Principal Firmware Engineer

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Principal Firmware Engineer in USA

Boston Engineering Corporation
Full time
Email

USA
10/21/2026
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Waltham, MA

Responsibilities

Lead the design, development, optimization, integration, and debugging of embedded and firmware systems.
Write and review RTOS-based firmware using FreeRTOS, ROS2, Zephyr, or similar technologies.
Architect firmware integrated with custom hardware, sensors, and control systems.
Develop firmware, device drivers, and communication stacks.
Review schematics and PCB layouts to identify firmware impacts and integration risks.
Debug software, firmware, and hardware issues using oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, protocol analyzers, and other bench tools.
Build and maintain benchtop development setups for early firmware development.
Lead technical design reviews, architecture discussions, and roadmap planning.
Serve as the technical escalation point for embedded and system-level issues.
Mentor engineers on firmware architecture, debugging, and best practices.
Improve and document software processes, establish best practices, and support code and design reviews.
Support development workflows, integration, manufacturing, and transition to production.
Communicate technical concepts, tradeoffs, risks, and status to engineering and non-engineering 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 and testing.
Hands-on RTOS experience such as FreeRTOS, ROS2, Zephyr, or similar.
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.
Strong written and verbal communication skills.
Ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance.
Highly desirable experience includes maritime systems, robotics, uncrewed systems, military platforms, navigation, localization, sensor fusion, autonomy systems, networking stacks, board-level communication debugging, CI/CD pipelines, ISO 9001, CMMI quality frameworks, customer-driven R&D, and product development.
Bonus experience includes proposal development, feasibility studies, early-stage technical concepts, embedded or robotic AI/machine learning or 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 position in Waltham, Massachusetts.
This is an onsite role; candidates must currently reside within commuting distance.
Relocation assistance is not available.
Travel is minimal.

Salary: $150k - $175k/yr

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 pr...

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