Principal Firmware Engineer

Responsibilities

• Lead the design, development, optimization, and debugging of embedded and firmware systems.
• Write and review RTOS-based firmware and develop device drivers and communication stacks.
• Architect firmware integrated with custom hardware, sensors, and control systems.
• Review schematics and PCB layouts to identify firmware impacts and integration risks.
• Debug software, firmware, and hardware issues using bench and protocol analysis tools.
• Lead technical design reviews, architecture discussions, roadmap planning, and process improvement.
• Serve as the technical escalation point for embedded and system-level issues.
• Mentor engineers on firmware architecture, debugging, and engineering best practices.
• Support development workflows, integration, manufacturing, and transition to production.
• Communicate technical concepts, tradeoffs, risks, and status to technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Requirements

• 7+ years of embedded or firmware development experience, including 3+ years in a senior or technical lead role.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field; a master’s degree is preferred.
• Strong C and C++ experience for embedded systems and Python experience for tooling or testing.
• Hands-on RTOS experience with technologies such as FreeRTOS, ROS2, or Zephyr.
• Experience with STM32, ARM-based MCUs or SoCs, x86, PIC32, or similar platforms.
• Experience with I2C, SPI, UART, Ethernet, GPIO, and other low-level interfaces.
• Experience with Git, embedded development tools, build systems, and debugging environments.
• Experience authoring and reviewing software requirements, specifications, and design documentation.
• Experience leading technical and design reviews.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance.
• Highly desirable experience includes maritime systems, robotics, uncrewed systems, military platforms, navigation, localization, sensor fusion, autonomy, networking stacks, board-level communications, ISO 9001, CMMI, customer-driven R&D, and product development.
• Bonus experience includes proposal development, feasibility studies, embedded AI or machine learning, computer vision, safety-critical or mission-critical software, government or defense programs, Agile, DevOps, and quality management systems.

Benefits

• Comprehensive benefits package including health insurance, 401(k) match, and paid time off.
• Full-time, office-based role in Waltham, Massachusetts.
• Minimal travel required.
• Relocation is not available at this time.
• Base salary is commensurate with experience and qualifications.