Staff Embedded Firmware Engineer - Battery

1X • San Carlos, CA

2d • Onsite

About The Position

1X is building humanoid robots designed to work in homes, handling chores and tasks to give people their time back. This requires solving complex problems in robotics, AI, and manufacturing at scale, with a focus on safety for home environments. The company has been developing these robots since 2014 and is now focused on shipping its flagship product, NEO, a home robot designed to move, learn, and operate safely alongside people. The Firmware team is responsible for the embedded software that powers all hardware subsystems of the robot, including communication, power management, and actuator control. This role is critical for product milestones, ensuring the robot can move, charge, and operate safely. The team is building the foundational software for a new category of physical AI.

Requirements

• 5+ years of embedded firmware development in C/C++ on real hardware.
• Direct experience managing interrupts, DMA, and timing-critical execution.
• Working understanding of switched-mode power supply operation: common AC-DC topologies (flyback, LLC, phase-shifted full bridge), power factor correction stages, transformer isolation, and how firmware-controlled parameters affect converter behavior.
• Understanding of lithium-ion charge protocols (CC-CV, multi-stage), the relationship between charge rate and cell degradation, and how temperature and cell age affect charge termination criteria.
• Hands-on CAN implementation for charger-to-BMS coordination.
• Experience with additional embedded interfaces (SPI, I²C, UART) for communication with power controller ICs, monitoring devices, and auxiliary circuits.
• Experience using oscilloscopes, current probes, and power analyzers to diagnose problems at the firmware-hardware boundary.

Nice To Haves

• 7+ years of embedded firmware development for senior/staff-level positions.
• Domain depth in one or more areas relevant to humanoid robot subsystems: distributed real-time communication bus firmware, switched-mode power conversion and lithium-ion battery charge management, or motor drive and actuator control firmware.
• Experience with safety-critical or fault-tolerant embedded systems.
• Familiarity with safety integrity standards such as IEC 61508 or ISO 26262.
• Familiarity with real-time operating systems (FreeRTOS, SafeRTOS, or similar).
• Background in robotics, autonomous systems, or complex electromechanical products.

Responsibilities

• Own the firmware layer across one or more of the robot’s core hardware subsystems, ensuring embedded software is robust, safe, and maintainable for prototype and production platforms.
• Develop and maintain charger firmware controlling AC-DC power conversion stages, including power factor correction and isolated DC-DC conversion topologies.
• Implement charge profile management for multi-series lithium-ion packs, including constant-current, constant-voltage, and taper phases with cell-chemistry-appropriate limits.
• Architect the charger-to-BMS communication interface over CAN or similar embedded bus, coordinating charge current requests, pack voltage feedback, temperature limits, and fault signaling.
• Test, validate, and verify initial firmware releases to ensure functionality, reliability, and performance requirements are met.
• Implement power converter control loops in firmware, including voltage regulation, current regulation, and soft-start sequencing with stability under varying conditions.
• Develop fault detection and protection firmware for various scenarios like overvoltage/undervoltage, overcurrent, overtemperature, ground fault, and loss-of-communication, with defined safe-state transitions.

Benefits

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Generous paid time off, company holidays, and parental leave
• 401(k) plan with company match (100% on the first 3% of contributions, 50% on the next 2%)
• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) and Health Savings Accounts (HSA) options
• Commuter benefits (transit and parking)
• Short-term and long-term disability, and life insurance
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for mental health, financial, and personal support
• Onsite snacks and catered lunches

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed