Senior Firmware Engineer

Rhoda AI Job PostingAt Rhoda AI, we're building the next generation of generalist intelligent robots. We own the full robotics stack from high-performance hardware and robot systems to the infrastructure and state-of-the-art foundation world models that control our robots. Our robots are designed to be generalists capable of operating in complex, real-world environments and handling long-tail edge cases, made possible by our cutting edge research and end-to-end system design. We've raised over $450M and are investing aggressively in model research, infrastructure, hardware development, and manufacturing scale-up to make generalist robotics a reality.You will own the development of Rhoda's low-level firmware stack for distributed real-time control across humanoid platforms. This role centers on deterministic communication, control-loop synchronization, and embedded software robustness in an EtherCAT environment spanning dozens of joints, sensors, and distributed controllers. You will design, implement, and validate firmware components that guarantee sub-millisecond coordination between motor drivers, safety controllers, and perception nodes — bridging the mechanical, electrical, and control domains.This role is an MTS with a clear path to grow!What You'll DoSelect and tune RTOS; define priorities and scheduling; optimize interrupt and DMA paths; harden watchdogs and recovery; measure and guard timing budgetsDesign, implement, and maintain low-level firmware for real-time motion control nodes over EtherCATDevelop synchronization and communication layers ensuring deterministic cycle times (<1ms)Configure and optimize EtherCAT masters and slaves (distributed clocks, mailbox protocols, PDO mapping)Implement real-time safety mechanisms (Safe Torque Off, watchdogs, and heartbeat monitoring)Collaborate with Electronics, Controls, and Systems teams to define timing budgets and data interfacesContribute to the architecture of the hardware abstraction layer (HAL) and firmware APIs for actuator controlDevelop unit, HIL, and integration tests for firmware validationProfile and optimize ISR and DMA paths to minimize latency and jitterSupport bring-up and debugging of custom actuator controllers and sensor boardsDocument firmware architecture, test results, and safety compliance evidence for design reviewsWhat We're Looking ForBachelor's or higher in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or Robotics2+ years of experience in embedded firmware development for real-time control systemsExperience with low-level system interfaces (I2C, SPI, Ethernet, USB, CAN bus)Experience with micro-controller firmware development across ARM Cortex-M and similar architecturesProficiency in C/C++ and experience with low-level debugging (JTAG, logic analyzers, oscilloscopes)Experience with real time operating systems (RTOS) (FreeRTOS, Zephyr RTOS)Familiarity with SPI, I²C, UART, PWM, ADC, and sensor interface designDemonstrated ability to write reliable, well-structured, and maintainable embedded code in safety-critical environmentsEvidence of shipping real-time-critical productsNice to Have (But Not Required)Embedded Linux software development. Board Support Package (BSP) development and integration on Linux-based platformsLinux kernel programming: device tree, Kconfig, device drivers, kernel modules.Experience with GMSL2 and MIPI-CSI2 camera drivers (V4L2).Experience with Field-Oriented Control (FOC) implementation for BLDC motor drivesYocto Project / Bitbake for custom distribution builds. Rhoda AI