Lead Firmware Architect - Power Conversion Control Equity

Proper Voltage; United States; On-site; USD 165,000 - 205,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity options

Healthcare benefits

Paid time off

Job summary

Proper Voltage is seeking an experienced embedded firmware engineer to own the real-time control software for our bidirectional DC/DC power converters. You will derive plant models, implement fixed-point controllers, and validate loop performance on hardware.

You will maintain a portable DC/DC control library, specify verification evidence for UL certifications, and collaborate with hardware teams to ensure robust protection paths and deterministic timing.

Qualifications

• Six or more years developing production embedded firmware in C for resource-constrained real-time systems.
• Direct, hands-on experience closing control loops in firmware on switched-mode power converters.
• Working command of discrete-time control and effects of sampling on phase margin.
• Fluency with high-resolution PWM, ADCs, DACs, and related peripherals.
• Fixed-point arithmetic and deterministic ISR design under timing constraints.
• Independent lab capability with oscilloscopes and loop-gain measurement equipment.
• Version control, code review, and writing specifications/test evidence.

Responsibilities

• Derive small-signal plant models for buck/boost/four-switch buck-boost topologies and design discrete-time compensators.
• Implement control loops in C with fixed budgets and proper saturation/anti-windup.
• Architect and maintain the control ISR and scheduler with deterministic timing.
• Configure PWM/ADC/DAC trigger architecture with proper timing and noise handling.
• Implement mode arbitration and transition logic for various operation modes.
• Bring up new converter hardware and perform envelope characterization.
• Measure loop gain and stability, and verify test evidence against specifications.
• Review code and contribute to hardware design reviews of sense chains and protection paths.

Skills

Embedded firmware

Power converter control

Discrete-time control

Fixed-point maths

Deterministic ISR

Lab measurement

Software engineering

Version control

Education

Bachelor's in Electrical Engineering

Tools

dsPIC tooling

MPLAB X / XC16

CAN/CANopen

Job description

Proper Voltage is seeking an experienced embedded firmware engineer to own the real-time control software for our bidirectional DC/DC power converters. You will derive plant models, implement fixed-point controllers, and validate loop performance on hardware.

You will maintain a portable DC/DC control library, specify verification evidence for UL certifications, and collaborate with hardware teams to ensure robust protection paths and deterministic timing.