Senior Platform Firmware Engineer

Cowboy Space Corp.; San Carlos (CA); On-site; USD 170,000 - 235,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Health insurance

401(k)

Paid time off

Paid holidays

Parental leave

Relocation aid

Office lunch

Job summary

Cowboy Space Corp. is seeking an embedded systems engineer at the boundary between hardware and software in San Carlos, CA.

You will work across platform firmware, FPGA logic, board bring-up, system management, and autonomous recovery to ensure reliable operation from first power-on through orbital deployment. Collaborate with hardware, validation, thermal, and systems teams during bring-up and deployment; develop fault recovery, secure boot, and telemetry interfaces to support space-based

Qualifications

• Hands-on experience in embedded systems, platform firmware, BMC development, or hardware bring-up engineering.
• Strong proficiency in C/C++ and Python.
• Deep understanding of platform initialization and boot architectures.
• Strong familiarity with hardware communication interfaces including I2C, SPI, UART, GPIO, and JTAG.
• Experience debugging hardware/software interactions at board and system level.
• Familiarity with FPGA or CPLD development workflows using Xilinx or Altera platforms.
• Strong systems-level debugging and problem-solving skills.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain platform firmware and board management infrastructure for advanced compute systems.
• Own system bring-up and low-level boot sequencing for custom hardware platforms.
• Design and implement FPGA/CPLD logic for power sequencing, reset orchestration, watchdog functionality, and telemetry.
• Develop and customize BMC firmware and management stacks using OpenBMC and related technologies.
• Implement and maintain platform management interfaces including Redfish and/or IPMI.
• Debug complex hardware/firmware interactions across CPUs, GPUs, PCIe fabrics, and networking devices.
• Collaborate closely with hardware, validation, thermal, and systems teams during bring-up and deployment.
• Develop fault recovery and autonomous reboot for remote orbital systems.
• Support secure boot, firmware update, and system attestation architectures.

Skills

C/C++

Python

Embedded systems

Platform firmware

BMC development

Hardware bring-up

Boot architectures

I2C/SPI/UART/GPIO/JTAG

Tools

Xilinx

Altera

OpenBMC

Job description

About Cowboy Space Corp:

Mission
Cowboy Space Corporation is solving the global energy crisis by building the infrastructure for abundant, resilient space-based solar energy. We are tackling one of humanity’s most complex engineering challenges with a world-class team dedicated to delivering a revolutionary power platform. Cowboy Space Corporation is transforming how civilization powers, computes and connects - from orbit to Earth.

Background
Cowboy Space Corporation is building the infrastructure to power and connect the orbital economy. Our modular, scalable satellites collect sunlight in Low Earth Orbit to enable multiple integrated applications: transmitting energy via infrared lasers (space-to-earth and space-to-space), powering on-orbit high-performance computing clusters (GPU/TPU), and providing secure, high bandwidth optical data transport.

Current energy and data systems rely on complex logistics and outdated infrastructure. Cowboy Space Corporation overcomes these challenges by enabling direct, on-demand, secure, and scalable energy distribution and data processing from space. This will revolutionize how we operate in orbit and on Earth, supporting the rapidly expanding space industrial base, ISAM (In-Space Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing) operations, remote regions, and military bases.

Baiju Bhatt founded Cowboy Space Corporation in 2024. Inspired by his father’s work with NASA Langley Research Center, Baiju earned his B.S. in Physics and M.S. in Mathematics at Stanford before co-founding Robinhood, now a public company that has helped over 20 million Americans access the financial system. Cowboy Space Corporation has raised ~$365 million from Index Ventures, Interlagos, Construct Ventures, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, NEA, and others.

This is an ambitious mission that demands extraordinary talent. Cowboy Space Corporation’s team has worked at places like SpaceX, Blue Origin, Stoke Space, Astranis and NASA, and is based in San Carlos, CA. If you're ready to solve complex technical challenges and help build the most important energy company in the world, we want to hear from you.

The Role

This role sits at the boundary between hardware and software. You will work across platform firmware, FPGA logic, board bring-up, system management, and autonomous recovery systems to ensure reliable operation from first power-on through orbital deployment.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain platform firmware and board management infrastructure for advanced compute systems.

• Own system bring-up and low-level boot sequencing for custom hardware platforms.

• Design and implement FPGA/CPLD logic for power sequencing, reset orchestration, watchdog functionality, and telemetry.

• Develop and customize BMC firmware and management stacks using OpenBMC and related technologies.

• Implement and maintain platform management interfaces including Redfish and/or IPMI.

• Debug complex hardware/firmware interactions across CPUs, GPUs, PCIe fabrics, and networking devices.

• Collaborate closely with hardware, validation, thermal, and systems teams during bring-up and deployment.

• Develop fault recovery and autonomous reboot for remote orbital systems.

• Support secure boot, firmware update, and system attestation architectures.

Qualifications

• Hands-on experience in embedded systems, platform firmware, BMC development, or hardware bring-up engineering.

• Strong proficiency in C/C++ and Python.

• Deep understanding of platform initialization and boot architectures.

• Strong familiarity with hardware communication interfaces including I2C, SPI, UART, GPIO, and JTAG.

• Experience debugging hardware/software interactions at board and system level.

• Familiarity with FPGA or CPLD development workflows using Xilinx or Altera platforms.

• Strong systems-level debugging and problem-solving skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with server platforms, AI infrastructure, or high-performance compute systems.

• Familiarity with PCIe initialization and accelerator bring-up.

• Experience with remote management and fleet-scale telemetry systems.

• Knowledge of secure boot, attestation, and firmware security architectures.

• Familiarity with radiation-tolerant or fault-resilient system design.

Why This Role Is Different

• Own critical hardware systems, not just a small component

• Fast iteration cycles with direct path from design to hardware testing

• Work closely across disciplines in a tightly integrated team

• High autonomy and ownership with real impact on the spacecraft

• Opportunity to help define hardware systems for a new class of space infrastructure

Compensation and Benefits

The salary range for this position is $170,000 – $235,000 annually. The actual base salary offered will depend on factors such as job-related skills, experience, qualifications, and internal equity.

• Equity in Cowboy Space Corp.

• Employees and their eligible dependents may enroll in medical, dental, and vision insurance

• 401(k) retirement savings plan

• Paid time off

• 10 paid holidays per calendar year

• Paid parental leave

• Relocation assistance if applicable

• Daily lunch in the office and a fully stocked kitchen with beverages and snacks

ITAR Requirements

• Export Control Requirement: To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), applicants must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about ITAR here.

This job description is a summary of the primary duties and responsibilities of the job and position. It is not intended to be a comprehensive or all-inclusive listing of duties and responsibilities. Contents are subject to change at Cowboy Space Corp.’s discretion.

Cowboy Space Corp. is an equal employment opportunity employer. We consider individuals for employment or promotion according to their skills, abilities and experience. Cowboy Space Corp. is committed to complying with all applicable laws prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, religious creed, age, national origin, ancestry, physical, mental or developmental disability, sex (which includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and medical conditions relating to pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding), veteran status, military status, marital or registered domestic partnership status, medical condition (including cancer or genetic characteristics), genetic information, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, as well as any other category protected by federal, state or local laws.