Firmware Engineer

Location

Sterling

Full time

On-site

Software

As a Firmware Engineer, you will join a cross‑functional team to develop and own firmware for Molg’s robotic microfactory systems. You will design, develop, maintain firmware, manage the full lifecycle, write real‑time C/C++ code, develop drivers, collaborate with hardware engineers, build test frameworks, interface with other systems, instrument firmware for observability, contribute to architecture, attend design reviews, and support reliable hardware integration.

• Design, develop, and maintain firmware for embedded systems across Molg’s robotic platforms—including motor controllers, sensor interfaces, actuators, and custom PCBs.
• Own the full firmware development lifecycle: requirements gathering, architecture design, implementation, testing, and deployment to production hardware.
• Write robust, real‑time firmware in C/C++ targeting bare‑metal and RTOS environments (FreeRTOS, Zephyr, or similar).
• Develop and maintain drivers for communication protocols including CAN, SPI, I2C, UART, RS‑485, and Ethernet.
• Collaborate closely with electrical engineers to bring up new hardware, validate schematics, and debug hardware/firmware interactions at the board level.
• Build and maintain hardware‑in‑the‑loop (HIL) and software‑in‑the‑loop (SIL) test frameworks in automated CI/CD pipelines.
• Partner with robotics and software engineers to define clear firmware/software interfaces and ensure reliable communication.
• Instrument firmware for observability—logging, telemetry, diagnostics—to support production monitoring and rapid debugging.
• Contribute to firmware architecture decisions as system complexity grows, balancing performance, reliability, and maintainability.
• Participate in design reviews and bring a hardware‑aware perspective to cross‑functional technical discussions.

• 5+ years of professional firmware or embedded systems engineering experience with a track record of shipping firmware on real hardware.
• Expert proficiency in C and C++; experience with Python for tooling, test automation, or scripting is a strong plus.
• Deep experience with microcontrollers/microprocessors (STM
  32, ESP
  32, NXP, TI, or similar); comfortable using datasheets and reference manuals.
• Hands‑on RTOS development experience—task scheduling, interrupt handling, memory management, real‑time constraints.
• Solid understanding of embedded communication protocols (CAN, SPI, I2C, UART, Ethernet) and debugging with logic analyzers and oscilloscopes.
• Comfortable reading schematics and working directly with hardware to resolve interaction issues.
• Experience writing automated firmware tests, ideally in HIL or SIL environments; knowledge of pytest, Robot Framework, or similar is a plus.
• Strong debugging skills—able to navigate from application layer down to register level.
• Excellent communicator with a bias toward documentation and maintainable code.
• Ability to work in person at Molg HQ in Sterling, VA.

You’ll have the opportunity to build alongside an incredible team in a collaborative, fast‑paced environment that values autonomy and impact.