Firmware Engineer

Cantos Ventures; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Medical, vision & dental

401(k)

Job summary

Heaviside Industries seeks an embedded software engineer to design, implement, and debug firmware for microcontrollers and embedded Linux platforms used in precision munitions. You will translate cross-functional requirements into software architecture and collaborate across hardware, controls, and manufacturing teams.

Responsibilities include building MES API integrations, writing tests, and documenting interfaces to ensure traceability from prototype to production.

Qualifications

• Experience designing and debugging firmware for microcontrollers and/or embedded Linux platforms.
• Ability to translate cross-functional systems requirements into embedded software design.
• Experience integrating with APIs or external systems (MES, ERP, or similar production/data systems).
• Strong testing discipline — writing unit/integration tests and building validation fixtures.
• Full-stack debugging across hardware, firmware, and network layers.
• Solid documentation habits around architecture and requirements traceability.
• Comfortable working cross-functionally across the full product lifecycle.

Responsibilities

• Design, write, and debug firmware for microcontrollers and embedded Linux platforms (including Raspberry Pi).
• Translate requirements from hardware/controls/manufacturing into embedded software architecture and code.
• Build and maintain integrations with MES API — push data and pull work orders/recipes.

Skills

Embedded C

C++

Firmware debugging

Cross-functional collaboration

APIs / MES integration

Documentation

Hardware/network debugging

ITAR US person requirement

Tools

Raspberry Pi

MES API

Job description

About Heaviside Industries

Heaviside Industries builds multi-domain autonomous precision munitions for U.S. and allied special operations and conventional forces. While modern warfare has rapidly evolved with the proliferation of unmanned systems, hyper-precise munitions in contested environments are the future of the battlefield. Economical precision strike capabilities are critical to U.S. and allied war efforts, enabling successful defeat of enemy military assets and infrastructure. Heaviside builds precision munitions designed to operate in GPS-denied and spectrum-jammed battlefields—where traditional systems degrade or fail—without inflated prices or sacrifice to performance.

All engineering and manufacturing is conducted in-house in Heaviside's Los Angeles, CA headquarters and Oslo, Norway office.

Heaviside is backed by Felicis, Hedosophia, Interlagos, Friends & Family Capital, Menlo Ventures, Flume Ventures, Cantos, and others.

What You Will Do

• Design, write, and debug firmware for microcontrollers and embedded Linux platforms (including Raspberry Pi) that control sensors, actuators, and other production-floor hardware
• Translate systems-level requirements from hardware, controls, and manufacturing engineering into embedded software architecture and code
• Build and maintain integrations with our Manufacturing Execution System (MES) API — pushing machine and process data up, and pulling work orders, recipes, and routing instructions down
• Write unit and integration tests, and build validation fixtures to verify firmware behavior against requirements
• Debug field issues across the stack, from hardware/electrical faults up through firmware and network communication
• Document architecture, interfaces, and requirements traceability so systems and software stay in sync
• Collaborate with hardware, systems, and manufacturing engineering teams throughout the product lifecycle, from prototype to production deployment

What We Are Looking For

• Experience designing and debugging firmware for microcontrollers and/or embedded Linux platforms
• Ability to translate cross-functional systems requirements (hardware, controls, manufacturing) into embedded software design
• Experience integrating with APIs or external systems (e.g., MES, ERP, or similar production/data systems)
• Strong testing discipline — comfortable writing unit/integration tests and building validation fixtures
• Full-stack debugging skills spanning hardware/electrical, firmware, and network layers
• Solid documentation habits, especially around architecture and requirements traceability
• Comfortable working cross-functionally with hardware, systems, and manufacturing engineers across the full product lifecycle
• Proficiency in Embedded C and/or C++
• U.S. Person as defined by ITAR (22 CFR 120.62)

NICE TO HAVE

• Experience with C# and/or Python
• Prior work in a manufacturing or production-floor environment
• Familiarity with Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) specifically
• Experience with Raspberry Pi or similar SBC platforms in a production setting

Additional

Compensation bands are determined by role, level, location, and alignment with market data. Individual level and base pay is determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on job-related skills, education, experience, technical capabilities and internal equity. In addition to base salary, for full-time hires, you may also be eligible for long-term incentives, in the form of stock options, and access to medical, vision & dental coverage as well as access to a 401(k) retirement plan.

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.

Heaviside is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Heaviside is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, physical disability or any other legally protected status.