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# Firmware Engineer

- **Company:** ROBOTIC MINDS LLC
- **Location:** Palo Alto, CA, United States
- **Contract:** Permanent contract
- **Skills:** Board Bringup, Application Layers, Automation of Tests, C++ (Programming Language), Communications Protocols, Computer Engineering, Software Debugging, Linux, EtherCAT, Firmware, FreeRTOS, Design of User Interfaces, Hardware-In-The-Loop Simulation, Joint Test Action (IEEE Standards), Real-Time Operating Systems, Regression Testing, Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter, Data Logging, Scripting, Serial Peripheral Interface, Real Time Systems, Hardware Testing
- **Published:** June 17, 2026
- **Apply:** https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=959e8179333b894d

## About the Role

Do you have experience in Universal asynchronous receiver-transmitter (UART) protocol?, * Technical degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or equivalent

 * Demonstrated experience (through work, research, or projects) building firmware for real physical systems - robots, motors, power electronics, or similar
 * Deep fluency in C/C++ and/or Rust for embedded targets; comfort reading datasheets and writing drivers
 * Hands-on experience with RTOS environments (FreeRTOS, Zephyr, or similar) - task scheduling, priority management, and real-time guarantees
 * Strong working knowledge of embedded communication protocols: CAN, EtherCAT, I2C, SPI, UART
 * Direct experience configuring microcontroller peripherals (GPIO, ADC, PWM, timers, DMA) and understanding their impact on system timing and performance
 * Experience integrating sensors and actuators at the firmware level - not just using libraries, but understanding the hardware underneath
 * Proven ability to debug across the hardware/software boundary with oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and JTAG
 * You are comfortable with ambiguity, move fast, and have an "engineering curiosity" that drives you to understand how the entire system works, not just your part

Nice to Have

 * Experience with safety-critical or deterministic real-time systems (IEC 61508, ISO 26262, or similar)
 * Familiarity with field-oriented control (FOC) or other motor control algorithms
 * Experience with Linux-based embedded systems and the boundary between RTOS and application layers
 * Python scripting for test automation, data logging, or hardware validation

## Description

* Write, test, and maintain production-quality firmware in C/C++ or Rust for microcontrollers and embedded processors across the robot
 * Implement and debug embedded communication protocols - CAN, EtherCAT, I2C, SPI, UART - across distributed hardware nodes
 * Configure and manage microcontroller peripherals - GPIO, ADC, PWM, timers, and DMA - to interface with sensors, actuators, and power electronics
 * Integrate sensors (encoders, IMUs, torque sensors, force/torque arrays) into the robot's real-time pipeline
 * Work closely with electrical engineers on board bring-up, pinout definitions, and hardware-software interface design
 * Develop and tune real-time control loops for motors, actuators, and other physical systems under hard timing constraints
 * Build tooling to support firmware validation, regression testing, and hardware-in-the-loop systems
 * Triage and debug complex interactions between firmware, hardware, and higher-level software during development and field deployment


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