Principal Firmware Engineer
Boston Engineering Corporation10 hours ago
Waltham, MA, USAStaff+
Base Salary
$150k - $175k/yr
Responsibilities
- Lead the design, development, optimization, and debugging of embedded and firmware systems.
- Write and review RTOS-based firmware and develop device drivers and communication stacks.
- Architect firmware integrated with custom hardware, sensors, and control systems.
- Review schematics and PCB layouts to identify firmware impacts and integration risks.
- Debug software, firmware, and hardware issues using bench and protocol analysis tools.
- Lead technical design reviews, architecture discussions, roadmap planning, and process improvement.
- Serve as the technical escalation point for embedded and system-level issues.
- Mentor engineers on firmware architecture, debugging, and engineering best practices.
- Support development workflows, integration, manufacturing, and transition to production.
- Communicate technical concepts, tradeoffs, risks, and status to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Requirements
- 7+ years of embedded or firmware development experience, including 3+ years in a senior or technical lead role.
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field; a master’s degree is preferred.
- Strong C and C++ experience for embedded systems and Python experience for tooling or testing.
- Hands-on RTOS experience with technologies such as FreeRTOS, ROS2, or Zephyr.
- Experience with STM32, ARM-based MCUs or SoCs, x86, PIC32, or similar platforms.
- Experience with I2C, SPI, UART, Ethernet, GPIO, and other low-level interfaces.
- Experience with Git, embedded development tools, build systems, and debugging environments.
- Experience authoring and reviewing software requirements, specifications, and design documentation.
- Experience leading technical and design reviews.
- Ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance.
- Highly desirable experience includes maritime systems, robotics, uncrewed systems, military platforms, navigation, localization, sensor fusion, autonomy, networking stacks, board-level communications, ISO 9001, CMMI, customer-driven R&D, and product development.
- Bonus experience includes proposal development, feasibility studies, embedded AI or machine learning, computer vision, safety-critical or mission-critical software, government or defense programs, Agile, DevOps, and quality management systems.
Benefits
- Comprehensive benefits package including health insurance, 401(k) match, and paid time off.
- Full-time, office-based role in Waltham, Massachusetts.
- Minimal travel required.
- Relocation is not available at this time.
- Base salary is commensurate with experience and qualifications.
About Boston Engineering Corporation
Boston Engineering Corporation provides product design and engineering consulting, taking hardware and software products from concept through connected, production-ready systems for defense, medical device, robotics, and commercial clients. Founded in 1995 and headquartered in Waltham, MA, the privately held firm is certified to ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 13485:2016. Engagements span embedded software, electromechanical systems, and UUV/robotics programs, including early prototyping, system integration, and transfer to manufacturing.