Application Engineer, Software/Firmware (OEM Integrations)

Utilidata•Ann Arbor, MI

31d•$175,000 - $235,000•Remote

About The Position

Utilidata is seeking an Application Engineer, Software to act as the technical liaison between their Karman platform and OEM hardware/platform partners. This role involves OS and firmware development, adapting and integrating Karman's embedded software stack to various OEM platforms. The engineer will collaborate directly with partner engineering teams to define requirements and troubleshoot integration issues. This is a senior embedded software engineering position, requiring fluency in the embedded development toolchain, comfort with debugging, and customer-facing skills. As a founding member of a new Application Engineering function, this role offers significant influence over the processes, tools, and standards for future team members. The position is based remotely within the United States, with a preference for candidates in or around the Bay Area, CA. Periodic travel to OEM partner sites and the company's HQ in Ann Arbor, MI is required.

Requirements

6+ years of hands-on embedded OS and firmware development experience, including direct customer- or partner-facing work
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a similar field, or equivalent training and on-the-job experience
Strong experience with embedded Linux, including BSP bring-up, driver development, and kernel-level debugging
Fluency with the embedded software development toolchain, including debuggers (e.g., JTAG, GDB), tracing and profiling tools, and system tuning utilities
Proficiency in C or C++ for embedded development, and Python or Rust for tooling and automation
Demonstrated ability to design and implement integration validation tools, configuration checks, or test automation for embedded software environments
Experience integrating software across multiple OEM or vendor hardware platforms
Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to lead technical discussions directly with OEM/partner engineering teams
Demonstrated ability to work independently and own complex technical problems end-to-end
High learning agility across diverse OEM software and firmware environments

Nice To Haves

Experience with Yocto-based OS customization or embedded BSP development at scale
Familiarity with on-device messaging and serialization patterns (e.g., gRPC, Protobuf, REST APIs)
Experience with real-time operating systems (RTOS)
Familiarity with observability and monitoring tooling common in data center environments (e.g., Prometheus, Grafana)
Prior experience in a customer-facing technical role, such as Field Application Engineer or solutions engineer, in an embedded software context

Responsibilities

Partner directly with OEM software and firmware teams to assess partner platforms and define the software integration points required to embed Karman
Develop and adapt OS-level and firmware components (e.g., Linux BSP, drivers, embedded services) to fit each OEM partner's platform
Use the embedded development toolchain, including debuggers, tracing and profiling tools, and tuning utilities, to diagnose and resolve integration issues
Lead OEM-facing technical calls, design reviews, and on-site visits to gather software and firmware integration requirements
Own end-to-end technical execution for OEM software integrations, from kickoff through design, validation, release, and deployment
Design, develop, and validate test frameworks and configuration checkers for OS- and firmware-level installation across OEM platforms
Debug integration issues and installation failures independently, leveraging deep familiarity with the Karman platform built through close collaboration with internal software engineering teams
Create and maintain integration artifacts, including software validation checklists, test plans, configuration guides, KPI trackers, and after-action reports
Track software integration KPIs and risks across OEM engagements; escalate and coordinate resolution across engineering teams
Take an AI-first approach to automating test frameworks, configuration checkers, and deployment documentation
Participate in roadmap meetings, engineering design reviews, and sprint planning to maintain a current understanding of the Karman platform
Serve as the feedback loop between OEM integrations and core engineering, translating learnings into platform improvements
Build repeatable processes, templates, and best practices to scale the Application Engineering function across OEM partners