Firmware Engineer

Staff Firmware Engineer

Knoxville, TN (On-site / Hybrid) | $140k – $170k

Job Purpose

The Staff Firmware Engineer is a senior technical leader responsible for owning firmware projects or major subsystems and leading technical execution across multiple contributors. This role combines deep firmware expertise with mentorship, cross-functional collaboration, and accountability for delivering robust, scalable embedded software aligned with product and business objectives.

About Softing

Softing is an industrial automation company based in Knoxville, TN, focused on communication gateways, vibration analysis, embedded edge compute, and I/O products. Our firmware team supports embedded, industrial-grade products where reliability, determinism, and protocol compliance are non-negotiable and we're actively growing the team to support an expanding product roadmap.

We are seeking a Staff Firmware Engineer to lead the development of advanced embedded firmware for industrial networking and automation products. This senior-level role combines deep hands-on firmware development with technical leadership and architecture ownership across complex embedded systems.

What You'll Do

• Own and lead the technical execution of firmware projects or major subsystems from concept through production release
• Define firmware architectures, design approaches, and implementation strategies
• Coordinate and guide the work of multiple firmware engineers through technical leadership and review
• Design, implement, and review embedded firmware using C and C++ across Linux and RTOS-based platforms
• Lead development and integration of board support packages (BSPs), bootloaders, device drivers, and middleware
• Lead firmware bring-up, debugging, optimization, and system integration activities
• Establish and apply firmware verification and validation strategies to ensure quality, reliability, and regulatory compliance
• Identify, assess, and mitigate technical risks throughout the firmware development lifecycle
• Serve as a primary firmware technical interface with Hardware, Software, Test, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, and Project Management teams
• Provide advanced technical support for manufacturing, field, or customer issues
• Mentor and coach Associate, Firmware, and Senior Firmware Engineers
• Contribute to the development and continuous improvement of firmware development standards, tools, and processes

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field from an accredited institution;
  Master's degree preferred
• Fifteen or more years of experience in firmware or embedded software engineering with demonstrated leadership of complex projects
• Expert-level proficiency in embedded firmware development using C and C++
• Extensive experience with embedded Linux systems and real-time operating systems
• Strong experience with Linux kernel configuration, building, and debugging
• Extensive experience developing and debugging device drivers and low-level firmware
• Experience configuring and customizing bootloaders (e.g., U-Boot, GRUB)
• Strong understanding of firmware architecture, modular design, and system trade-offs
• Deep experience with source version control systems and software release processes
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to influence without authority

Desired Qualifications

• Experience serving as technical lead on multi-disciplinary or cross-functional projects
• Experience with embedded build systems and RTOS platforms such as Yocto, Zephyr, FreeRTOS, or Vx Works
• Experience with in-circuit debugging tools and techniques
• Experience with CI/CD build pipelines, automated regression testing, and…