Mid-level to Sr. Firmware / Embedded Software Engineer - Delivery Drones

Skyrocket Ventures; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 340,000; Full time

Job summary

Skyrocket Ventures in San Francisco is seeking a mid-level to senior Firmware/Embedded Engineer to develop low-level firmware for ARM Cortex-M based drones and platforms. You will own bring-up, debugging, and integration across hardware and software teams.

Join a small, fast-moving hardware lab within a larger public company, with hands-on responsibility for safety-critical, high-quality firmware and systems across the full development cycle. U.S. work authorization required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or similar.
• At least 2 years of hands-on embedded systems development.
• Expertise with ARM microcontrollers and bare-metal programming.
• Proficiency in C and C++ for embedded targets and firmware design.

Responsibilities

• Develop and bring-up ARM-based microcontroller platforms for robotics products.
• Design and validate firmware for motion control, sensors, and power management.
• Hands-on board bring-up, debugging, and cross-disciplinary collaboration.
• Firmware bring-up for new embedded platforms (ARM Cortex-M).
• Maintain bare-metal and RTOS applications for subsystems (motor control, telemetry).
• Write robust C/C++ code and collaborate with hardware engineers.
• Lead system bring-up, validation, and debugging.
• Contribute to firmware safety, reliability, and system robustness.

Skills

ARM Cortex-M

Bare-metal programming

C/C++

Embedded debugging

System ownership

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical/Computer Engineering

Tools

FreeRTOS

Zephyr

Embedded Linux

CAN bus

Job description

Mid-level to Sr. Firmware / Embedded Software Engineer - Delivery Drones

San Francisco, CA (you can work from home up to 2x/week)

The team builds small, lightweight autonomous delivery drones with safety-first hardware designed to operate around people and everyday urban infrastructure. The work has a positive impact on the sustainability, access, and cost of everyday necessities.

You would be joining an elite group of about 60 people and 20 engineers inside a much larger public company. This org operates as a small, fast-moving hardware innovation lab: minimal bureaucracy, real build/test cycles, and ownership of systems that ship and operate at a very large scale.

The company has a compensation range based on experience, with salary of $180k-$340k, plus RSUs translating into total first year compensation of $300k-800k.

Job Responsibilities:

• Development and bring-up of ARM-based microcontroller platforms across our robotics products. This is a high-ownership role, directly responsible for building the low-level firmware that powers our platforms
• Designing, implementing, and validating firmware for motion control, sensor integration, communications, power management, and safety-critical functionality.
• This role comes with a strong expectation of hands‑on board bring‑up, low‑level debugging, and cross‑disciplinary collaboration with electrical and systems engineers.
• Firmware bring-up and integration for new embedded platforms (e.g. ARM Cortex-M series).
• Developing and maintaining bare‑metal firmware and RTOS‑based applications for robotic subsystems (motor control, sensors, telemetry, power systems).
• Writing and maintaining robust, maintainable, and well‑documented C/C++ code for embedded targets.
• Collaborating with the electrical engineering team on hardware bring‑up, schematic review, and system integration.
• Leading system bringup, validation, and debug
• Contributing to firmware safety, reliability, and system‑level robustness.

Qualifications:

• A Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or similar.
• At least 2 years of hands‑on experience in embedded systems development.
• Expertise in bare‑metal programming on ARM microcontrollers.
• Expertise with C, and proficiency with C++ for embedded targets and firmware design patterns.
• Experience with hardware bring‑up and low‑level debugging on custom boards.
• Understanding of digital electronics, buses (I2C, SPI, UART, CAN), and embedded peripherals.
• Strong system‑level thinking, with an ability to work independently and take ownership across the full development cycle.

Nice to have:

• Experience with RTOS (e.g., FreeRTOS, Zephyr) or Embedded Linux on constrained systems.
• Familiarity with motor control, power systems, or battery management in robotics or automotive contexts.
• Experience working closely with hardware teams, reading schematics, and performing board‑level debug.
• Familiarity with safety‑critical systems, watchdogs, and fault handling.
• Comfortable working in fast‑paced, high‑ownership engineering environments like those found in startups or advanced R&D teams.

About Skyrocket Ventures

This opportunity is with one of our client companies for a full-time permanent hire. Please only apply if you are authorized to work in the U.S.