Embedded Software Engineer, Real-Time Embedded

Maven Robotics; Santa Clara (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Maven Robotics, Inc. designs, builds, and deploys intelligent robotics for logistics and manufacturing. The Embedded Software Engineer role focuses on foundational software for robot hardware, ensuring safe, deterministic operation across platforms.

You will adapt RTOS, develop device drivers, and collaborate with hardware engineers to deliver robust, safe systems in a fast-paced startup environment.

Qualifications

• MS in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field.
• Experience with safety-certifiable RTOSes and real-time scheduling.
• Strong understanding of ARM64 multicore SoCs and interprocess communication.
• Proficiency in C and low-level development with bootloaders/BSPs.
• Hands-on hardware debugging with oscilloscopes and tracing tools.
• Familiarity with MISRA and safety standards.

Responsibilities

• Develop foundational software for robot hardware to enable safe, deterministic operation.
• Integrate RTOS, drivers, and HALs for robotic control hardware.
• Collaborate with hardware engineers to optimize safety-critical systems.
• Develop device drivers for peripherals (EtherCAT, EtherNET, CAN).
• Build tools to monitor and verify real-time performance.
• Contribute to reproducible build/test environments and OTA/update workflows.

Skills

RTOS concepts

Real-time scheduling

ARM64 architecture

Interprocess/Intercore communication

Low-level programming

Bootloaders/BSPs

Hardware debugging

MISRA compliance

Problem solving

Education

MS in Computer Engineering or Computer Science

Tools

Ethernet

EtherCAT

CAN

Oscilloscopes

Hardware debuggers

High-speed tracing

Software toolchains

Job description

About Maven

Maven Robotics designs, builds, and deploys intelligent robotics for logistics and manufacturing. Maven is building the first general-purpose robotics system for industrial work. Our mission is to activate autonomous labor at scale and build toward infinitely elastic industrial capacity. We’re a team of engineers, researchers, and operators who have spent our careers working on the hardest problems in AI, robotics, engineering, and autonomous systems. We work at the intersection of advanced research and real-world engineering, turning ideas into prototypes and deployed systems.

About Maven

Maven Robotics designs, builds, and deploys intelligent robotics for logistics and manufacturing. Maven is building the first general-purpose robotics system for industrial work. Our mission is to activate autonomous labor at scale and build toward infinitely elastic industrial capacity. We’re a team of engineers, researchers, and operators who have spent our careers working on the hardest problems in AI, robotics, engineering, and autonomous systems. We work at the intersection of advanced research and real-world engineering, turning ideas into prototypes and deployed systems. At Maven, we build around the realities of industrial work. The robots are designed from first principles for complex physical environments and rigorous commercial standards. They master real tasks that deliver immediate impact, industrial-grade reliability, and intelligence that compounds at scale. We’re growing an ambitious team of people who think in systems, move quickly, and are builders at heart.

About The Role

As an Embedded Software Engineer at Maven Robotics, you will develop the foundational software that keeps our robot hardware alive, building the core systems that provide a platform for robust, safe, and deterministic operation.

What You’ll Do

• Adapt and integrate a safety certifiable Real Time Operating System (RTOS) and associated drivers for purpose built robotic control hardware
• Collaborate with hardware engineers to design, develop, and optimize high performance safety-critical systems
• Develop and adapt device drivers for hardware peripherals (e.g. GPIO, EtherCAT, SPI)
• Build tools to monitor, verify and optimize real time system performance, ensuring deterministic behavior
• Contribute to a deterministic and reproducible build and test environment for efficient development
• Collaborate with functional safety engineers to ensure compliance with relevant safety standards and support audit and traceability requirements
• Develop robust solutions for over-the-air (OTA) updates, calibration management and software deployment strategies
• Solve complex, real-world challenges alongside a multi-disciplinary team

What We’re Looking For

• MS in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field
• Experience with safety-certifiable RTOSes (e.g., PX5, ThreadX, SafeRTOS) and strong knowledge of real-time scheduling and memory management
• Strong understanding of ARM64 architecture, multicore SoCs, interprocess/intercore communication, and atomic operations
• Production experience with communication protocols (e.g., Ethernet, EtherCAT, CAN)
• Proficiency in low-level programming (C, assembly), bootloaders, hardware abstraction layers (HALs), and board support packages (BSPs)
• Hands-on experience with hardware debugging and development tools, including oscilloscopes, hardware debuggers, high-speed tracing, and software toolchains
• Familiarity with functional safety (FuSa), MISRA compliance, and related standards
• Self-driven problem solver with strong prioritization skills and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced startup environment

Nice to Have

• Knowledge of ARM SIMD/NEON architecture extensions.
• Proficiency in additional programming languages (e.g. C++, Python, Rust, Golang).
• Experience with multi-language build systems (e.g. Bazel, Bob).
• Familiarity with ROS 2 middleware and alternatives (Eg. FastDDS, CycloneDDS, Zenoh).
• Experience with Docker, and related containerization tools

Equal Opportunity

Maven Robotics is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.