Firmware Engineer

Job Title:

Staff Firmware Engineer Job Description

This Staff Firmware Engineer role leads the design, development, and maintenance of embedded firmware components that power advanced Smart Grid solutions. You will serve as a technical lead for cellular modem interface firmware, collaborating closely with cross-functional teams to deliver robust, scalable, and reliable products. The position combines hands‑on low-level embedded development with leadership responsibilities, including mentoring engineers, driving best practices, and solving complex issues that arise under real-world network conditions.

• Lead the design, development, and testing of cellular modem interface firmware for embedded systems.
• Handle telecommunications‑specific constraints and behaviors, including SIM, APN, and operator‑driven configuration differences.
• Design and execute cellular network simulations to validate firmware behavior under varying network conditions.
• Use modem test tools and diagnostic utilities to capture and analyze traces for troubleshooting.
• Analyze modem logs, network traces, and protocol flows to identify root causes of issues and drive robust fixes.
• Improve firmware robustness and reliability across diverse and changing cellular network environments.
• Collaborate with product management, project management, cellular modem providers, third‑party carriers, certification bodies, and other R&D teams to design, develop, and validate complete Smart Grid solutions.
• Work closely with subject matter experts and business partners on component and system‑level design decisions.
• Contribute as a high‑impact engineer on complex R&D projects involving hardware, firmware, software, and complete solution delivery.
• Conduct code reviews to ensure adherence to established coding standards, best practices, and quality guidelines.
• Provide technical leadership with approximately 30% of time focused on leadership and 70% on hands‑on development.
• Mentor and energize junior team members, helping them grow technically and achieve project deliverables.
• Lead small project teams, host regular project meetings, and communicate status and issues effectively with stakeholders.
• Build and maintain strong cross‑team and cross‑functional relationships to facilitate ongoing and future projects.
• Stay current on evolving cellular and embedded firmware technologies and their applications in the utility and Smart Grid domains.
• Independently manage complex R&D tasks, demonstrating strong multitasking, organizational, and time‑management skills.
• Communicate clearly and effectively across different audiences and through multiple mediums, both written and verbal.
• Exercise critical thinking and creative problem solving to resolve challenging technical issues.
• Support continuous improvement of the engineering organization through activities such as interviewing, mentoring, and knowledge sharing across multiple teams.
• Engage in field troubleshooting and occasional client interactions to provide technical consulting on products when needed.

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field.
• Extensive software development experience (5–10 years), with a significant portion focused on cellular-related technologies.
• Strong experience in embedded firmware development in C for low-level systems.
• Hands‑on experience working with cellular modems and interacting with carrier networks.
• Solid understanding of cellular power‑saving modes such as PSM and eDRX, as well as network‑induced latency, drops, and retries.
• Proven experience debugging issues that occur only under real network conditions.
• Exposure to end‑to‑end systems involving device‑to‑network‑to‑backend interactions.
• Experience with low‑level embedded development in RTOS environments.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently on complex R&D projects without supervision.
• Strong multitasking, organizational, and time‑management skills.
• Effective communication skills across diverse audiences and communication channels.
• Ability to collaborate effectively as part of a cross‑regional, cross‑functional team.
• Ability to lead and mentor junior engineers, including conducting…