Principal Embedded Systems Software Engineer

HP•Houston, TX

About The Position

The Principal Embedded Systems Software Engineer provides technical leadership for advanced embedded solutions across HP commercial PC platforms. The role designs, implements, integrates, and optimizes embedded software, firmware, and device drivers while guiding technical decisions within assigned products and programs. The engineer resolves complex issues and collaborates with hardware, software, silicon, supplier, and external development teams throughout the product lifecycle. The position contributes to reusable architectures, engineering standards, and product roadmaps, and develops design specifications, technical documentation, guidance, and best practices. It evaluates emerging technologies and industry trends to help keep HP’s embedded solutions scalable, secure, differentiated, and aligned with product and customer needs.

Requirements

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related field.
Typically 12 years of progressive experience in embedded software, firmware, device-driver development, or a related discipline, including experience leading technically complex product deliverables.
Strong experience designing and delivering structured embedded systems in bare-metal and RTOS environments.
Experience developing modular, reusable, and scalable firmware architectures across products or subsystems.
Strong knowledge of control-system design, performance optimization, and power- and resource-constrained systems.
Experience designing fault-tolerant, resilient, and high-availability systems.
Experience applying CI/CD, automated validation, code-quality, and release practices to embedded-system development.
Experience developing embedded security solutions, including secure boot, cryptography, identity, security protocols, device onboarding, and lifecycle protection.
Strong knowledge of device connectivity, interoperability, coexistence, provisioning, and manageability protocols.
In-depth knowledge of hardware communication protocols and published specifications, and ability to define interfaces and apply standards to new system designs.
Demonstrated ability to resolve system-level interoperability issues spanning devices, operating systems, networks, cloud services, and partner ecosystems.
Advanced embedded firmware development on Arm-based processors and SoC or MCU platforms.
Advanced proficiency in C, with working knowledge of C++, Python, batch scripting, and command-line shells.
Strong system-design and technical-decision skills, including evaluating tradeoffs across performance, power, memory, cost, security, reliability, and schedule.
Experience with Git-based source control, code reviews, branching strategies, and collaborative development.
Strong knowledge of bare-metal systems, bootloader architectures, RTOS concepts, concurrency, and multithreaded firmware development.
Advanced embedded debugging using JTAG, SWD, trace tools, crash analysis, and system-level instrumentation.
Experience with UART, I²C, SPI, and other hardware communication protocols.
Ability to use logic analyzers, protocol analyzers, oscilloscopes, and related laboratory equipment to isolate complex cross-layer issues.
Strong knowledge of analog and digital electronics, including the ability to review schematics and collaborate on hardware design decisions.
Ability to interpret technical specifications and datasheets and translate them into robust, production-ready firmware solutions.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to influence technical and business stakeholders through expertise and collaboration.

Nice To Haves

Experience developing secure, low-footprint, decentralized peer-to-peer systems; familiarity with emerging architectures is preferred.
Experience developing and integrating wireless protocol stacks; knowledge of multiple wireless technologies is preferred.

Responsibilities

Lead the design, development, integration, and validation of embedded software and firmware for assigned products and programs.
Translate system, customer, security, and platform requirements into software designs, interfaces, and implementation plans.
Make technical decisions on complex problems while balancing performance, power, memory, security, reliability, cost, schedule, and maintainability.
Collaborate with hardware, firmware, software, operating-system, silicon, security, manufacturing, supplier, and external development teams.
Contribute to product and platform roadmaps by evaluating technologies, identifying opportunities, and recommending solutions.
Develop reusable software components, frameworks, tools, and engineering practices that improve delivery speed, quality, and maintainability.
Lead design and code reviews, identify technical risks and dependencies, and drive mitigation plans.
Diagnose and resolve complex cross-layer issues involving firmware, hardware, performance, power, security, reliability, and interoperability.
Serve as a technical resource for embedded systems and communicate recommendations to engineering, product, and program stakeholders.
Work with silicon providers, suppliers, and development partners to resolve technical issues and meet product commitments.
Create and maintain architecture specifications, design documentation, decision records, development guidance, and technical manuals.
Mentor less-experienced engineers, share technical knowledge, and promote disciplined engineering and problem-solving practices.