Embedded Hardware & Firmware Engineer

ITW•Alameda, CA

2d•$110,000 - $150,000•Onsite

About The Position

This role is responsible for the design, development, integration, and validation of advanced electronics and embedded systems used in semiconductor manufacturing, scientific instrumentation, industrial automation, and precision control applications. Work centers on PCB design, firmware development, board bring-up, system integration, and hardware-software co-design. The engineer applies working knowledge of electronics, microcontrollers, real-time embedded systems, and firmware architecture, along with hands-on experience developing and debugging hardware platforms. Background in ionization, electrostatic discharge (ESD) control, plasma, high-voltage, semiconductor process control, vacuum systems, or precision instrumentation is beneficial for this role. This is an onsite role located in Alameda California.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in: Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or Related Engineering Discipline
5+ years of embedded hardware and firmware development experience.
Solid C/C++ programming for embedded systems, including real-time and bare-metal environments.
Working knowledge of microcontrollers, memory-mapped I/O, and hardware abstraction layers (HAL).
Familiarity with Linux-based embedded systems.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office products (Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, Word)
Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced development environment.
Proficient with standard Bench test equipment, i.e. Oscilloscope, DMM, etc.
Hands-on PCB design experience using Altium Designer or similar tools.
Working understanding of analog/digital electronics, power supplies, signal integrity, and EMI/EMC and ESD considerations.
Experience with board bring-up, system integration, hardware validation.
Experience implementing and debugging: SPI, I²C, UART, CAN, Ethernet, USB
Experience with: Git, GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Azure DevOps, or equivalent source control systems
CI/CD pipelines
Issue tracking and configuration management tools
Hardware debugging tools and laboratory instrumentation

Nice To Haves

Embedded C/C++
RTOS (FreeRTOS, Zephyr, or similar)
Bootloaders
Firmware architecture
Device drivers
Production test firmware
PCB Design
Schematic Capture
Board Bring-up
Analog/Digital Circuit Design
Mixed-Signal Systems
Hardware Validation
Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) Control & Mitigation
Ionization System Support
C#
.NET
Python
Linux
Git/GitHub
Automated Testing
Root Cause Analysis
System Integration
Technical Documentation
Cross-Functional Collaboration
Product Development Lifecycle

Responsibilities

Develop and maintain low-level C/C++ firmware for microcontrollers and embedded processors.
Support real-time control logic, hardware abstraction layers (HAL), and device drivers.
Design and support review of multi-layer PCBs using Altium Designer or equivalent CAD tools.
Incorporate ESD protection, grounding/shielding, and ESD-safe handling practices into board design and manufacturing support.
Bring up new hardware platforms and debug using oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and protocol analyzers.
Validate signal integrity, power delivery, communication interfaces, and susceptibility to ESD events.
Implement and support drivers for SPI, I²C, UART, CAN, Ethernet, USB.
Support integration with sensors, actuators, and process control hardware.
Support electronics for plasma and ionization/static-neutralization systems (e.g., ionizing bars, ion emitters).
Support ESD control and monitoring efforts, aligning with standards such as ANSI/ESD S20.20.
Assist in building diagnostic and operator-facing applications using C# and .NET.
Support communication between firmware and desktop-based tools.
Produce technical documentation, design specs, and test procedures.
Participate in design reviews and root-cause investigations.