Firmware Engineer (Embedded Systems)

MESH has to think for itself. You are our first embedded hire, and you own the firmware and software that turn a box of parts into a coordinated power plant: real-time control on the MCUs and orchestration on embedded Linux. You set the foundation the whole software effort is built on, and you get to be the one who makes the box come alive on the bench and in the field., * Architect and write the firmware that runs MESH: generator start and stop sequencing, real-time power and current monitoring, contactor control, and safety interlocks.

• Own the RTOS MCU layer, including deterministic timing, drivers, and comms, and the embedded Linux orchestration on the command PCBA.
• Define the interfaces between firmware, the control PCBAs, the inverter, and the battery.
• Build the telemetry, logging, and health monitoring that let us trust the system in the field.
• Set the foundation: toolchain, build system, hardware-in-the-loop, and the patterns the next embedded hires inherit.

What You’ll Do

• Ship firmware on real hardware where reliability is non-negotiable, the way it works in defense, aerospace, robotics, automotive, or energy.
• Write C and C++ down at the hardware level: SPI, I2C, UART, CAN, Ethernet, interrupts, and deterministic timing.
• Work across RTOS or bare metal and embedded Linux, including Yocto or Buildroot, drivers, and userspace.
• Debug across the hardware and software line with a scope, logic analyzer, and JTAG.

* Experience with power systems, battery management, inverters, or generator controls.

• A background in safety-critical firmware or functional safety., To conform to U.S. Government export regulations (ITAR/EAR), applicants must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3). Candidates must be eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance; active clearance not required.

$100,000-$250,000 base + founding-team equity sized for the role + benefits. If you’re an outlier, we’ll pay like it.

First Order Effects (FOE) is building America’s Infrastructure Prime for the robotic era. Autonomous ships, drones, and robots are rewriting how the world moves, fights, and builds - but none of them work without infrastructure to power them, connect them, and launch and recover them. That’s what we build.