Senior Real-Time Embedded Firmware Engineer

antares; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Antares seeks a Senior Firmware Engineer to develop embedded software that enables our microreactor hardware to operate reliably in real time. You will bridge custom electronics and reactor control infrastructure, translating sensor signals, device commands, timing, diagnostics, and fault responses into dependable hardware behavior.

You will design firmware for embedded controllers, instrumentation electronics, data acquisition, and test hardware, defining how reactor hardware is initialized,

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, or a related technical field.
• Five years or more of experience developing production software in C, C++, Python, Rust, or similar languages for hardware-integrated, distributed, embedded, robotics, aerospace, automotive, industrial, or mission-critical systems.
• Experience building multi-threaded or multi-process software systems, including IPC, networking, message passing, or publish/subscribe architectures.
• Experience integrating software with sensors, controllers, DAQs, power supplies, embedded systems, or other hardware-facing interfaces.
• Strong debugging skills across software, hardware, and system-integration boundaries.
• Ability to design clear software interfaces, data models, state machines, and testable system behaviors.
• Comfortable with evolving requirements during prototype bring-up and cross-functional design.
• Strong written and verbal communication across software, electrical, controls, test, and systems engineering teams.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, test, and maintain firmware for reactor instrumentation, control, monitoring, and electrical support systems.
• Develop embedded software in C/C++ for microcontrollers, embedded processors, and real-time hardware platforms.
• Bring up new hardware, debug board-level issues, and validate firmware behavior using lab equipment.
• Implement communication interfaces such as SPI, I2C, UART, CAN, Ethernet, RS-485.
• Develop firmware for sensor acquisition, actuator control, telemetry, diagnostics, fault detection, and system health monitoring.
• Collaborate with electrical engineers on schematics, board design reviews, signal integrity, and hardware/software requirements.
• Participate in design reviews to ensure firmware is sound, testable, and traceable.
• Support hardware-in-the-loop and automatic test frameworks, data acquisition, and integration campaigns.
• Develop firmware test plans, verification procedures, and configuration-controlled release documentation.
• Analyze failure modes, define safe states, and implement fault-handling logic for embedded systems.
• Drive root-cause investigations for firmware, electrical, and integration issues.

Skills

C/C++

Python

Rust

Multi-threaded software

IPC/Networking

Embedded systems

Sensors/Actuators

Hardware interfaces

Debugging

Software design

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/CE/Software Eng

Tools

Oscilloscopes

Logic analyzers

Lab equipment

Job description

Antares seeks a Senior Firmware Engineer to develop embedded software that enables our microreactor hardware to operate reliably in real time. You will bridge custom electronics and reactor control infrastructure, translating sensor signals, device commands, timing, diagnostics, and fault responses into dependable hardware behavior.

You will design firmware for embedded controllers, instrumentation electronics, data acquisition, and test hardware, defining how reactor hardware is initialized,