Embedded Systems Engineer

Umbra•Santa Barbara, CA

2d•Onsite

About The Position

Umbra is seeking an Embedded Systems Engineer with a strong firmware background to support development of mission-critical satellite systems. This role focuses on bare-metal embedded development, system integration, and hardware bring-up, with opportunities to contribute across the full lifecycle—from prototype to flight-ready systems. You will work closely with electrical, software, and systems engineers to build and validate embedded solutions on real hardware. This role is ideal for someone who can take well-defined problems, execute quickly, and contribute to improving firmware infrastructure, tooling, and system reliability. This position is based on-site in our Santa Barbara/Goleta, CA office.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field.
5+ years of professional experience in embedded systems or firmware development.
Experience developing and debugging embedded communication and control interfaces, including SPI, UART/SCI (e.g., RS-485), and GPIO/interrupts.
Strong proficiency in embedded C and/or Rust programming.
Experience working with bare-metal microcontrollers.
Hands-on experience with hardware bring-up and debugging on physical systems.
Ability to read and interpret electrical schematics and data sheets.
Experience with debugging tools such as oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and debuggers (e.g., JTAG/SWD).
Experience with system integration and verification.
Experience with version control systems (e.g., Git) and collaborative development workflows.
Strong problem-solving skills and ability to execute independently.
Effective communication and ability to work in a cross-functional team environment.

Nice To Haves

Experience with RTOS-based embedded systems.
Familiarity with hardware/software integration at the system level.
Experience contributing to CI/CD pipelines or automated test infrastructure for embedded systems.
Experience developing or maintaining HALs, drivers, or shared firmware libraries.
Background in aerospace, defense, or other high-reliability environments.
Comfort working in a fast-paced, hardware-centric development environment.
Demonstrated ownership of projects from concept through validation.
Experience working in Agile/PI planning environments.
Experience supporting system-level testing or qualification efforts.

Responsibilities

Design, implement, and debug low-level drivers (SPI, UART/RS-485, GPIO, timers, interrupts).
Participate in code reviews and MR support, ensuring code quality and maintainability.
Contribute to architecture/design documentation (e.g., RFCs, ADRs, timing diagrams, interface definitions).
Develop embedded firmware in C and Rust for bare-metal and RTOS-based microcontroller systems.
Bring up and debug hardware systems, including board-level validation and peripheral integration.
Support system integration and verification across avionics, radios, and other spacecraft subsystems.
Define and execute test plans for firmware and hardware validation.
Troubleshoot issues across firmware, hardware, and system interfaces.
Contribute to shared firmware infrastructure, including HALs, drivers, and reusable libraries.
Improve development workflows through contributions to repository structure, CI/CD, and test infrastructure.
Collaborate cross-functionally with electrical, systems, and flight software engineers.
Document designs, test procedures, and debugging processes to ensure repeatability and reliability.
Support test campaigns and mission-critical milestones as needed.

Benefits

Flexible Time Off, Sick, Family & Medical Leave
Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, LTD, STD (employer funded)
Vol Life, Critical Illness, Accidental, Hospital Indemnity, Pet Insurance (employee funded)
401k with 3% non-elective company contribution
Stock Options
Free Parking
Free lunch in office daily

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