Firmware Engineer

Vertage; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 130,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Lorien is hiring a Senior Firmware Engineer in Austin, TX, onsite. You will own motor control firmware for robotic actuators, taking designs from prototype to production with strong C/C++ and real-time control expertise.

The role requires 5+ years of production firmware experience, hands-on debugging, and collaboration across hardware and software teams to deliver reliable systems using FOC for brushless motors.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of production-grade embedded software experience.
• Proficiency in C/C++, with Python, Docker and Git exposure.
• Motor control firmware experience for BLDC or brushless motors incl. FOC.
• Hands-on real-time embedded firmware experience in production.
• Experience with telemetry, diagnostics and reliability in field devices.
• Strong hardware debugging skills with oscilloscopes and logic analyzers.
• Read electrical schematics (Altium Designer preferred).
• Embedded communication protocols (SPI, UART, RS485, CAN).
• Experience with ECAT real-time motor control communications.
• Team collaboration and potential for technical leadership.

Responsibilities

• Build, deploy & maintain motor control firmware for robotic actuators, including FOC and real-time current & torque control.
• Own system identification, plant modeling, controller tuning & hard real-time performance for production actuators.
• Help define & run HIL & SIL test strategy to validate performance, safety & reliability at scale.
• Help drive firmware quality, reliability & field performance as the product scales.
• Collaborate with controls, systems, electrical, mechanical & software engineers to architect next-generation actuators.
• Participate in code reviews, design reviews & pair debugging, and help shape tooling, processes & architecture decisions.

Skills

C/C++

Python

Docker

Git

Embedded systems

Motor control

Team collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical/Computer/Mechanical Engineering

Master’s in controls or motor drives

Tools

Altium Designer

MATLAB/Simulink

TI C2000

Job description

Salary: USD130000 - USD160000 per annum

Title: Firmware Engineer
Location: Onsite in Austin, TX
Pay: $130,000-$170,000, depends on experience level
Type: Full time, Direct Hire

Overview
Lorien has an exciting opportunity for a Senior Firmware Engineer to join an established firmware team at our Robotics client on a direct hire basis. We’re looking for a hands‑on embedded engineer with 5+ years of production firmware experience & a strong C/C++ and motor control background, ideally brushless motors, real-time control & field-oriented control (FOC). You’ll be comfortable taking firmware from prototype to production, and you’ll want a voice in code, design & architecture decisions.

Job Duties

• Build, deploy & maintain motor control firmware for robotic actuators, including field-oriented control (FOC) and real-time current & torque control for BLDC & other brushless motors
• Own system identification, plant modeling, controller tuning & hard real-time performance for production actuators, keeping results consistent across units, temperature & load
• Help define & run the Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) & Software-in-the-Loop (SIL) test strategy to validate performance, safety & reliability at scale
• Help drive firmware quality, reliability & field performance as the product scales from prototypes to large production fleets, including telemetry, diagnostics & root-cause analysis of field failures
• Collaborate with controls, systems, electrical, mechanical & software engineers to architect next‑generation actuators and bring hardware from prototype through production
• Participate in code reviews, design reviews & pair debugging, and help shape tooling, process & architecture decisions as the team & product scale

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical, Computer or Mechanical Engineering (or equivalent experience); Master’s in controls or motor drives especially valued
• 5+ years of production-grade embedded software experience, from concept through deployment
• Proficiency in C/C++, with working knowledge of Python, Docker & Git
• Motor control firmware experience for BLDC or other brushless motors, including FOC, current control & torque control
• Hands‑on hard real‑time embedded firmware experience in production
• Experience deploying firmware to field devices, with exposure to telemetry, diagnostics & reliability
• EtherCAT experience for real‑time motor control communications
• Strong hardware debugging skills (oscilloscopes, logic analyzers)
• Able to read electrical schematics (Altium Designer preferred) & hardware datasheets
• Embedded communication protocols (SPI, UART, RS485, CAN)
• Strong collaboration & communication skills, with a desire to grow into technical leadership
• Experience in advanced robotics (including legged or human‑form platforms), industrial robotics or other high‑performance servo applications is preferred
• Classical & modern control theory, with hands‑on system identification & controller tuning for production motor drives (preferred)
• Experience in advanced robotics (including legged or human‑form platforms), industrial robotics or other high‑performance servo applications is preferred
• Classical & modern control theory, with hands‑on system identification & controller tuning for production motor drives (preferred)
• C/C++ on TI C2000 microcontrollers, with familiarity with safety‑critical standards (MISRA C, ISO 26262) is preferred
• Model-based design tools (e.g., MATLAB/Simulink) for control design & code generation, plus contributions to firmware tooling, build systems or developer infrastructure (preferred)
• Encoder & current sensing front ends and gate driver ICs like DRV8353 (preferred)