Senior Firmware Engineer | Racedog Technologies | Raleigh/Durham/Morrisville/Cary, NC

Position Summary: Racedog Technologies is actively seeking an elite, highly skilled Senior Firmware Engineer with 12+ years of embedded systems and low-level software engineering experience to join our client team across the Raleigh, Durham, Morrisville, and Cary, NC tech corridor on an onsite/hybrid contract basis. In this critical embedded engineering role, you will be responsible for designing, developing, testing, and optimizing robust firmware for advanced hardware microcontrollers, IoT devices, and networking equipment. You will leverage your deep practical proficiency in C/C++ programming, real-time operating systems (RTOS), hardware-software integration, and low-level communication protocols to ensure uncompromised device performance and reliability. This opportunity requires a master firmware developer with exceptional debugging capabilities and hardware lab expertise. Detailed Job Description: As a Senior Firmware Engineer supporting client hardware projects across the Raleigh/Durham/Morrisville/Cary region via Racedog Technologies, you will take full technical ownership of embedded firmware architectures, device driver development, and board bring-up processes. Your day-to-day responsibilities include writing high-performance C/C++ code for resource-constrained microcontrollers, configuring RTOS schedulers, and implementing secure boot loaders and OTA firmware update mechanisms. You will collaborate closely with hardware design engineers, electrical validation teams, and backend cloud developers to verify system functionality using oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and JTAG debuggers. Furthermore, you will drive automated firmware testing, code quality governance, and compliance with industry safety standards. Key Responsibilities: Design, develop, test, and optimize production-grade embedded firmware in C and C++ for microcontrollers and IoT devices. Perform board bring-up, hardware-software integration, and low-level device driver development for peripherals and sensors. Configure and manage Real-Time Operating Systems (RTOS) or bare-metal execution environments for deterministic timing. Implement secure boot architectures, cryptographic key storage, and Over-The-Air (OTA) firmware update pipelines. Debug complex firmware anomalies using laboratory instruments including oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and JTAG/SWD debuggers. Collaborate with hardware electrical engineers to review schematic designs, pinmux configurations, and board layouts. Write automated unit test suites, hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) test scripts, and maintain meticulous technical documentation. Ensure strict adherence to coding standards, memory efficiency limits, and power consumption constraints. Required Qualifications & Skills: Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical discipline. Minimum of 12+ years of professional software engineering experience, with extensive specialization in embedded firmware development. Expert-level practical proficiency in C and C++ programming for resource-constrained embedded systems. Proven hands‑on experience with Real-Time Operating Systems (RTOS) such as FreeRTOS, ThreadX, or Zephyr. Extensive background in developing device drivers for communication protocols including SPI, I2C, UART, USB, Ethernet, and CAN. Strong expertise using laboratory debugging instruments (oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, multimeters, JTAG emulators). Exceptional analytical, problem-solving, debugging, and cross‑functional communication capabilities. Mandatory eligibility to work in the United States and availability for onsite/hybrid work in the Raleigh/Durham/Cary, NC region. Nice-to-Have Skills: Advanced postgraduate degrees in Electrical Engineering or Computer Engineering. Prior professional experience developing firmware for networking equipment, Wi‑Fi routers, or cellular baseband modems. Experience with wireless communication stacks (BLE, Zigbee, Wi‑Fi, LoRaWAN) and IoT cloud connectivity (MQTT, AWS IoT). Strong background in functional safety standards (ISO 26262, IEC 61508) and cybersecurity hardening for embedded devices. Familiarity with Python scripting for automated test fixture control and build automation. Application Information: Salary/Rate: Market Competitive / Standard Consulting Rate Deadline: Open until filled Notice Period: Immediate to 30 Days Contract Duration: Long-Term Contract / On-Site/Hybrid (Raleigh/Durham/Cary, NC) #J-18808-Ljbffr