Firmware Engineer

Firmware Engineer

Cimarron is seeking a Firmware Engineer to support our partnership with a commercial aerospace company at their rocket production facility in Cedar Park, TX. In this role you will help design, develop, test, and integrate the embedded flight software for Firefly spacecraft. You will work in a group of software engineers through all stages of spacecraft software development processes and collaborate with other engineering teams.

Through this partnership, Cimarron supplies skilled technical talent in support of our customer's advanced launch and space systems. This customer designs and builds small- to medium-lift launch vehicles, lunar landers, and orbital vehicles for government and commercial missions from low Earth orbit to the Moon and beyond. Together, our teams leverage advanced carbon composite structures, patented propulsion technologies, and common components across platforms to move fast, improve reliability, and deliver payloads at a lower cost.

Key Duties:

• Design, develop, and test embedded firmware for microcontrollers and microprocessors in bare-metal or RTOS environments.
• Architect and implement low-level drivers, communication protocols (I2C, SPI, UART, CAN, etc.), and system-level firmware for real-time applications.
• Collaborate with hardware engineers to define system architecture, debug hardware/firmware interactions, and ensure seamless integration.
• Optimize firmware for power efficiency, performance, and memory constraints in resource-limited embedded systems.
• Participate in code reviews, maintain high-quality code standards, and document firmware designs and processes.
• Contribute to system-level debugging, performance profiling, and validation of embedded systems.
• Optionally, support FPGA integration, including firmware interfacing with FPGA designs, or contribute to custom OS builds using tools like Yocto or Buildroot.

Required Skills, Experience, and Education:

• Due to facility security requirements, only U.S. citizens or permanent residents are eligible for consideration at this time.
• 5 or more years of professional experience in embedded firmware development in Linux environments.
• Proven track record of delivering real-world industry projects involving embedded firmware developed as bare-metal or RTOS applications (e.g., FreeRTOS, Zephyr, or similar).
• Strong programming skills in C/C++ for embedded systems, with experience in assembly language as a plus.
• Experience with communication protocols (I2C, SPI, UART, CAN, USB, Ethernet, etc.) and real-time system constraints.
• Familiarity with debugging tools (JTAG, SWD, oscilloscopes, logic analyzers) and embedded development environments.
• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field.

Desired Skills, Experience, and Education:

• Experience developing C++ applications for embedded systems.
• Proficiency in CI/CD workflow development for embedded firmware projects (e.g., Teamcity, GitLab CI, or similar).
• Experience with FPGA development, including firmware integration with FPGA designs.
• Familiarity with custom OS builds using Yocto, Buildroot, or similar embedded Linux build systems.

Business Profile:

Cimarron is a global solutions company with a strategic partnering approach to satisfying customer-driven requirements. We ensure customer success with a modern approach and experienced leadership. Driven by an entrepreneurial spirit, Cimarron is fueled by highly skilled employees, developing new innovative technologies, and delivering superior products and services. We believe in recognizing employees' worth by offering competitive salaries and benefits, including health, dental, and vision insurance, 401(k) contributions, educational reimbursement, and much more. From company communication through Company-wide information meetings led by our President and CEO, to an Awards program designed to recognize our amazing employees and their accomplishments, you will not only feel like you are a part of a team, you will be a valued member of the Cimarron family. Cimarron is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.