Senior Embedded Systems Engineer, Humanoid Robotics (Santa Clara)

Lavendo partners with startups and high‑growth companies to help them hire top‑tier sales, GTM, and technical talent. This role is with one of our clients; we’ll share full details about the company and interview process as we get to know you and confirm mutual fit. About the Company Our client is a robotics startup in Santa Clara building general‑purpose humanoid robots for real factories, logistics centers, and retail operations. Their robots combine high‑payload arms, dexterous hands, and a unified Physical AI stack that acts like an operating system for robots, making new applications feel like software deployments rather than hardware projects. The team is ~25 people, heavily PhD‑leaning in robotics and AI, backed by substantial venture funding and already shipping hardware with manufacturing in Asia. The Mission The mission is to make intelligent robots a standard infrastructure for industry, handling dexterous, changing tasks across many lines and sites. They are building a unified Physical AI platform so robots can be programmed, updated, and scaled with the ease of modern software. The Opportunity As Senior Embedded Systems Engineer, you will own major portions of the firmware stack that powers our client’s mobile humanoid robots from early prototypes through large‑scale deployment. You’ll work at the intersection of hardware, controls, and AI, making critical decisions about motor control, communication, and safety architecture that directly influence how the platform scales across customer sites. This role offers high autonomy in a fast‑moving, early‑stage environment where you will collaborate directly with founders, the CTO, and PhD‑level robotics experts while seeing your work running on real robots in factories. What You'll Do Own the embedded firmware stack for our client’s general‑purpose humanoid robots from prototype to production fleets Design and optimize motor‑control firmware, sensor drivers, hardware abstraction layers, and real‑time communication (EtherCAT, CAN, SPI, I2C, UART) on bare‑metal and RTOS MCUs such as ARM Cortex‑M and TI C2000 Lead hardware bring‑up: implement peripheral drivers, validate PCBs, and debug firmware–hardware issues using JTAG, oscilloscopes, and logic analyzers Build safety‑focused firmware with strong coding standards, CI/CD, and HIL tests, plus diagnostics and logging for robots running continuously in industrial environments Collaborate with robotics, controls, and AI teams to integrate firmware with higher‑level planning and the Physical AI stack What You Bring Must-Haves: 5+ years of embedded firmware development in C/C++ with shipped, production hardware and clear ownership of key components Strong C/C++ for bare‑metal and RTOS, working close to the metal on MCUs like ARM Cortex‑M, TI C2000, or similar Hands‑on motor‑control or actuator‑control experience (FOC, torque/velocity/position loops) on real hardware Driver‑level implementation of EtherCAT, CAN, SPI, I2C, and UART in latency‑sensitive, reliable systems Solid hardware bring‑up skills: peripheral drivers, PCB validation, and debugging with JTAG, oscilloscopes, and logic analyzers BS or MS in Electrical Engineering, ECE, Computer Engineering, or a closely related field Ability to work full‑time on‑site in Santa Clara or relocate quickly Bonus Points: Proven track record taking firmware from prototype to production deployment or fleet rollout Startup or early‑stage experience with end‑to‑end ownership Contributions to applied open‑source embedded or robotics projects Key Success Drivers You ship — you care about getting robots from lab to production You’re hands‑on — scopes, JTAG, and tricky board bugs are where you do your best work You think in systems — firmware, controls, hardware, and AI are all part of one picture for you You prioritize reliability — testing, fault handling, and long‑term stability matter as much as features You thrive in small teams — autonomy, fast decisions, and direct collaboration energize you Why Join? Work on real humanoid robots that are already shipping, with a manufacturing footprint and real customers Competitive compensation: $180K–$250K base plus meaningful equity, with flexibility for engineers who bring exceptional production‑grade experience Backed by leading investors and substantial funding, giving you room to build ambitious systems Join a tight, PhD‑heavy robotics and AI team where your work shows up directly in what robots can do on the factory floor Be on‑site in Santa Clara with daily access to robots, labs, and the people designing everything from the actuators to the Physical AI stack Interview Process Intro Call — Brief culture and background screen Technical Screening — Deeper dive into your C/C++ experience, embedded fundamentals with an engineering peer Day‑to‑Day Work Screening — Practical discussion around your past experience Technical Leadership Interview — Conversation about how you would help evolve the platform from prototype to fleets. Offer We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, marital status, ancestry, disability, genetic information, veteran or military status, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by law.