Firmware Engineer, RTOS, Consumer Devices

OpenAI; California (MO); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model

Relocation assistance

Job summary

OpenAI is seeking a Firmware Engineer to design, implement, and debug software for embedded devices. You’ll own low-level bring-up, write production C/C++ code, and partner with hardware teams to deliver high‑performance systems.

We value deep embedded expertise, strong debugging skills, and a passion for robust software under real‑world constraints. This role is based in San Francisco with a four‑day in‑office hybrid schedule and relocation assistance.

Qualifications

• Have deep experience shipping embedded systems (around 10+ years).
• Are proficient in C and C++.
• Are familiar with embedded toolchains, operating systems, and debugging tools.
• Have experience with both rapid prototyping and scalable product development.
• (Nice to have) Zephyr RTOS experience.
• (Nice to have) Networking/wireless stacks (BLE, Wi‑Fi).
• (Nice to have) Linux kernel development.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and debug software for embedded devices.
• Contribute to defining software requirements, interfaces, and test plans.
• Bring up and debug new boards.
• Analyze performance, memory, and power profiles and implement optimizations.
• Investigate field issues, perform root-cause analysis, and deliver robust fixes.
• Foster good software engineering practices.

Skills

C/C++

Embedded systems

Debugging

Embedded toolchains

Operating systems

Tools

Zephyr RTOS

Linux kernel development

Job description

About the Team

The Software Engineering Firmware team builds reliable, high-performance systems on custom hardware. We work closely with hardware engineers to design, optimize, and ship software that bridges cutting-edge devices and real-world constraints like memory, power, and latency. Our work spans early prototyping through product launch, ensuring that our embedded platforms are robust, efficient, and production-ready.

About the Role

As a Firmware Engineer, you will design, implement, and debug software for embedded devices. You’ll own low-level bring-up, write production C/C++ code, and partner closely with hardware teams to deliver reliable, high-performance systems.

We’re looking for engineers with deep embedded expertise, strong debugging skills, and a passion for building systems that perform under real-world conditions.

This role is based in San Francisco, CA. We use a hybrid work model of four days in the office per week and offer relocation assistance to new employees.

In this role, you will:

• Design, implement, and debug software for embedded devices.

• Contribute to defining software requirements, interfaces, and test plans.

• Bring up and debug new boards.

• Analyze performance, memory, and power profiles and implement optimizations.

• Investigate field issues, perform root-cause analysis, and deliver robust fixes.

• Foster good software engineering practices.

You might thrive in this role if you:

• Have deep experience shipping embedded systems (around 10+ years).

• Are proficient in C and C++.

• Are familiar with embedded toolchains, operating systems, and debugging tools.

• Have experience with both rapid prototyping and scalable product development.

• (Nice to have) Have experience with Zephyr RTOS.

• (Nice to have) Have worked with networking/wireless stacks (BLE, Wi‑Fi).

• (Nice to have) Have experience with Linux kernel development.

About OpenAI

OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company dedicated to ensuring that general‑purpose artificial intelligence benefits all of humanity. We push the boundaries of the capabilities of AI systems and seek to safely deploy them to the world through our products. AI is an extremely powerful tool that must be created with safety and human needs at its core, and to achieve our mission, we must encompass and value the many different perspectives, voices, and experiences that form the full spectrum of humanity.

We are an equal opportunity employer, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability, genetic information, or other applicable legally protected characteristic.

For additional information, please see OpenAI’s Affi…

Background checks for applicants will be administered in accordance with applicable law, and qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment consistent with those laws, including the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and the California Fair Chance Act, for US‑based candidates. For unincorporated Los Angeles County workers: we reasonably believe that criminal history may have a direct, adverse and negative relationship with the following job duties, potentially resulting in the withdrawal of a conditional offer of employment: protect computer hardware entrusted to you from theft, loss or damage; return all computer hardware in your possession (including the data contained therein) upon termination of employment or end of assignment; and maintain the confidentiality of proprietary, confidential, and non‑public information. In addition, job duties require access to secure and protected information technology systems and related data security obligations.

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