Firmware Engineer

Chariot Defense; San Bruno (CA); On-site; USD 130,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Early-stage equity

Company-sponsored benefits

Job summary

Chariot Defense is seeking a Firmware & Embedded Controls Engineer in San Bruno, CA. This role involves writing firmware for power electronics with a focus on safety systems and real-time operating conditions.

The ideal candidate will have a BS in Electrical/Computer Engineering or Computer Science and 3+ years of applicable experience. Strong skills in C/C++ and hands-on firmware debugging are essential. The position supports some travel and requires physical capability to work in a shop environment.

Qualifications

• 3+ years writing firmware for hardware that operates in the field.
• Experience with bare-metal and RTOS development.
• Fluency in C/C++ for resource-constrained real-time targets.

Responsibilities

• Write firmware for power electronics and safety systems.
• Implement thermal control and data acquisition logic.
• Collaborate with hardware engineers for system integration.

Skills

Engineering intuition

Critical thinking

Data-driven decision making

Team collaboration

Education

BS in Electrical/Computer Engineering or Computer Science

Tools

C/C++

Rust

Job description

Chariot Defense is a defense technology company that designs and manufactures a family of power products for the U.S. military and its allies. We believe that credible deterrence of armed conflict and winning if deterrence fails, requires more than just the best drones, sensors, weapons, electronic warfare systems, and command & control capabilities. Those critical components will require sustained electric power in austere and resource‑constrained environments. Moreover, military units must be able to turn off the trucks and generators that generate this power to hide and survive. In other words, power generation must be decoupled from power consumption. Chariot Defense’s products enable exactly this capability, allowing U.S. and allied militaries to be more lethal and survivable. We hope you will join us on this mission.

About the Role

Firmware is where our product meets the physical world. We’re looking for a Firmware & Embedded Controls Engineer to own the low‑level software that commands Chariot’s power electronics, enforces our safety systems, and keeps the hardware running reliably when it’s deployed in the field. You’ll write code that runs on bare metal and on real‑time operating systems in systems languages like C and Rust, directly controlling significant electrical power flowing through real hardware in austere, resource‑constrained environments where failure isn’t an option.

You will directly shape the firmware architecture that goes into Amphora and future products. Our team comes from Tesla, Anduril, Apple, Archer, and the U.S. military. We build hardware that operators depend on in the field and we hold our firmware to that same standard, because lives depend on it. This is a high‑ownership, high‑impact, hands‑on role for someone who wants to write code that moves real power and see it operate in real conditions.

Key Responsibilities

Power electronics control: Write and tune the firmware that commands inverters, chargers, and battery systems to convert and move electrical energy correctly, safely, and efficiently.

Safety systems: Build the real‑time fault‑detection and protection logic that reacts in milliseconds to protect the hardware and the people operating near it; treat safety as core to the design.

Thermal control: Implement the control logic that keeps power components within safe operating temperatures under load and across environmental extremes.

Data acquisition & telemetry: Collect readings from sensors across the system, and package and export that data so it can be monitored, recorded, and analyzed downstream.

User input & system interaction: Implement how operators command and interact with the system in the field.

Bare‑metal and RTOS development: Architect and deploy firmware across bare‑metal targets and real‑time operating systems, making the right call on timing, determinism, and resource constraints.

Cross‑functional integration: Work shoulder‑to‑shoulder with electrical, power electronics, and hardware engineers, managing the tight coupling between electrical I/O and firmware behavior, and supporting hardware bring‑up and debug on the bench.

What We’re Looking For

• Top‑notch engineering intuition and first‑principles thinking toward designing complex products that function seamlessly for your customer, taking both an engineering/technical and product/customer approach, to strike the optimal balance.
• Able to independently identify critical information or priority gaps and apply effort toward closing those gaps.
• Undaunted by imperfect, incomplete or absent datasets or information, and capable of making sound, comprehensive, and swift first‑principled decisions to achieve a product end‑state that meets and/or exceeds the need of the hour.
• Not satisfied by superficial explanations of a problem or “band‑aid engineering”; seeks persistently to find the specific root cause through data‑driven methods, and resolve failures or recurring issues, so they can be mitigated to prevent future such instances.
• Gratified by helping your peers succeed, building a robust team culture, and propagating deep camaraderie amongst your peers; seeks to break down information silos by collaborating rigorously with others to solve problems, share knowledge, and provide input.

Qualifications

Required:

BS in Electrical/Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or equivalent demonstrated experience.

3+ years writing firmware for hardware that ships and runs in the field.

Hands‑on bare‑metal and RTOS development.

Fluency in C/C++ for resource‑constrained, real‑time targets.

Demonstrated experience bringing up and debugging firmware on real hardware.

Preferred:

Production Rust experience on embedded targets.

Firmware for power electronics, motor control, or battery management.

Experience with safety‑critical or fault‑tolerant systems.

Experience with ISO26262, DO‑178C, or other software functional safety standards.

Embedded comms interfaces (CAN, SPI, I2C, UART).

Role Requirements

• This position is an onsite role based in Chariot Defense’s San Bruno, CA, office.
• Willingness to support 10% travel, domestically and internationally, as well as work extended and weekend hours, when necessary.
• Able to work on your feet for extended periods in a shop setting.
• Able to lift and carry 50lbs.

A reasonable estimate of the current salary range is $130,000-$180,000 annually. Compensation packages also include early‑stage equity and access to company‑sponsored benefit plans.

Individual compensation packages are based on geographic location, scope of the role, relevant experience, and the ability to deal with complexity and problem‑solve within our organization, among other factors.

All employees are required to provide proof of authorization to work in the U.S. within their first 3 days of work. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

Any unsolicited resumes/candidate profiles submitted through our website or to personal email accounts of employees of Chariot Defense are considered property of Chariot Defense and are not subject to payment of agency fees.