Lead Embedded Firmware and Systems Engineer

FUTEK ADVANCED SENSOR TECHNOLOGY INC•Irvine, CA

13d•$160,000 - $190,000•Onsite

About The Position

The Lead Embedded Firmware & Systems Engineer will own the architecture, development, validation, and release of embedded firmware for FUTEK precision sensor and instrumentation products. This role is intended for a seasoned engineer who can operate with high independence, define firmware direction, and drive embedded system decisions across hardware, software, test, manufacturing, and product stakeholders. The position focuses on reliable, maintainable C/C++ firmware, real-time embedded performance, hardware/firmware integration, and industrial communication capability. Success in this role includes delivering production-ready firmware, improving firmware development practices, mentoring engineers, and helping establish scalable technical direction for future product platforms.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a closely related technical field; advanced degree preferred but not required.
10+ years of professional experience developing embedded firmware, embedded systems, or production firmware for microcontroller-based products.
Strong hands-on C/C++ experience for bare-metal and/or RTOS-based embedded systems, including firmware architecture, drivers, debugging, and performance optimization.
Demonstrated ownership of firmware development from requirements and architecture through implementation, verification, documentation, release, and production support.
Strong understanding of microcontroller peripherals and embedded interfaces, including UART, SPI, I2C, USB, timers, interrupts, DMA, ADC/DAC integration, GPIO, and communication buses.
Hands-on experience troubleshooting hardware/firmware integration issues using schematics, oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, protocol analyzers, and embedded debugging tools.
Proven ability to communicate technical risks, lead design/code reviews, mentor engineers, document decisions, and collaborate across engineering, manufacturing, test, and quality functions.

Nice To Haves

Experience with industrial and embedded communication protocols such as CAN, CANopen, J1939, EtherNet/IP, PROFINET, IO-Link, EtherCAT, Modbus RTU/TCP, TCP/IP, UDP/IP, MQTT, OPC UA, RS-232, RS-422, and RS-485.
Experience with Microchip/PIC, STM32/STMicro, NXP, Renesas, or similar microcontroller families, including bootloaders, HAL/BSP development, flash-memory handling, and field-update strategies.
Experience with RTOS environments such as FreeRTOS, Zephyr, or similar, and/or embedded Linux where applicable.
Experience with precision measurement, sensors, instrumentation, signal conditioning, calibration workflows, data acquisition, mixed-signal systems, or low-noise embedded electronics.
Experience with Git or similar version control, issue tracking, automated testing, static analysis, CI/CD for embedded firmware, or formal release-control practices.
Experience supporting manufacturing test, production programming, failure analysis, field returns, corrective actions, and production-readiness reviews.

Responsibilities

Own embedded firmware architecture, design, implementation, validation, and release activities for microcontroller-based precision sensor and instrumentation platforms.
Develop robust embedded firmware in C/C++ for real-time data acquisition, signal processing, diagnostics, calibration support, communications, and product-control features.
Define firmware requirements, interfaces, state machines, timing behavior, memory usage, and system-level tradeoffs in collaboration with hardware, software, test, manufacturing, and product stakeholders.
Implement and maintain low-level drivers, board-support packages, communication interfaces, and embedded middleware for peripherals such as ADCs, DACs, timers, DMA, GPIO, UART, SPI, I2C, USB, CAN, Ethernet, RS-232, RS-422, and RS-485.
Lead firmware bring-up, board-level debugging, protocol troubleshooting, root-cause analysis, and corrective actions using schematics, oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, protocol analyzers, JTAG/SWD tools, and other lab equipment.
Develop and execute firmware verification, regression, and release-readiness plans, including test procedures, design reviews, code reviews, release notes, and technical documentation.
Drive integration of embedded products with industrial controllers, sensors, communication gateways, and production/test systems where applicable.
Establish and improve firmware development practices, including coding standards, version control workflows, reusable firmware architecture, design documentation, and issue-tracking discipline.
Provide technical guidance, mentorship, design-review leadership, and project/task coordination for engineers and cross-functional contributors while maintaining direct ownership of critical firmware deliverables.