Founding Robotics Firmware Engineer

About the Company

We are a well-funded startup backed by top VCs and led by alumni of Tesla, Waymo, and Apple. Our goal is to redefine manipulation with state-of-the-art robotic hands, and we need creative, driven engineers to make it happen.

About the Role

We are looking for a hands-on Firmware Engineer with deep expertise in motor control for precision robotics. You will own everything from low-level MCU drivers through high-level position-control algorithms for our next-generation dexterous robotic hands. Basic familiarity with electronics is helpful, but your core mission is rock-solid, real-time firmware.

Motor-Control Firmware

• Develop and optimize Field-Oriented Control (FOC), trapezoidal/sinusoidal commutation, torque, velocity, and position loops for multi-phase BLDC actuators.
• Implement current-sense, Hall/encoder, and sensor-less algorithms; tune PID/observer gains for high-bandwidth, low-noise performance.
  

Embedded Platform & Drivers

• Write bare-metal and RTOS-based (e.g., FreeRTOS, Zephyr) firmware on ARM-Cortex or similar MCUs.
• Build and maintain peripheral drivers (ADC, PWM, timers, DMA, SPI, I²C, UART, GPIO).
• Develop and maintain Hardware Abstraction Layers (HAL) to ensure modular, scalable, and portable firmware.
  

High-Reliability Communications

• Architect deterministic communication stacks using CAN 2.0/FD, EtherCAT, SPI, and UART; design message framing and error handling.
  

System Integration & Collaboration

• Work closely with mechanical and controls engineers to co-design actuator modules and validate performance on hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) test rigs.
• Interface with robotics-software teams to expose APIs and integrate with ROS 2 and higher-level planners.
• Participate in design- and code-reviews, write clear documentation, and mentor junior engineers.
  

Testing & Quality

• Develop unit, HIL, and end-of-line tests; profile real-time latency and MCU resource usage; perform root-cause analysis on field returns.

Qualifications

• B.S. or higher in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechatronics, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience).

Required Skills

• 5+ years developing production firmware for high-performance electromechanical systems.
• Demonstrated mastery of BLDC/PMSM motor-control theory and implementation (FOC, sensor-less, current/velocity/position loops).
• Strong C/C++ for resource-constrained MCUs; experience with real-time debugging tools (SWO, J-Link, oscilloscopes, logic analyzers).
• Expertise in CAN-based networks (CAN 2.0, CAN-FD), EtherCAT, SPI, and related diagnostic tools (e.g., CANalyzer, Wireshark).
• Solid grasp of control-system math (PID tuning, observers, state-space) and fixed-point/embedded DSP techniques.
• Proven track record collaborating across mechanical, electrical, and software teams; excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Experience with developing and implementing Hardware Abstraction Layers (HAL).

Preferred Skills

• Basic PCB bring-up skills (reading schematics, probing with DMM/oscilloscope).
• Experience with tactile sensing processing firmware and IMU processing firmware.
• Experience with safety-critical coding standards (MISRA, IEC 61508, ISO 26262).
• Prior work in robotic grippers, surgical robots, drones, or electric powertrains.