Flight Firmware Engineer

Matter Intelligence; El Segundo (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 165,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Early-stage equity

Employer-paid health coverage

Dental coverage

Vision coverage

Job summary

Matter Intelligence in El Segundo, CA is seeking a Flight Firmware Engineer to develop low-level software connecting our sensing hardware to reliable airborne and spaceborne operations.

You will collaborate with payload electronics, flight software, systems, test, and operations through bring-up, integration, qualification, and flight activities to ensure robust firmware for mission-critical missions.

Qualifications

• Experience developing and debugging embedded software close to hardware.
• Strong understanding of processors, peripherals, timing, and real-time behavior.
• Hands-on board bring-up, lab debugging, automated testing, and version-controlled software development.
• Ability to work across firmware, electronics, flight software, systems engineering, and test disciplines.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain embedded firmware, device drivers, and hardware-control interfaces for sensing payload electronics.
• Support board bring-up, peripheral integration, command and telemetry paths, timing, and fault handling.
• Translate system and hardware requirements into testable firmware behavior and clear interfaces with flight software.
• Build unit, integration, and hardware-in-the-loop tests and support environmental and flight qualification activities.
• Diagnose issues using logs, instrumentation, and test data; document root causes and implement reliable corrective actions.

Skills

Embedded software

Hardware-near firmware

Board bring-up

Real-time systems

C/C++ programming

Debugging & testing

Flight software coordination

Job description

About Matter Intelligence

Welcome to Matter, where we are building the future of vision AI: pairing a world-first sensor that sees molecular chemistry, temperature, and 3D shape with a Large World Model that will be the most powerful intelligence engine for the physical world. This system doesn't just see what something looks like; it understands everything from a single pixel. We call this Superintelligent Vision.

Our team has delivered technologies to Mars for NASA/JPL, designed advanced sensors for U.S. Defense, and frontier artificial intelligence systems. We are now building the next generation of space- and airborne-based sensing systems.

About the Role

Matter is hiring a Flight Firmware Engineer to develop the low-level software that connects our sensing hardware to reliable airborne and spaceborne operations. This role will work closely with payload electronics, flight software, systems, test, and operations through board bring-up, integration, qualification, and flight.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain embedded firmware, device drivers, and hardware-control interfaces for sensing payload electronics.

• Support board bring-up, peripheral integration, command and telemetry paths, timing, and fault handling.

• Translate system and hardware requirements into testable firmware behavior and clear interfaces with flight software.

• Build unit, integration, and hardware-in-the-loop tests and support environmental and flight qualification activities.

• Diagnose issues using logs, instrumentation, and test data; document root causes and implement reliable corrective actions.

Qualifications

Required

• Experience developing and debugging embedded software close to hardware.

• Strong understanding of processors, peripherals, communication interfaces, timing, memory, and real-time behavior.

• Hands‑on experience with board bring-up, laboratory debugging, automated testing, and version‑controlled software development.

• Ability to work across firmware, electronics, flight software, systems engineering, and test disciplines.

Preferred

• Experience with aerospace, avionics, robotics, sensing, or other mission‑critical embedded systems.

• Experience with real‑time operating environments, programmable logic interfaces, or high‑throughput sensor data paths.

• Familiarity with environmental qualification, fault‑tolerant design, and flight anomaly response.

What Success Looks Like

• Firmware provides stable, observable control of payload hardware through integration and qualification.

• Interfaces with electronics and flight software are documented, tested, and resilient to expected faults.

• Hardware issues are diagnosed quickly and firmware releases are traceable and ready for flight operations.

Location

This role is based in El Segundo, CA, and requires onsite work.

ITAR Requirements

To comply with U.S. export regulations, applicants must be one of the following:

• A U.S. citizen or national

• A lawful permanent resident (green card holder)

• Eligible to obtain required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State

Employee Offerings and Benefits

At Matter, we believe in rewarding high performance and providing the support you need to thrive. Our compensation and benefits package includes:

• Competitive compensation based on experience

• Early‑stage equity package

• 100% employer‑paid health, dental, and vision coverage

• Opportunity to work on novel sensing, data, and AI systems with real‑world deployment paths to the largest industries in the world

Matter Intelligence is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome candidates from all backgrounds who can raise the ambition and performance of the team.