Staff Firmware Engineer

Sofar Ocean; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 135,000 - 165,000; Full time

Job summary

An innovative company is seeking a talented embedded firmware engineer to contribute to cutting-edge marine technology. In this role, you will design and implement firmware for various hardware products, ensuring efficient integration and testing. You will collaborate with a multidisciplinary team to develop impactful solutions that enhance ocean health. If you have a passion for technology and a commitment to sustainability, this is a unique opportunity to make a difference in marine science and climate action.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of professional embedded firmware/software experience.
• Comfortable in embedded C/C++ and Python.

Responsibilities

• Plan and implement efficient embedded firmware with tests in C/C++.
• Collaborate with engineers to design and debug systems.

Skills

Embedded C/C++

Python

Communication Skills

Collaboration Skills

Embedded Platforms

Job description

The Company

Sofar is on a mission to connect the world’s oceans. We design, build, and deploy the largest privately owned network of marine weather sensors to power the world’s best marine weather forecasts. Our data helps our customers to increase efficiency and reduce emissions, delivering tools to governments and other stakeholders to understand impacts of climate change on extreme weather and ocean health. We live on Planet Ocean, and our goal is to create the ocean intelligence needed to ensure a sustainable future.

The Role

You will be a key contributor to the embedded firmware design and implementation of all our hardware products: Spotter, Smart Mooring, next generation platforms and Sofar’s new open hardware connectivity stack — Bristlemouth https://www.bristlemouth.org. You thrive in small and collaborative multidisciplinary teams, and are eager to pitch in to debug and solve gnarly issues. You take pride in your craft. You strive to improve the health of our oceans and planet by shipping a cohesive, elegant and impactful product.

This role will be working onsite from our Pier 28 office at least 3 days per week and reporting to our Firmware Engineering Manager.

Some projects you’ll be a part of:

• Building new Bristlemouth integrations for Spotter and Smart Mooring and evolving the open source Bristlemouth core APIs
• Collaborating cross-functionally to build new features on existing platforms
• Developing next generation platforms
• Advanced research and experiments with new and emerging technologies
• Integrated system testing, open ocean deployments, and the occasional throwing of things out of airplanes to see what breaks

Responsibilities

• Plan and implement well-designed efficient embedded firmware with automated unit and integration tests in C/C++
• Implement host-side test, analysis and automation tools in Python
• Participate in code reviews, brainstorms and whiteboard sessions with your team
• Write crystal clear specifications and documentation for both external users and internal colleagues
• Work alongside electrical and mechanical engineers in designing, integrating, testing and debugging systems

Minimum Job Qualifications

• Excellent communication and collaboration skills
• At least 5 years of professional embedded firmware/software experience
• Comfortable and competent in embedded C/C++
• Comfortable in Python
• Significant experience with multiple embedded platforms
• An understanding of common hardware peripherals and interfaces

Bonus Points

• Previously worked with multiple forms of radio telemetry
• Experience with low level embedded networking
• Experience with ARM Cortex M0 - M4 cores
• Past work in IoT, robotics, drones and/or automotive products
• A passion for or connection to the ocean

Estimated Salary Range

• $135,000 - $165,000
• The range listed is what we reasonably expect to pay for this role at the time of this posting. We may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range and may be modified in the future. Actual compensation packages are based on several factors that are unique to each candidate, including but not limited to skill set, experience, and equity package.

Sofar's Commitment to Climate Justice

We at Sofar Ocean acknowledge that careers in the marine sciences “... have traditionally been, and remain, non-diverse work environments”, thereby limiting the entry and prosperity of underrepresented groups in the space. (Johri et al., 2021) Many of these same groups are disproportionately affected by climate change, and are often excluded from decision-making that directly address their interests and needs.

We are committed to addressing these climate injustices and highly encourage people who identify as women, LGBTQ+, Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) to apply.

Employee Conduct

It is the responsibility of every employee to contribute to a positive work environment through cooperative and professional interactions with co-workers, customers, and vendors.

Equal Employment Opportunity

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other factors prohibited by law.