Firmware Engineer

MOLG; Sterling (VA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

MOLG is seeking an experienced firmware engineer for its robotics team in Sterling, VA. In this role, you will design, develop, and maintain firmware for robotic platforms. Responsibilities include managing the firmware lifecycle and collaborating with engineers for hardware debugging.

Candidates should have 5+ years in embedded systems, expert knowledge in C/C++, and experience with microcontrollers. The position offers a chance to grow in a fast-paced environment that values innovation and teamwork.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of professional firmware experience, shipping firmware on hardware.
• Expert in C/C++ and familiar with Python for tooling and automation.
• Deep experience with microcontrollers and microprocessors.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop firmware for embedded systems on robotic platforms.
• Maintain drivers for communication protocols for hardware integration.
• Collaborate with engineers for hardware validation and debugging.

Skills

C/C++ programming

Embedded systems

RTOS development

Debugging hardware/software interactions

Microcontrollers (STM32, ESP32)

Tools

Logic analyzers

Oscilloscopes

pytest

Robot Framework

Job description

IN THIS ROLE YOU WILL:

• Design, develop, and maintain firmware for embedded systems across Molg’s robotic platforms — including motor controllers, sensor interfaces, actuators, and custom PCBs.
• Own the full firmware development lifecycle: requirements gathering, architecture design, implementation, testing, and deployment to production hardware.
• Write robust, real-time firmware in C/C++ targeting bare-metal and RTOS-based environments (FreeRTOS, Zephyr, or similar).
• Develop and maintain drivers for communication protocols including CAN, SPI, I2C, UART, RS-485, and Ethernet to support reliable hardware integration.
• Collaborate closely with electrical engineers to bring up new hardware, validate schematics, and debug hardware/firmware interactions at the board level.
• Build and maintain hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) and software-in-the-loop (SIL) test frameworks to validate firmware behavior in automated CI/CD pipelines.
• Partner with robotics and software engineers to define clear firmware/software interfaces and ensure reliable communication between embedded systems and higher-level control stacks.
• Instrument firmware for observability — logging, telemetry, and diagnostics — to support production monitoring and rapid field debugging.
• Contribute to firmware architecture decisions as Molg’s system complexity grows, balancing performance, reliability, and maintainability.
• Participate in design reviews and bring a hardware‑aware perspective to cross‑functional technical discussions.

You’ll have the opportunity to build alongside an incredible team, develop innovative solutions, and grow in a fast‑paced environment that values autonomy and impact.

WHO YOU ARE:

• 5+ years of professional firmware or embedded systems engineering experience, with a track record of shipping firmware on real hardware.
• Expert‑level proficiency in C and C++; experience with Python for tooling, test automation, or scripting is a strong plus.
• Deep experience with microcontrollers and microprocessors (STM32, ESP32, NXP, TI, or similar); comfortable working with datasheets and reference manuals as primary sources of truth.
• Hands‑on experience with RTOS development — task scheduling, interrupt handling, memory management, and real‑time constraints.
• Solid understanding of common embedded communication protocols (CAN, SPI, I2C, UART, Ethernet) and how to debug them with logic analyzers and oscilloscopes.
• Comfortable reading schematics and working directly with hardware — you enjoy getting to the root of hardware/software interaction issues.
• Experience writing automated firmware tests, ideally in HIL or SIL environments; familiarity with pytest, Robot Framework, or similar testing tools is a plus.
• Strong debugging skills — you can navigate a system from application layer down to the register level when needed.
• Excellent communicator with a bias toward documentation and clean, maintainable code.
• Ability to work in‑person at Molg HQ in Sterling, VA.