Senior/Principal Embedded Firmware Engineer - Special Programs, Onsite

Sandia National Laboratories is the nation’s premier science and engineering lab for national security and technology innovation, with teams of specialists focused on cutting-edge work in a broad array of areas.

About the role

We are seeking an experienced Embedded Systems Firmware Engineer to own the full product lifecycle for mission-critical defense systems from customer requirements through architecture, firmware development, hardware bring-up, qualification, and acceptance testing. The right candidate brings deep firmware skills, hands-on electronics troubleshooting, modern software engineering discipline, and ideally experience with Embedded Rust. This role supports both Special Projects and Nuclear Deterrence mission sets.

Responsibilities

• Engage customers and stakeholders to refine mission needs into system and firmware requirements
• Lead firmware architecture and low-level driver development in C, C++, and Rust
• Support board bring-up and hands-on debug: read schematics, isolate hardware design defects, and work with hardware designers on fixes
• Define and execute verification plans (unit, integration, environmental, qualification, acceptance)
• Apply DevOps-inspired practices: automated unit testing, CI workflows, containerized build/test environments
• Develop reproducible, secure development workflows for restricted/classified or air-gapped networks
• Produce and maintain requirements docs, interface definitions, design descriptions, test plans, and reports
• Mentor junior engineers and lead technical discussions across systems, hardware, software, and test teams

Requirements

• A Bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline and five (5) years of directly relevant experience, or an equivalent combination of directly relevant education and engineering or scientific experience that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and ability to perform independent research and development
• Ability to obtain a DOE Q clearance
• Broad technical judgment from requirements through delivered capability
• Ease moving between customer discussions and hands-on debug of immature hardware
• Discipline in software quality, reproducibility, and maintainability
• Ability to adapt modern development methods to mission-driven, security-constrained environments
• Technical leadership and mentorship in a multidisciplinary setting
• Due to the nature of this work the selected applicant will need to work onsite

Qualifications

We Desire:

• Graduate degree in Computer Engineering or a highly related field where an independent research project was a graduation requirement (e.g., independent project, thesis, or dissertation)
• Demonstrated ability to execute and deliver technical work products with application of appropriate rigor and pedigree documentation (design/code reviews, technical oversight/approvals, project team concurrence, artifact generation, etc.)
• Experience in computer systems design and software development for real-time and embedded processing systems, distributed processing systems, or real-time client server implementations
• Familiarity with hardware/software requirements generation for verification, validation and qualification
• Demonstrated interpersonal skills and ability to work in a multidisciplinary, multi-disciplinary team setting for a common purpose
• Demonstrated software development skills and familiarity with modern software development practices and tools (e.g., Agile)
• Bachelors in EE, CE, CS, or related STEM field, plus significant relevant experience (advanced degree preferred)
• Extensive embedded firmware development in C/C++ on microcontrollers, SoCs, or custom hardware
• Proven track record across the full lifecycle: requirements derivation, architecture, implementation, integration, verification, qualification, and acceptance
• Strong hands-on electronics troubleshooting: schematics, datasheets, oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, in-circuit debuggers
• Familiarity with modern SW engineering practices: unit testing, version control, automated builds/tests, containers
• Excellent communicator capable of working with customers, systems engineers, hw/sw designers, and test teams
• Active U.S. security clearance
• Experience in defense/aerospace or other high-consequence engineering environments
• Rust expertise for embedded systems (e.g., no-std, RTIC, embedded-hal) strongly desired
• Experience with RTOS, bare-metal, or embedded Linux development
• Experience with communication buses (SPI, I²C, UART, CAN, Ethernet, PCIe, etc.)
• Background in qualification test regimes (thermal, vibration, EMI/EMC)
• Familiarity with model-based engineering, formal requirements management, and traceability tools
• Experience deploying agentic or AI-assisted development workflows on restricted or air-gapped networks
• Knowledge of trusted systems, embedded cybersecurity, or software assurance
• Understanding of modern cryptographic principles, algorithms, and secure key management
• Working knowledge of federal cyber and national security compliance requirements (e.g., STIGs, CNSSPs, and similar policies)
• Experience with formal hardware qualification processes such as diamond stamping and NSA certification

Benefits

• Challenging work with amazing impact that contributes to security, peace, and freedom worldwide
• Extraordinary co-workers
• Some of the best tools, equipment, and research facilities in the world
• Career advancement and enrichment opportunities
• Flexible work arrangements for many positions include 9/80 (work 80 hours every two weeks, with every other Friday off) and 4/10 (work 4 ten-hour days each week) compressed workweeks, part-time work, and telecommuting (a mix of onsite work and working from home)
• Generous vacation, strong medical and other benefits, competitive 401k, learning opportunities, relocation assistance and amenities aimed at creating a solid work/life balance*

*These benefits vary by job classification.

Pay

Salary Range: $117,500 - $235,700. Salary range is estimated, and actual salary will be determined after consideration of the selected candidate's experience and qualifications, and application of any approved geographic salary differential.

About Our Team

The Weapons and Force Protection center provides technologies and systems for protecting U.S. nuclear weapons and materials by creating reliable and fail-safe systems throughout the world. Our goal is to counter emerging threats and resolve unique security challenges through high-consequence automation, autonomy, and robotics. Department 06564 collaborates across Sandia and the U.S. government to provide surety solutions at the intersection of nuclear weapon surety and physical security. The department's technologies are used throughout the weapons complex both CONUS and OCONUS.