorporate firmware development scoping into project proposals.
• Work closely with multi-disciplinary teams (electrical, mechanical, industrial design, manufacturing) to develop unified system methodologies and support critical hardware demonstrations.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of progressive experience in embedded firmware engineering, demonstrating expertise across diverse hardware platforms, programming languages (primarily C and C++), and a wide range of microcontrollers. (We value deep problem-solving skills over a rigid adherence to specific years of experience if a candidate can demonstrate exceptional capability.)
• Expertise in crafting embedded software solutions which bring complex electromechanical systems to life, with demonstrated success developing firmware across diverse applications, from precision motion control to sensor integration and real-time system coordination.
• Strong background in electromechanical systems development with 10+ years of electronic product experience from concept through manufacturing.
• Demonstrated ability designing scalable, maintainable, and robust software architectures.
• Strong background in hardware/firmware interaction such as firmware control of actuators, motors, sensors, etc.
• Expertise in programming a variety of microcontrollers and their common peripherals such as UART, SPI, I2C, USB, GPIO, ADC, PWM, etc.
• Experience developing device drivers and applications in embedded Linux runtimes (Raspbian, Yocto, Ubuntu, or others) to enable communications between microcontrollers and external hardware peripherals.
• Implementation of a variety of runtime environments (FreeRTOS, Zephyr, others), as well as bare-metal programming.
• Experience with source code management tools such as Git/Subversion, and Jira.
• Experience using firmware development tools such as IDEs, compilers, debuggers, and cross-compilers.
• Proven ability to lead projects, including project scoping and task estimation.
• Understanding of Agile methodologies and experience as a scrum team member and scrum master.
• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills with a demonstrated ability to communicate complex technical concepts effectively to both technical and non-technical team members in a consulting capacity.
• BS in computer science, electrical engineering, robotics, or a related field.

Bonus Qualifications

• Working knowledge of regulatory standards (e.g., FCC, UL) and an understanding of medical device certification (ISO 13485, IEC 62304).
• Implementation of control algorithms and an understanding of control theory.
• Experience programming in specialized runtimes like ROS and QT.

Pay

The base salary range for this position is $165,320.12 - $247,980.18 per year. Actual compensation will be determined based on several factors, including but not limited to relevant experience, skills, qualifications, internal equity, and geographic location. In addition to base salary, this role may be eligible for annual incentive compensation and/or long-term incentives, subject to Company plans.

Benefits

The Company offers a comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, vision, retirement, paid time off, and other benefits.