Principal Embedded Systems Software Engineer

HP; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 147,000 - 231,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Disability insurance

Employee assistance program

Flexible spending account

Life insurance

Generous time off policies

Job summary

HP is seeking a Principal Embedded Systems Software Engineer to lead embedded software, firmware, and driver development for HP commercial PCs. You will direct cross-team collaboration, design reusable architectures, and guide technical decisions throughout the product lifecycle.

The role emphasizes secure, scalable embedded solutions and active contribution to design specifications, documentation, and best practices across hardware, software, and silicon teams in a fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in a relevant field; typically 12+ years of progressive embedded software experience.
• Experience leading complex embedded software, firmware, and driver development across product lifecycles.

Responsibilities

• Lead design, development, integration, and validation of embedded software and firmware for products.
• Translate requirements into software interfaces and implementation plans.
• Make technical decisions balancing performance, power, memory, security, and maintainability.
• Collaborate across hardware, firmware, software, OS, silicon, and supplier teams to deliver integrated solutions.
• Contribute to roadmaps by evaluating technologies and practical solutions.
• Develop reusable components, frameworks, and engineering practices to speed delivery.

Skills

C/C++

Python

ARM/SoC

RTOS

Embedded debugging

Git

System design

Security

Interoperability

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or related field

Tools

JTAG

SWD

Trace tools

C/C++ tooling

Job description

The Principal Embedded Systems Software Engineer provides technical leadership for advanced embedded solutions across HP commercial PC platforms. This role designs, implements, integrates, and optimizes embedded software, firmware, and device drivers while guiding technical decisions within assigned products and programs. The engineer resolves complex issues and collaborates with hardware, software, silicon, supplier, and external development teams throughout the product lifecycle. The role contributes to reusable architectures, engineering standards, and product roadmaps and develops design specifications, technical documentation, guidance, and best practices. The engineer evaluates emerging technologies and industry trends to help ensure that HP's embedded solutions remain scalable, secure, differentiated, and aligned with product and customer needs.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design, development, integration, and validation of embedded software and firmware for assigned products and programs.
• Translate system, customer, security, and platform requirements into clear software designs, interfaces, and implementation plans.
• Make sound technical decisions for complex problems by balancing performance, power, memory, security, reliability, cost, schedule, and maintainability.
• Collaborate across hardware, firmware, software, operating-system, silicon, security, manufacturing, supplier, and external development teams to deliver integrated solutions.
• Contribute to product and platform roadmaps by evaluating technologies, identifying opportunities, and recommending practical solutions.
• Develop reusable software components, frameworks, tools, and engineering practices that improve delivery speed, quality, and maintainability.
• Lead design and code reviews, identify technical risks and dependencies, and drive mitigation plans for assigned areas.
• Diagnose and resolve complex cross-layer issues involving firmware, hardware, performance, power, security, reliability, and interoperability.
• Serve as a technical resource for embedded systems and communicate recommendations clearly to engineering, product, and program stakeholders.
• Work with silicon providers, suppliers, and development partners to resolve technical issues and meet product commitments.
• Create and maintain architecture specifications, design documentation, decision records, development guidance, and technical manuals.
• Mentor less-experienced engineers, share technical knowledge, and promote disciplined engineering and problem-solving practices within the team.

Education & Experience Recommended

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related field.
• Typically 12 years of progressive experience in embedded software, firmware, device-driver development, or a related discipline, including experience leading technically complex product deliverables.

Preferred Certifications Embedded Software Engineering

• Strong experience designing and delivering structured embedded systems in bare-metal and RTOS environments.
• Experience developing modular, reusable, and scalable firmware architectures across products or subsystems.
• Experience developing secure, low-footprint, decentralized peer-to-peer systems; familiarity with emerging architectures is preferred.
• Strong knowledge of control-system design, performance optimization, and power- and resource-constrained systems.
• Experience designing fault-tolerant, resilient, and high-availability systems.
• Experience applying CI/CD, automated validation, code-quality, and release practices to embedded-system development.

Connectivity and Interoperability

• Experience developing embedded security solutions, including secure boot, cryptography, identity, security protocols, device onboarding, and lifecycle protection.
• Experience developing and integrating wireless protocol stacks; knowledge of multiple wireless technologies is preferred.
• Strong knowledge of device connectivity, interoperability, coexistence, provisioning, and manageability protocols.
• In-depth knowledge of hardware communication protocols and published specifications, with the ability to define interfaces and apply standards to new system designs.
• Demonstrated ability to resolve system-level interoperability issues spanning devices, operating systems, networks, cloud services, and partner ecosystems.

Knowledge & Skills

• Advanced embedded firmware development on Arm-based processors and SoC or MCU platforms.
• Advanced proficiency in C, with working knowledge of C++, Python, batch scripting, and command-line shells.
• Strong system-design and technical-decision skills, including the ability to evaluate tradeoffs across performance, power, memory, cost, security, reliability, and schedule.
• Experience with Git-based source control, code reviews, branching strategies, and collaborative development.
• Strong knowledge of bare-metal systems, bootloader architectures, RTOS concepts, concurrency, and multithreaded firmware development.
• Advanced embedded debugging using JTAG, SWD, trace tools, crash analysis, and system-level instrumentation.
• Experience with UART, I²C, SPI, and other hardware communication protocols.
• Ability to use logic analyzers, protocol analyzers, oscilloscopes, and related laboratory equipment to isolate complex cross-layer issues.
• Strong knowledge of analog and digital electronics, including the ability to review schematics and collaborate on hardware design decisions.
• Ability to interpret technical specifications and datasheets and translate them into robust, production-ready firmware solutions.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to influence technical and business stakeholders through expertise and collaboration.

Benefits

• Health insurance
• Dental insurance
• Vision insurance
• Long term/short term disability insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Flexible spending account
• Life insurance
• Generous time off policies, including; 4-12 weeks fully paid parental leave based on tenure
• 11 paid holidays
• Additional flexible paid vacation and sick leave (US benefits overview)

The pay range for this role is $147,050 to $230,850 USD annually with additional opportunities for pay in the form of bonus and/or equity (applies to United States of America candidates only). Pay varies by work location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.

Job - Software Schedule - Full time Shift - No shift premium (United States of America) Travel - Relocation - Equal Opportunity Employer (EEO) - HP, Inc. provides equal employment opportunity to all employees and prospective employees, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, sexual orientation, age, disability, or status as a protected veteran, marital status, familial status, physical or mental disability, medical condition, pregnancy, genetic predisposition or carrier status, uniformed service status, political affiliation or any other characteristic protected by applicable national, federal, state, and local law(s). Please be assured that you will not be subject to any adverse treatment if you choose to disclose the information requested. This information is provided voluntarily. The information obtained will be kept in strict confidence. For more information, review HP's EEO Policy or read about your rights as an applicant under the law here: "Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal".

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