Senior Firmware Engineer

The Role

The RPU Team owns the real-time compute fabric that sits between intelligence and motion. As a Senior RPU / Firmware Engineer, you will architect and implement the low-level software that drives Asimov's actuators, sensors, and onboard processors. This is a 0-to-1 role: there is no existing stack to inherit. You will make foundational architecture decisions, define the OS-level environment, and build from the ground up. You will work at the boundary of hardware and software, where microseconds matter and correctness is non-negotiable.

What You'll Do

• Architect and build the firmware stack for the humanoid robot from scratch, including OS selection, toolchain setup, and board support package development
• Design and implement firmware for real-time processing units across thehumanoid robot's hardware platform
• Build and maintain embedded Linux environments for onboard compute, including BSP bring-up, device tree configuration, kernel driver development, and userspace/kernel interfaces
• Develop and maintain low-level drivers for actuators, sensors, IMUs, and communication buses (CAN, EtherCAT, SPI, I2C, UART)
• Architect real-time control loops with strict latency and determinism requirements
• Collaborate with mechanical, electrical, and controls engineers to co-design hardware and firmware interfaces
• Build tooling for firmware flashing, diagnostics, and in-field debugging
• Define and enforce firmware architecture standards, code quality practices, and review processes across the team
• Contribute to hardware bring-up for new revisions of the humanoid robot, from schematic review through validation

What We're Looking For

• 5+ years of firmware or embedded systems engineering experience in production hardware
• Strong proficiency in C/C++
• Deep hands-on experience with embedded Linux: BSP development, device tree authoring, kernel driver development, and managing the userspace/kernel boundary
• Proven experience taking a firmware stack from 0 to 1: OS selection, toolchain bootstrapping, first bring-up on new silicon, and building the foundations others build on
• Strong OS-level fundamentals: memory management, scheduling, interrupt handling, IPC, and power management in constrained embedded environments
• Deep familiarity with real-time communication protocols: CAN, EtherCAT, SPI, I2C, UART
• Experience with microcontroller and DSP architectures (STM32, TI C2000, NXP, or similar)
• Hands-on hardware bring-up experience: reading schematics, using oscilloscopes and logic analyzers, debugging signal integrity issues
• Strong understanding of real-time systems, interrupt-driven design, and deterministic execution
• Ability to own and drive complex cross-functional firmware work from spec to deployment

Bonus points for:

• Experience with camera integration in embedded Linux environments, including MIPI CSI interfaces, serialized camera streams, and V4L2 driver development
• Deep familiarity with embedded OS architecture: bootloader design (U-Boot or equivalent), secure boot chains, partition management, and OTA update mechanisms
• Experience with secure elements and hardware security modules: key storage, trusted execution environments (ARM TrustZone, OP-TEE), and secure enclave integration for credential and key management
• Experience in legged robotics, humanoids, or high-DOF manipulation platforms