Embedded Firmware Engineer III

SmallHD; Cary (NC); On-site; USD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental, and vision insurance

401(k) with company match

Paid time off and holidays

Job summary

SmallHD is seeking an experienced Embedded Firmware Engineer III to develop firmware for professional battery, power, and LED lighting products. You will design and release production-quality firmware from concept through validation, collaborating with hardware, software, product management, and test teams.

You'll implement battery management, lighting-control protocols (DMX512, Art-Net, sACN), wireless provisioning, and secure MQTT connectivity on ARM Cortex-M platforms.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field (or equivalent professional experience).
• 5+ years of embedded firmware development experience with commercial hardware products.
• Advanced programming experience using Embedded C.
• Strong experience developing firmware for ARM Cortex-M microcontrollers.
• Experience with real-time operating systems such as ThreadX or FreeRTOS.
• Experience with: Hardware bring-up, Embedded debugging, Device drivers, Communication protocols.
• Working knowledge of: Git, CMake, GNU Arm Embedded Toolchain, CI/CD practices.
• Ability to interpret electrical schematics and troubleshoot hardware/firmware interactions.
• Experience writing maintainable, well-documented production firmware.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, communication, and collaboration skills.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, test, document, and maintain embedded firmware for battery, power, and professional LED lighting products.
• Develop bootloader and application firmware for ARM Cortex-M microcontrollers.
• Create reusable embedded C libraries with appropriate unit tests and documentation.
• Develop production-ready embedded software throughout the entire product lifecycle.
• Perform board bring-up and on-target debugging.
• Troubleshoot firmware using schematics, oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and JTAG/SWD debugging tools.
• Develop low-level device drivers and hardware interfaces.
• Implement battery-management functionality including SOC, SOH, coulomb counting, cell balancing, SBS.
• Develop firmware supporting professional lighting-control protocols (DMX512, RDM, CRMX, Art-Net, sACN).
• Bluetooth LE and Wi-Fi provisioning; secure MQTT cloud connectivity.
• Develop embedded communications (SMBus/I2C, UART, SPI, Modbus, TCP/UDP).
• Plan and execute structured verification and regression testing.
• Conduct battery lifecycle, thermal, and load testing.
• Develop Python tools for test automation, data collection, calibration, engineering analysis.
• Support firmware releases and manufacturing; assist regulatory testing; troubleshoot field issues.

Skills

Embedded C

ARM Cortex-M

RTOS (ThreadX/FreeRTOS)

Embedded debugging

Hardware bring-up

Device drivers

Communication protocols

Git

CMake

GNU Arm Embedded Toolchain

CI/CD practices

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field

Tools

Segger J-Link

J-Flash

Ozone

Doxygen

GUIX

GUIX Studio

Job description

Position Summary

We are seeking an experienced Embedded Firmware Engineer III to develop embedded firmware for professional battery, power, and LED lighting products used throughout the cinema, broadcast, photography, and content creation industries. In this role, you will design and develop production-quality firmware from concept through release, working closely with electrical, mechanical, software, product management, and test engineering teams. You\u2019ll play a key role in developing battery management systems, lighting controls, wireless connectivity, embedded communications, automated testing, and manufacturing support for commercial hardware products. This is an excellent opportunity for a hands-on engineer who enjoys solving complex embedded systems challenges while contributing to products trusted by professional filmmakers and broadcasters worldwide.

Embedded Firmware Development

• Design, develop, test, document, and maintain embedded firmware for battery, power, and professional LED lighting products.
• Develop bootloader and application firmware for ARM Cortex-M microcontrollers.
• Create reusable embedded C libraries with appropriate unit tests and documentation.
• Develop production-ready embedded software throughout the entire product lifecycle.

Hardware Integration & Debugging

• Perform board bring-up and on-target debugging.
• Troubleshoot firmware using schematics, oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and JTAG/SWD debugging tools.
• Develop low-level device drivers and hardware interfaces.

Battery Management Systems

• Implement battery-management functionality including:
• State of Charge (SOC)
• State of Health (SOH)
• Coulomb counting
• Cell balancing
• Smart Battery Specification (SBS)

Lighting & Connectivity

• Develop firmware supporting professional lighting-control protocols including:
• DMX512
• RDM
• CRMX
• Art-Net
• sACN
• Implement Bluetooth LE and Wi-Fi provisioning.
• Develop secure MQTT-based cloud connectivity.

Communications & Embedded Systems

• Develop and maintain embedded communications using:
• SMBus / I2C
• UART
• SPI
• Modbus
• TCP/UDP sockets

Testing & Validation

• Plan and execute structured verification and regression testing.
• Conduct battery lifecycle, thermal, and load testing.
• Develop Python tools for:
• Test automation
• Data collection
• Calibration
• Engineering analysis

Product Support

• Support firmware releases and manufacturing.
• Assist with regulatory testing.
• Troubleshoot field issues and customer-reported problems.
• Collaborate across engineering teams throughout product development.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field (or equivalent professional experience).
• 5+ years of embedded firmware development experience with commercial hardware products.
• Advanced programming experience using Embedded C.
• Strong experience developing firmware for ARM Cortex-M microcontrollers.
• Experience with real-time operating systems such as ThreadX or FreeRTOS.
• Experience with:
• Hardware bring-up
• Embedded debugging
• Device drivers
• Communication protocols
• Working knowledge of:
• Git
• CMake
• GNU Arm Embedded Toolchain
• CI/CD practices
• Ability to interpret electrical schematics and troubleshoot hardware/firmware interactions.
• Experience writing maintainable, well-documented production firmware.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, communication, and collaboration skills.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience with any of the following is highly desirable:

Embedded Platforms

• Renesas Synergy SSP
• Renesas RA FSP
• e2 studio
• Espressif ESP-IDF 5.x
• ESP32 devices

Battery Systems

• Smart Battery systems
• TI bq-series battery-management ICs
• Battery cyclers
• Battery test equipment
• UN 38.3
• UL/IEC 62133

Lighting Control

• DMX512
• RDM
• CRMX / LumenRadio
• Art-Net
• sACN
• Professional lighting systems

Embedded Software Tools

• GUIX
• GUIX Studio
• Segger J-Link
• J-Flash
• Ozone
• PC-lint
• Doxygen
• Teamcenter

Industry Experience

Experience Developing Products For

• Professional cinema
• Broadcast
• Photography
• Professional LED lighting
• Gold Mount, V-Mount, or B-Mount battery systems

Additional Experience With

• Color science (CCT, xy chromaticity, spectral measurement)
• Thermal or fan-control firmware
• Motor control
• FPGA interfaces
• QSPI devices
• Battery laboratory safety and thermal-runaway testing

Why Join Us?

You\u2019ll work on cutting-edge products used by professional filmmakers, broadcasters, photographers, and content creators around the world. As part of a collaborative engineering team, you\u2019ll have the opportunity to influence product architecture from concept through production while solving challenging real-world embedded systems problems. If you\u2019re passionate about embedded systems, commercial hardware development, and building products that professionals rely on every day, we\u2019d love to hear from you.

Benefits

• Competitive salary
• Health, dental, and vision insurance
• 401(k) with company match
• Paid time off and company holidays
• Collaborative and innovative engineering environment
• Opportunities for professional growth and development
• Fun company events throughout the year

Our brands are leaders in defensible niche markets in terms of premium products, technology innovation and/or market share. Our products typically attached to, or support, a camera - primarily for broadcast, cinematic, video, photographic and smartphone applications. Our products serve a wide range of end users and are offered as a cohesive package.