Staff Embedded Firmware Engineer, SandboxAQ

• Holds a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field
• 8+ years of experience in embedded firmware development, with a track record of bringing hardware prototypes to production-ready systems
• Strong skills with low-level debugging, board bring-up, BIOS support, and embedded microprocessor toolchains
• Ability to architect and document embedded systems, including firmware design specifications, hardware interfaces (SPI, I2C, UART, etc.), and performance trade-offs
• Experience with test automation, CI/CD pipelines, and collaborative development tools
• You’re willing and able to work from our Palo Alto location at least 1 day per week
• Proficient in high- and low-level programming (e.g. Python, Julia, C, C++, Rust, MatLab, etc.)
• Proficient in software development methodologies and best practices (e.g., Agile practices, CI/CD, test-driven development.)
• Hands-on experience with real-time systems, embedded microprocessor tools, and advanced debugging techniques
• Background in aerospace, automotive or other safety-critical industries

Desirable

• As a Staff Embedded Firmware Engineer at AQNav, you will be at the forefront of designing and implementing embedded software solutions for our next-generation quantum sensing and navigation systems
• In this role, you will collaborate closely with R&D teams to rapidly prototype, validate, and refine sophisticated sensor architectures, with a strong emphasis on embedded firmware and software-driven methodologies
• You will be responsible for building robust, maintainable codebases that underpin our cutting-edge hardware platforms, ensuring reliable performance in diverse, often mission-critical environments
• Support hardware bring-up activities, including low-level board and SoC development, BIOS development, and interfacing with new hardware components
• Collaborate with hardware and electrical teams to design and validate system-level functionality, ensuring firmware-hardware interoperability
• Ensure designs account for resource constraints (memory, power, performance) while adhering to compliance and certification requirements
• Architect and implement embedded firmware for new system features, focusing on performance, scalability, and robustness
• Write, enhance, and debug real-time firmware, ensuring tight integration with underlying hardware
• Lead firmware architecture design and code reviews, ensuring scalability, modularity, and maintainability
• Collaborate closely with hardware, systems, and product teams to define requirements and integration strategies
• Participate in API development, firmware reviews, and documentation to promote best practices in coding and architectural decisions
• Familiarity with key aviation, military, and other U.S. government/industry safety-critical development standards, including DO-178C, DO-254, MIL-STD-2167A, MIL-STD-882, as well as applicable standards from the Department of Defense (DoD), Department of Transportation (DOT), Department of Energy (DOE), and NASA
• Hands-on development using RTOS platforms such as SafeRTOS, VxWorks, PikeOS, or similar safety-certified real-time operating systems