Associate Software Engineer, Embedded Development

Relay • Raleigh, NC

4d • Hybrid

About The Position

We're looking for an Associate Software Engineer to join our Embedded Development team. This is a small, high-performance team within a fast-growing organization where you'll have real ownership and responsibility from day one. You'll ramp up quickly, work across a broad and interesting tech stack, and have a direct impact on hundreds of thousands of physical devices in the hands of frontline workers. At the heart of our stack is Android/AOSP — our embedded devices run custom builds of the Android Open Source Project, and you'll work directly in that environment. Beyond AOSP, our hardware spans a range of embedded platforms including STM32, nRF52/53, and ESP32, giving you exposure across both Linux-based and traditional bare-metal embedded systems. The full stack also touches cellular communication, voice processing, and AI — making this one of the broader embedded roles you'll find at the associate level. This is a great opportunity for someone early in their career who's genuinely excited about how hardware and software come together, and who wants to solve real problems for real people.

Requirements

• B.S. in Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics, or a related field.
• Hands-on comfort with Linux — navigating the filesystem, managing processes, reading logs, and debugging system behavior at the command line.
• A self-starter mindset with a genuine curiosity about how hardware and software systems work — and fail.
• Strong organizational skills and the ability to manage your own workload with minimal oversight.
• Clear, effective communication skills — including the ability to translate complex technical concepts for non-technical stakeholders — and a collaborative approach to working across teams.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with Android development or familiarity with AOSP (custom ROMs, the Android build system, or working with AOSP source are all great signals).
• Hands-on experience with embedded platforms like STM32, nRF52/53, or ESP32 — professional or personal.
• Linux experience in any context counts: running Linux as your daily driver, self-hosting servers, personal embedded projects, or tinkering with hardware like a Raspberry Pi all demonstrate the curiosity and comfort we're looking for.
• Exposure to cellular technologies or mobile network protocols.
• Familiarity with scripting languages (Python, Bash, or similar) for test automation.
• Experience writing or executing test cases for embedded or hardware systems.
• Prior work with version control or CI/CD tools (Git, Jenkins, etc.).

Responsibilities

• Collaborate closely with device, QA, platform suppliers, external companies, and third-party contractors to identify and resolve hardware and software issues.
• Debug issues across the Linux/Android stack — from userspace applications down to kernel interfaces, hardware abstraction layers, and device interactions.
• Build and maintain tooling to isolate and reproduce common application issues, accelerating debugging across internal and external teams. This includes designing in-house embedded test harnesses that drive our products programmatically — test and verification is a core focus of this role, especially early on.
• Work with a team to bring up new embedded products across our hardware platforms.
• Improve the efficiency of test and development processes across the organization.
• Write and execute black-box tests against both hardware and software systems.
• Work across a wide range of technologies and programming languages as the product evolves.

Benefits

• 100% Paid Insurance: Health, Dental, Vision, Long/Short Term Disability, and Life Insurance for you and your dependents
• Generous Paid Time Off
• 401(k) Savings Plan + Company Match
• Baby Cash Reward + Paid Parental Leave
• Wellness Perks: If you’re joining our Raleigh-based HQ, you’ll have access to a world-class onsite fitness center with instructor-led classes, plus tennis, basketball, pickleball, and cycling
• Team Events & Culture: From company celebrations to team outings, we work hard and have fun doing it.
• Latest tech, standing desks, and all the tools and software you need to thrive

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level