Staff Embedded Engineer

Watney Robotics Inc; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Watney Robotics Inc is seeking an Embedded Engineer to advance the core firmware of our autonomous robotic systems. You will own board bring-up, HAL development, and direct driver work touching microcontrollers and actuators.

You'll design and implement HIL testing infrastructure, optimize low-level protocols (CAN, SPI, I2C), and collaborate with cross‑functional teams across the globe to ensure reliability and safety in demanding environments.

Qualifications

• Experience in bare-metal firmware development for embedded systems.
• Proficient in designing or debugging core communication buses (CAN, SPI, I2C).
• Experience building or operating HIL testing infrastructure.

Responsibilities

• Execute Board Bringup: lead initial board bring-up, create HAL, and write drivers touching microcontrollers and actuators.
• Drive HIL Testing & Validation: architect and automate hardware-in-the-loop testing to ensure reliability and safety.
• Collaborate Internationally: work with CMs and OEMs on specifications, layouts, and chip bring-up.
• Optimize Low-Level Protocols: own the communication stack and tune CAN, SPI, I2C for high-frequency telemetry.

Skills

Bare-metal firmware

Low-level systems

CAN bus

I2C

SPI

HIL testing

Board bring-up

Tools

HAL development

Job description

Our Mission

Expand human ambition in the physical world. Critical infrastructure is constrained by labor shortages, hazardous working conditions, and operational complexity. Watney builds and deploys autonomous robotic systems that increase the speed and capacity of buildout, starting with data centers.

About The Role

At Watney, Embedded Engineers drive the fundamental capabilities of our robot systems. Working with our mechanical, electrical, and ML teams across new sensor modalities and embodiments, you’ll help set a new high watermark for system reliability and safety.

We’re looking for someone irrationally enthusiastic about embedded software development. You should be equally comfortable making long term architectural bets, designing dependable systems, and iterating quickly across a large software surface.

What You’ll Do

• Execute Board Bringup: Lead initial board bring-up, construct reliable Hardware Abstraction Layers (HAL), and write drivers directly touching our raw microcontrollers and actuators.
• Drive HIL Testing & Validation: Architect, set up, and automate robust hardware-in-the-loop testing rigs to ensure exceptional electromechanical reliability and safety.
• Collaborate Internationally: Partner closely with CMs and OEMs to drive specification discovery, influence layout development, and lead early specialized chip bring-up and validation.
• Optimize Low-Level Protocols: Own the communication stack, developing and fine-tuning low-level bus protocols (e.g., I2C, SPI, CAN) to handle high-frequency hardware telemetry streams.

You May Be a Good Fit If You:

• Have deep professional experience developing bare-metal firmware or low-level systems code inside deeply resource-constrained environments.
• Possess high technical competency designing, implementing, or debugging core communication buses (CAN, SPI, I2C).
• Bring a proven track record building out or operating HIL testing infrastructure to catch edge-case hardware faults early.
• Experience interfacing directly with CMs/OEMs to clear up ambiguous requirements, evaluate silicon alternatives, and guide physical board layouts.

We’re committed to building a diverse, inclusive team. At Watney Robotics, we welcome people of all backgrounds and identities, and we make hiring decisions based on skills, experience, and potential. If you’re passionate about robotics but don’t meet every requirement, we still encourage you to apply!

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