Embedded & Automation Engineer

Firestorm • San Diego, CA

1d

About The Position

Firestorm is building the next generation of uncrewed aircraft and the advanced manufacturing systems that deliver them at speed. The Software Integration & Operations department owns the software layer that spans factory floor to cloud - the applications, automation, edge systems, and intelligence that make it possible to iterate product designs, automate advanced manufacturing, and scale production with uncompromising quality and rigor. This team will own everything that runs on the factory floor below the application layer: real-time control software, cobot integration, bring-up automation, test fixtures, and the hardware abstraction layer that lets factory systems speak to our cloud platform. As an Embedded & Automation Engineer, you will build the software that turns a physical manufacturing cell into an intelligent, automated, data-producing system. You will integrate cobots, design and operate hardware-in-the-loop and software-in-the-loop test infrastructure, build bring-up and flashing tools, and own the hardware abstraction layer that the rest of the platform depends on. This role lives at the software/hardware boundary and demands fluency in both, you will need to excel in rapid-development and hardening for scale and safety.

Requirements

• 5-10+ years of embedded, real-time, or robotics software engineering experience.
• Strong proficiency in C / C++ and Python; comfortable at the software / hardware boundary.
• Hands-on experience with industrial cobots or robotic systems (UR, Fanuc, ABB, or similar) and motion control.
• Experience building or operating HIL / SIL test infrastructure for hardware-connected software.
• Fluency with Linux-based embedded systems, real-time operating systems, or equivalent.
• Demonstrated history of holding yourself and your teammates to a high standard, even when it creates discomfort.

Nice To Haves

• Demonstrated ability to influence across engineering without formal authority: design reviews, technical decisions, and cross-team alignment.
• Background in manufacturing automation or industrial robotics deployments.
• Experience with ROS 2 or equivalent robotics middleware.
• Prior experience with firmware bring-up and hardware flashing tooling.
• Aerospace, defense, or regulated-manufacturing experience.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement embedded and real-time software for manufacturing cell automation - cobot integration, fixture control, bring-up sequences, and data acquisition.
• Build and operate SIL / HIL / VIL infrastructure for automated validation of hardware and software integration.
• Own the edge agent and hardware abstraction layer that interfaces between factory equipment and the cloud platform.
• Develop firmware-adjacent tooling for bring-up and flashing of production hardware, including factory flashing stations.
• Partner with manufacturing engineering and hardware teams to define the automation strategy for each manufacturing cell.
• Drive integration of robotics middleware (ROS 2 or equivalent) with industrial cobots such as UR, Fanuc, or ABB.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed