Embedded Software Engineer

Job Description Job Title : Embedded Software Engineer Position Description : Protingent Staffing has an exciting contract Embedded Software Engineer with our client located in Pleasanton, CA. Key Responsibilities Design and implement bootloaders, BSPs, HALs, and low-level device drivers tightly coupled to custom lidar hardware. Bring up new ARM-based flight boards from first power-on through stable firmware operation, working directly from schematics and hardware documentation. Build firmware on bare-metal/RTOS architectures with deterministic timing and fault tolerance. Develop low-level embedded firmware that implements system fault tolerance, including command and telemetry handling, health monitoring, FDIR, safe-mode behavior, and autonomous recovery. Implement and validate power sequencing, reset handling, watchdogs, interrupt handling, DMA, and linker configurations. Develop and maintain firmware supporting power, thermal, communications, and telemetry functions. Support and evolve redundant communication paths (CAN/Ethernet) for coordination, monitoring, and fault tolerance. Debug and resolve hardware-software integration issues using JTAG/SWD, oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and other bench tools. Define, document, and maintain stable firmware interfaces consumed by higher-level platform software. Partner with software engineers to ensure firmware behavior aligns with system-level requirements and operational constraints. Collaborate closely with lidar hardware, systems teams through integration testing, protoflight activities, and flight readiness reviews. Contribute to embedded build automation, reproducibility, and test infrastructure. Required Qualifications 5+ years of hands-on embedded firmware development experience in aerospace, robotics, automotive, or other safety- or mission-critical systems environments. Expert-level proficiency in C/C++ for embedded systems. Strong experience with ARM Cortex-A architectures Proven experience developing bootloaders, BSPs, HALs, and hardware-facing device drivers. Demonstrated ability to bring up new hardware from schematics to working firmware. Strong understanding of power sequencing, resets, watchdogs, interrupts, DMA, and linker scripts. Hands-on debugging experience with JTAG/SWD, oscilloscopes, and logic analyzers. Experience working with embedded Linux systems (ARM platforms). Ability to operate independently and take full ownership in a start-up environment. Preferred Qualifications Familiarity with lidar software architectures and fault detection, isolation, and recovery (FDIR) concepts. Experience with Linux/QNX/RTOS and real-time environments such as FreeRTOS, SafeRTOS or VxWorks Experience with radiation-tolerant or space-grade SoCs. Experience with Embedded System Cybersecurity: ISO 24882 Experience with Functional Safety: ISO 26262 Familiarity with embedded communication protocols such as CAN, RS-485, SPI, I²C, UART, SpaceWire, or CCSDS telemetry systems. Experience with secure boot, image signing, and in-field firmware update strategies. Experience with CI/CD pipelines or automated build environments for embedded systems. Job Details: Contract: 6-9 months Pay Range: $55-70/hr Location: Pleasanton, CA (Onsite) Benefits Package: Protingent offers competitive salaries, insurance plan options (HDHP plan or POS plan), education/certification reimbursement, pre-tax commuter benefits, Paid Time Off (PTO), and an administered 401k plan. About Protingent: Protingent is an Award-Winning provider of top-tier Engineering and IT talent, trusted by companies at the forefront of innovation - from Software and Aerospace to AI, Clean Tech, Medical Devices, and Connected Technologies . We're passionate about making a positive impact by connecting exceptional talent with meaningful opportunities and helping our clients build the future. Meet Your Recruiter Subhrajit Das Protingent