Manager, Firmware

1st Avenue Power; Mountain View (CA); On-site; USD 185,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive Compensation Package

Health Insurance

401(k) with company match

Job summary

1st Avenue Power is seeking a power electronics firmware leader to optimize renewable systems, control, firmware, and software for a sustainable future.

You will manage firmware for PV inverters, energy storage, and system communication, guiding a team of engineers through design reviews, DFMEA, and validation. Expect collaboration across electrical, mechanical, and controls teams while delivering low-latency C firmware and robust system software.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of professional firmware development experience, including leading a team.
• BS in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or equivalent.
• Expertise in developing firmware for Power Electronics applications.
• Experience with embedded systems and communication protocols and their drivers.

Responsibilities

• Manage a firmware/software team to develop and validate product firmware.
• Hire, train, mentor, and manage a team of development and validation engineers.
• Lead your team to build advanced simulation and validation capabilities.
• Develop and debug low-level real-time and low-latency firmware in C.

Skills

Firmware leadership

Power electronics

C programming

Embedded systems

Team management

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

BS in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or equivalent

Tools

Python

Shell scripting

Typhoon HIL

Job description

1AP is looking for an amazing power electronics firmware leader who is passionate about optimizing power electronics in renewable systems, control, firmware, and software to drive the world’s transition to a sustainable future.

The Impact You’ll Make:

You will be involved in the firmware design and implementation for renewable energy products such as photovoltaic (PV) inverters, energy storage systems, and system communication.

Key Responsibilities:

• Manage a firmware/software team to develop and validate product firmware.
• Hire, train, mentor, and manage a team of highly skilled development and validation engineers.
• Manage team development schedules and resources.
• Support design reviews and DFMEA activities.
• Lead your team to build advanced simulation and validation capabilities.
• Work with cross-functional stakeholders to define and develop internally and externally requested features
• Develop and debug low-level real-time and low-latency firmware in C.
• Board bring-up, debug, test, and code optimization.
• Ability for software integration and troubleshooting.
• Implement control algorithms for power electronics products.
• Design and implement protocols for system communications of new products.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams (electrical, mechanical, controls).
• Write software specifications and design documents.
• Generate and maintain accurate project schedules and timelines.

The Skills You Bring:

• 7+ years of professional firmware development experience, including leading a team
• BS in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or equivalent
• Expertise in developing firmware for Power Electronics applications
• Familiar with basics of Power Electronics
• Develop, and debug low-level real-time and low-latency firmware in C and software fundamentals
• Experience with the embedded systems and communication protocols and their drivers Implement control algorithms for power electronics products
• Ability to debug complex system-level issues and drive solutions

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced experience with scripting language (Python, shell)
• Familiarity with ARM Cortex microprocessor cores
• Familiar with Typhoon HIL
• Familiarity with AI/machine learning

Benefits and Perks:

• Competitive Compensation Package
• Health Insurance: We offer 100% coverage of employee premiums under a Gold-level PPO plan. Dental & Vision Insurance: 50% of employee premiums are covered.
• Retirement Plan: A 401(k) plan with a 6% employer match.

Minimum salary of $185,000 to maximum salary of $260,000 + equity + benefits.

The range provided is 1AP’s reasonable estimate of the base compensation for this role. The actual amount will be based on job-related and non-discriminatory factors such as location, experience, training, skills, and abilities. Consult with your Recruiter during the initial call to determine a more targeted range based on these job-related factors.

About 1st Avenue Power:

At 1st Avenue Power, we are on a mission to deliver simple, fast-to-deploy, customer-centric and intelligent power systems leveraging the abundance of solar to provide inexpensive and reliable clean energy to global customers from data centers to energy starved communities around the world. We envision a future where every community, business, and nation thrives on the limitless potential of clean energy, united in a shared commitment to a sustainable and equitable world.

You will be working with Dr. Tom Buttgenbach, one of the most successful clean energy technology innovators and entrepreneurs who has been a driving force in making solar-based energy solutions the cheapest and most reliable energy option. Tom founded and led Avantus (formerly known as “8minute Solar Energy“), to become one of the largest and most profitable solar and energy storage companies in the United States and the largest in California, including delivering over 17% of Los Angeles’ power.

When Tom sold his interest in Avantus’ development business to KKR in mid-2024, it had delivered over $1 billion in profit and secured over $10 Billion in power purchase agreements and project financings with a pipeline of over 30 GW of solar and 90 GWh of energy storage, capable of powering the homes of more than 20 million Americans day and night.

Tom’s family office investment firm, 1st Avenue Capital, is building teams for the next generation of advanced solar power system architecture and AI to aggressively drive down the cost of and equitable access to clean and reliable energy.[1] 1st Avenue’s advanced large scale power systems are addressing the increasing inadequacy of the grid to meet the massively growing power demands of the digital economy, while its intelligent distributed solar utilities are leapfrogging the grid to provide equitable access to inexpensive, clean and reliable power to underserved communities around the world.

1AI Energy, the employing entity for 1st Avenue Power, and 1st Avenue Power are committed to a policy of Equal Employment Opportunity and will not discriminate against an applicant or employee based on race (inclusive of traits associated with race, including hair texture and protective hairstyles), color, religion, religious creed, national origin, ancestry, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding), age, veteran or military status, marital status, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, reproductive decision-making, or any other legally recognized protected class under federal, state, or local law. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements.. Applicants with disabilities may be entitled to reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), and local laws. A reasonable accommodation is a change in the way things are normally done which will ensure an equal employment opportunity without imposing undue hardship on 1AI Energy or 1st Avenue Power. Please inform the company's personnel representative if you need assistance completing an application or to otherwise participate in the application process.

Join our team and make a real difference in the world.

[1: Additionally, 1st Avenue is in the business of acquiring projects where there has been a final notice-to-proceed or financial close.]

California Pay Range: $185,000 USD - $260,000 USD