Embedded & Firmware Engineer
Engineers in this role develop and optimize firmware that powers AI infrastructure hardware—from baseboard management controllers in data centers to motor controllers in robotics systems to camera sensor drivers in vision platforms. They work at the boundary between silicon and software, writing low-level C/C++ code to manage power, thermal systems, sensors, and real-time control, often using RTOS environments and debugging with JTAG and oscilloscopes. This work distinguishes itself from higher-level embedded software engineering by its focus on board bring-up, hardware validation, and tight hardware-firmware integration during product bringup. These engineers typically sit in hardware-adjacent teams within AI companies—working closely with silicon teams, hardware engineers, and systems architects to ensure new AI chips and platforms function reliably at scale in production environments.
Skills
What companies are looking for in this role.
Developing and debugging low-level embedded software for microcontrollers and system-on-chip devices
Designing and implementing board-level hardware bring-up and initialization code
Developing firmware for real-time operating systems and bare-metal embedded systems
Diagnosing hardware issues using oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, JTAG debuggers, and other instrumentation
Implementing and optimizing communication protocols including CAN, UART, SPI, Ethernet, and serial interfaces
Performing root-cause analysis and debugging complex cross-layer issues between hardware, firmware, and software stacks
Designing and implementing firmware for baseboard management controllers and platform management
Collaborating with hardware engineering teams on schematic review and hardware-firmware integration
Implementing sensor drivers and subsystem integration for hardware monitoring and telemetry
Implementing continuous integration and automated testing frameworks for firmware validation
Implementing secure boot mechanisms, trusted boot chains, and secure firmware update frameworks
Designing and implementing firmware security architectures and hardware-rooted security solutions
Developing motor control firmware including field-oriented control algorithms and system identification
Developing firmware for camera sensor bring-up, control, and image capture pipelines
Designing custom network operating system images and switch platform management
Architecting firmware for distributed data services and middleware frameworks in AI infrastructure
Collaborating across cross-functional teams including hardware, software, systems, and validation engineering
Participating in code reviews and maintaining firmware quality standards
Documenting firmware designs, architectural decisions, and technical specifications
Participating in agile ceremonies and continuous process improvement
Mentoring and providing technical guidance to junior engineering team members
Planning, designing, and executing validation strategies for complex firmware systems
Technology
The tools and technologies that define this role.
Open Jobs
16 open Embedded & Firmware Engineer jobs across 6 companies.
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