Senior Firmware Engineer

**About Us**

Foundation is developing the future of general purpose robotics with the goal to [_address the labor shortage._](https://share.polymail.io/v1/z/b/NjYyMmI4MThkNzMw/5alY8ShNDXEosfFKZyUZuTXEhYt3pLjXRmAMVunRXlK3USw6hLs5dIaPO0gp3y9abp6xEAMig9AEKzfLE8sqn9lIByRHH0wlxTOua2tLFeS4A6AYSRquJyiE_S55wF8KMdm4sNe0ayWxxaxD46QNdDhohDtkhjzHNi-B-l7-RgBpoB2A7qEGG7OREui61hIOWHLXwLekOkP6RuciamM65QXdyE_2oZNkrWnABp_ytulRmAmSkFfHSTd445MvXowZ47OKyGx2)

Our mission is to create advanced robots that can operate in complex environments, reducing human risk in conflict zones and enhancing efficiency in labor-intensive industries.

We are on the lookout for extraordinary engineers and scientists to join our team. Your previous experience in robotics isn't a prerequisite — it's your talent and determination that truly count.

We expect that many of our team members will bring diverse perspectives from various industries and fields. We are looking for individuals with a proven record of exceptional ability and a history of creating things that work.

All positions are based in San Francisco.

**Our Culture**

We like to be frank and honest about who we are, so that people can decide for themselves if this is a culture they resonate with. Please read more about our culture here [_https://foundation.bot/culture_](https://foundation.bot/culture).

**Who should join:**

• You like working in person with a team in San Francisco.
• You deeply believe that this is the most important mission for humanity and needs to happen yesterday.
• You are highly technical - regardless of the role you are in. We are building technology; you need to understand technology well.
• You care about aesthetics and design inside out. If it's not the best product ever, it bothers you, and you need to “fix” it.
• You don't need someone to motivate you; you get things done**.**

**Why We Are Hiring for This Role:**

• To develop, Develop, optimize, and maintain firmware in C and C++ for 32-bit microcontrollers.
• Build applications on top of FreeRTOS and write bare-metal drivers.
• Design and implement peripheral drivers and integrations: I2C, SPI, UART, PWM, ADC, and CAN-FD.
• Bring up new hardware: validate power rails, clocks, peripherals, and communication buses.
• Profile and tune firmware for timing, memory footprint, and power consumption.
• Debug complex hardware/firmware issues at the bench using oscilloscopes, logic analyzersand multimeters.
• Write clear, testable code with unit tests, on-target tests, and code reviews.
• Collaborate with hardware engineers on schematic and layout reviews from a firmware perspective.
• Document designs, bring-up procedures, and known issues.

**What Kind of Person We Are Looking For:**

• Strong proficiency in C and modern C++ for embedded targets, including understanding of memory layout, linker scripts, startup code, and ISRs.
• Hands-on experience building production firmware on FreeRTOS (tasks, queues, semaphores, mutexes, priority inversion, stack sizing) and on bare-metal systems (super-loops, interrupt-driven designs).
• Solid working knowledge of I2C, SPI, PWM and ADC
• Practical experience with CAN-FD: frame formats, bit timing, error handling, and integration with higher-layer protocols.
• Experience with bootloaders, OTA/firmware updates, and secure boot.
• Demonstrated ability to debug hardware/firmware interactions using oscilloscopes and logic analyzers (e.g., Saleae, Keysight, Tektronix)
• capturing signals, decoding protocols, and reasoning from waveforms to root cause.
• Comfortable reading datasheets, reference manuals, and schematics.
• Proficient with Git, toolchains (GCC/Clang, arm-none-eabi), build systems (CMake/Make), and on-target debuggers (GDB, J-Link, ST-Link, OpenOCD).
• Motor control* experience: BLDC/PMSM and FOC
• Zephyr RTOS: device tree, Kconfig, driver model, and writing out-of-tree modules.
• EtherCat and FoE

**Benefits**

We provide market standard benefits (health, vision, dental, 401k, etc.). Join us for the culture and the mission, not for the benefits.

**Salary**

The annual compensation is expected to be between $180,000 - $260,000. Exact compensation may vary based on skills, experience, and location