Embedded Software Engineer - Boston, United States
Originally posted 3 December 2025 by the employer.
Develop across bare-metal, RTOS, and embedded Linux on heterogeneous multi-core RISC-V and ARM processors.
About the role
Extropic is seeking an Embedded Software Engineer to work across bare-metal firmware development and embedded Linux application design. The role focuses on heterogeneous multi-core RISC-V and ARM processors, including Cortex-R5 and Cortex-A53 cores.
What you'll do
- Architect, design, and implement embedded software across bare-metal, RTOS, and embedded Linux environments. - Develop firmware, Linux drivers, user-space applications, and host-PC tools supporting the full embedded software stack. - Work with heterogeneous multi-core SoCs enabling inter-processor communication, synchronization, and resource sharing across Cortex-R5 and Cortex-A53 cores. - Develop and maintain low-level drivers for peripherals including SPI, I2C, UART, GPIO, timers, and DMA engines. - Debug real-time embedded systems using JTAG/SWD debuggers, in-circuit emulators, oscilloscopes, and logic analyzers. - Collaborate with hardware, FPGA, and systems engineers to bring up new boards, validate interfaces, and resolve integration issues.
What you'll need
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field. - 5+ years of hands-on experience in embedded firmware and Linux software development. - Strong proficiency in C, C++, and Python, with emphasis on embedded and deeply embedded programming. - Deep experience with bare-metal firmware development, interrupt-driven systems, and hardware bring-up. - Proven experience with embedded Linux, including build systems, user-space applications, drivers, and device trees. - Hands-on experience with heterogeneous multi-core RISC-V and ARM processors, such as Cortex-R5 and Cortex-A53.
Nice to have
- Experience with Yocto/PetaLinux, Buildroot, or similar embedded Linux build systems. - Familiarity with IPC mechanisms such as RPMsg, shared memory, and message queues in heterogeneous SoC environments. - Experience integrating firmware with FPGA-based systems or custom ASICs. - Familiarity with FPGA embedded software environments such as AMD/Xilinx Vitis. - Knowledge of network protocols and experience building socket-based host-PC applications. - Experience with continuous integration, test automation, and version control using Git.
Skills: bare-metal, RTOS, embedded Linux, Cisco/C++, device drivers
This role has been open 133 days — well above the 57-day median for Embedded Firmware Engineering roles.
Embedded Firmware Engineering · Systems Software
|
Open roles in category
759
|
Median days open
57 d
|
Median salary
$169k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, skills in demand, and who else is hiring
| Metric | Extropic | All employers we track in this specialty (759 roles · 85 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 1 | 759 |
| Open roles in the wider Software, Firmware & Systems family | 3 | 6292 · 146 employers |
| Median days open | 133 d | 57 d (+76 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $169k |
Skills observed across this category: bare-metal, RTOS, embedded Linux, Cisco/C++, device drivers
Who's hiring in this category
- Qualcomm · 127 open roles · median 57 d
- Micron Technology · 65 open roles · median 90 d
- AMD · 63 open roles · median 42 d
- NVIDIA · 59 open roles · median 55 d
- Lattice Semiconductor · 45 open roles · median 47 d
- NXP Semiconductors · 36 open roles · median 34 d
How we counted: 759 open Embedded Firmware Engineering (Systems Software) roles from 85 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 27 Oct 2026. Specialty figures count only roles carrying this exact specialty label, so an employer's related work in neighbouring specialties is not included there — it is counted in the wider Software, Firmware & Systems family row. Figures refresh nightly.