Senior Firmware Engineer

Chemify Ltd; Glasgow; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Chemify Ltd in Glasgow is seeking a Senior Firmware Engineer to own the embedded firmware that drives our robotic modules—the pumps, valves, sensors, and motion systems that physically carry out chemistry. You will take firmware from architecture through production, working closely with electronics, mechanical, and platform-software engineers.

This role places you at the boundary where code becomes real motion and reactions, shaping the layer that turns digital instructions into tangible

Qualifications

• 5+ years developing embedded/firmware for electromechanical or robotic systems.
• Strong C/C++ (and ideally Python for tooling/test), with solid embedded fundamentals.
• Deep understanding of microcontrollers, real-time behaviour, interrupts, timers, and communication buses (I2C, SPI, UART, CAN).
• Hands-on bring-up and debugging across the firmware/hardware boundary (oscilloscope, logic analyser), with a methodical approach to root cause.
• Experience owning firmware subsystems end to end and lifting the people around you.

Responsibilities

• Architect, develop, test, and maintain embedded firmware for instrument and robotics modules.
• Own firmware for subsystems end to end — from requirements and design through bring-up, validation, and production.
• Work close to the metal: microcontrollers, motion control, sensors, actuators, and communication buses.
• Partner with electronics engineers on board bring‑up and hardware/firmware interfaces, and with platform-software on higher‑level control.
• Drive firmware quality: testing, code review, CI for embedded, and robust real‑time behaviour.
• Mentor junior firmware engineers and help set the team’s embedded standards and practices.

Skills

5+ years embedded/firmware

Strong C/C++

Real-time systems

Debugging hardware/software boundary

Team ownership

Tools

Python for tooling

Oscilloscope

Logic analyser

Job description

Chemify is revolutionising chemistry. We are creating a future where the synthesis of previously unimaginable molecules, drugs, and materials is instantly accessible. By combining AI, robotics, and the world’s largest continually expanding database of chemical programs, we are accelerating chemical discovery to improve quality of life and extend the reach of humanity.

Location: Glasgow, UK (hybrid)

The Role

We are seeking a Senior Firmware Engineer to own the embedded firmware that drives the robotic modules at the heart of our platform — the pumps, valves, sensors, and motion systems that physically carry out chemistry. You will take firmware from architecture through to robust, production-grade code running across our fleet of robotic systems, working closely with electronics, mechanical, and platform-software engineers.

What sets this role apart is how close to the chemistry you will be: the firmware you write is the layer where code becomes physical motion and real reactions — and as a senior engineer you will shape how that layer is built.

If owning embedded firmware on a platform that makes molecules sounds like the right shape of job for you, we’d love to welcome you to our team.

Key Responsibilities

• Architect, develop, test, and maintain embedded firmware for instrument and robotics modules.
• Own firmware for subsystems end to end — from requirements and design through bring-up, validation, and production.
• Work close to the metal: microcontrollers, motion control, sensors, actuators, and communication buses.
• Partner with electronics engineers on board bring‑up and hardware/firmware interfaces, and with platform-software on higher‑level control.
• Drive firmware quality: testing, code review, CI for embedded, and robust real‑time behaviour.
• Mentor junior firmware engineers and help set the team’s embedded standards and practices.

About You

You are an experienced embedded engineer who likes owning firmware from architecture to hardware on the bench. You care about robustness in the real world — where a missed edge case means a stalled robot, not just a failed test — and you raise the bar for the people around you.

We expect you to bring:

• 5+ years developing embedded/firmware for electromechanical or robotic systems, including production‑grade work.
• Strong C/C++ (and ideally [Python] for tooling/test), with solid embedded fundamentals.
• Deep understanding of microcontrollers, real‑time behaviour, interrupts, timers, and communication buses (I²C, SPI, UART, CAN).
• Hands‑on bring‑up and debugging across the firmware/hardware boundary (oscilloscope, logic analyser), with a methodical approach to root cause.
• Experience owning firmware subsystems end to end and lifting the people around you.

Beneficial Skills

• Familiarity with hardware design and reading schematics, and close collaboration with electronics engineers.
• Exposure to robotics, lab instrumentation, or other precision electromechanical systems.
• Embedded CI/test infrastructure and firmware‑update/bootloader design.

Why Join Chemify?

Impact. Your firmware is where digital instructions become physical chemistry — the robotic modules you bring to life run real experiments in the Chemifarm.

Autonomy. You will own firmware subsystems across the platform and shape how we build embedded software.

Ambition. We are a Series B deep‑tech company at the frontier of chemistry, robotics, and AI — with the resources and mandate to build embedded systems for a platform unlike anything else.