Sr. Embedded Firmware Engineer Contractor

Cohu, Inc.; San Diego (CA); Hybrid; USD 103,000 - 117,000; Full time

Job summary

Cohu, Inc. is seeking an experienced Embedded Firmware Engineer Contractor in San Diego to develop firmware for a high‑performance multichannel thermal control system based on STM32H7. You will acquire temperature data, run multiple PID loops, and communicate via Ethernet.

The role requires hands-on firmware work and lab troubleshooting, with responsibilities spanning bring-up, validation, and optimization of the firmware architecture for production reliability.

Qualifications

• BS or MS in EE/CE with relevant embedded firmware experience.
• 7+ years (BS) or 4+ years (MS) in embedded firmware development.
• Strong C programming skills and STM32H7 experience.
• Experience with PID or similar control algorithms and hardware bring-up.

Responsibilities

• Develop bare-metal firmware for STM32H7 thermal control platform.
• Implement and tune multiple PID control loops; multichannel support.
• Support hardware bring-up, validation, and system testing.
• Debug peripherals (ADC, I2C, PWM, Ethernet, GPIO) and collaborate with hardware engineers.

Skills

Embedded firmware

C programming

STM32H7

PID control

Hardware bring-up

Ethernet

Education

BS in Electrical or Computer Engineering

MS in Electrical or Computer Engineering

Tools

Oscilloscopes

Logic Analyzers

DMM

I2C

Ethernet debugging

Job description

Senior Embedded Firmware Engineer Contractor

Thermal Control System Development

Company: Cohu, Inc.

Location: San Diego, CA
Duration: 3 Month Contract (potential extension)
Work Arrangement:This is a full-time contractor position on-site role (minimum of 32 hours per week) at Cohu’s semiconductor test handler & thermal systems innovation center located in San Diego, CA (Rancho Bernardo).

Position Overview

We are seeking an experienced Embedded Firmware Engineer Contractor to develop firmware for a high-performance multichannel thermal control system based on an STM32H7 microcontroller. The controller performs fast simultaneous temperature acquisition, executes multiple independent PID control loops, and communicates system data through a 100 Mbps Ethernet interface.

The ideal candidate is a hands-on engineer who is equally comfortable developing embedded firmware and troubleshooting hardware in the laboratory.

Responsibilities

• Develop bare-metal firmware for an STM32H7-based thermal control platform.
• Implement simultaneous temperature acquisition from I2C and RTDs
• Develop, implement, and tune multiple independent PID-based control loops.
• Support hardware bring-up, integration, and validation activities.
• Debug peripherals and interfaces like ADCs, I2C, PWM, Ethernet, and GPIOs.
• Work closely with hardware engineers to diagnose and resolve board-level and system-level issues.
• Participate in system testing, performance characterization, and firmware optimization.

Required Qualifications

• BS degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering or closely related field and 7+ years of embedded firmware development experience OR MS degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, or closely related field and 4+ years of embedded firmware development experience.
• Experience developing and tuning temperature control systems, power control systems, or other real-time feedback control applications.
• Strong C programming skills.
• Extensive experience with development on STM32H7 devices.
• Experience implementing PID or other closed-loop control algorithms.
• Experience with hardware bring-up, prototype validation, and schematic review.
• Proficiency using oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and digital multimeters to troubleshoot firmware and hardware integration issues.

Expected Deliverables

During the contract period, the contractor is expected to deliver:

• Successful bring-up and validation of the STM32H7-based hardware platform.
• A reliable, production-ready thermal control firmware architecture supporting multiple independent control channels and meeting measurement accuracy specifications.
• Ethernet communication infrastructure supporting at least 50 Mbps data throughput.
• Well-structured, maintainable, and thoroughly commented source code suitable for long-term product support and future development.
• Firmware designed for robustness, reliability, fault detection, and recovery in a production environment.
• Technical documentation sufficient to support future maintenance, testing, and product release activities.

Compensation: The estimated base pay range for this position is $75 -$85 per hour, depending on qualifications, experience, education, and other job-related factors. This range represents Cohu’s good faith estimate of what it reasonably expects to pay for this contractor position.