Embedded Firmware Engineer

Karman • Ann Arbor, MI

1d • Remote

About The Position

Karman is a fast-growing NVIDIA-backed AI company enabling AI data centers to dynamically orchestrate power and unlock more compute capacity from existing energy infrastructure. For over a decade, we have applied AI to the electric grid — bringing real-time visibility and power-flow control to complex energy infrastructure. Our Karman platform, built on a custom NVIDIA module, brings that same capability to AI data centers, giving operators a way to better use the power already available to them. We are seeking an Embedded Firmware Engineer to develop production-grade firmware for power grid edge computing platforms. You will work alongside a diverse team of experts across hardware, cloud infrastructure, and AI/algorithms to design, implement, and deploy embedded systems running on mission-critical power infrastructure. This role focuses on hands-on development across multiple hardware variants — writing firmware features, extending our CI/CD and test infrastructure, building logging and diagnostic tooling, and supporting hardware bring-up under the guidance of senior engineers. We are looking for an early-career engineer who is eager to learn from experienced mentors to develop production-grade firmware.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field, or equivalent experience
• 0–3 years of embedded firmware experience, including internships, coursework projects, capstone work, or a first full-time role
• Working proficiency in C (and ideally C++) with exposure to RTOS or bare-metal programming on a microcontroller
• Familiarity with common embedded interfaces — at least two of SPI, I2C, UART, or Ethernet
• Hands-on experience with hardware — bench work, board bring-up, personal projects, or hardware-adjacent internships
• Comfort with debugging tools such as oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, or JTAG debuggers
• Working knowledge of Git and exposure to a CI/CD system (GitHub Actions or similar)
• Python scripting comfort for test harnesses, build tooling, or automation
• Strong written and verbal communication, and a collaborative work style with cross-functional teams
• Curiosity, willingness to ask clarifying questions, and eagerness to learn from senior engineers

Nice To Haves

• Experience or coursework involving FPGA development
• Any STM32 development experience or Cortex-M33-class parts (e.g., STM32H5)
• Docker experience for reproducible build environments
• Experience writing hardware-in-the-loop or bench-automation tests
• Exposure to embedded security fundamentals
• Wireshark, protocol analysis, or Lua dissector experience
• Static analysis or code-formatting tooling exposure (clang-format, clang-tidy, cppcheck, or similar)
• Rust or other modern systems-programming language exposure
• Personal or academic projects involving robotics, PCB design, or embedded work
• Interest in the physics, mathematics, and hardware components which underlie the U.S. electricity grid and evolving power systems
• Familiarity with linux systems (e.g., NVIDIA Jetson, AMD/XILINX Kria)
• Familiarity with Agile development methodologies

Responsibilities

• Develop, test, and deploy firmware features across multiple hardware platforms, contributing scalable and fault-tolerant components
• Assist with hardware bring-up efforts and collaborate directly with hardware engineering teams during development cycles
• Write and debug real-time embedded software in C/C++ on resource-constrained microcontrollers, using the RTOS and bare-metal patterns established by the team
• Implement and debug communication protocols (SPI, I2C, UART, CAN, Ethernet, LTE, WiFi) for IoT device connectivity
• Uphold firmware engineering standards, including coding conventions, testing protocols, and documentation requirements
• Build and maintain CI/CD pipelines, HIL (hardware-in-the-loop) test infrastructure, and automated release tooling using Python, Docker, and GitHub Actions
• Extend logging, telemetry, and diagnostic subsystems, including dissectors and lab tooling
• Collaborate cross-functionally with external contractors, cloud infrastructure, AI/algorithms, and product teams to deliver integrated solutions

Benefits

• Competitive compensation and benefits, including health, dental, vision, and employer-match 401k
• Stock options
• Flexible paid time off
• Mentorship and growth opportunities
• Flexible work environment

What This Job Offers

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