Founding Firmware Engineer

About Embedder

Embedder is building AI agents for hardware teams. Our agents read datasheets, generate production C/C++ firmware, and verify their own code in a closed loop on real silicon. We are a YC S25 company backed by CRV, Box Group, and Emerson Collective, with $XM+ raised, 5,000+ engineers using the product, and 100+ paying customers across automotive, aerospace, medical, IoT, and consumer electronics. We sell software and we run a full-stack firmware design service — this role does both.

The Role

You will be the hardware conscience of the company. You'll architect and own entire firmware projects for customers, push the product where it bends, and help build the parts of the platform only an experienced firmware engineer can design well — HIL/SIL test harnesses, debugger and test equipment integrations, and specialized workflows for the entire firmware lifecycle.

What You'll Do

• Architect and deliver firmware projects for customers at speed using our AI systems.
• Work alongside our software and product engineers to build the industry standard framework for how AI interacts with hardware, debugging servers, test equipment and test benches.
• Help shape engineering culture, hiring bar, and technical roadmap as one of our founding engineers.

Who You Are

• 3–5 years of professional firmware or embedded software experience after college (open to less if your work is exceptional).
• Proficiency in C programming in embedded, RTOS systems. Familiarity with MISRA C a plus.
• You've shipped real products, not just dev-board demos — drivers, RTOS, power management, comms stacks (I²C, SPI, UART, USB, BLE, CAN, etc.).
• Capable of reading and interpreting PCBA schematics for developing and troubleshooting firmware.
• You use modern AI coding tools daily and have built your own automations on top of them.
• You want to be in the office five days a week in San Francisco. You are willing to work some weekends.

Bonus Points

• Experience at a complex hardware-software org: semiconductor, automotive, aerospace, defense, medical device, IoT, robotics, or wireless.
• You've written your own MCP servers, skills, code-gen scripts, debugging tools, or AI-assisted internal tools to automate parts of your firmware workflow.
• "Future founder" archetype — you've started something real and decided you want to be an engineer first for now.
• Open source contributions to Zephyr, FreeRTOS, Linux, etc.

Why Embedder

• Physical AI, not another chatbot. AI that controls real hardware — drivers on silicon, signals on a scope, code running on a board in front of you.
• Talent-dense team. Ex-founders, ex-YC operators, and engineers from frontier AI companies.
• Real customers, real impact. Your code reaches production hardware, not a demo.
• Founding equity. Meaningful ownership and a direct line to the founders.
• Fun, in person. New SF office, full team in person, culture we actively screen for.

Compensation

Total comp up to $300,000 including equity. Base capped at $250K; cash/equity mix is flexible.

Location & Eligibility

Full-time, in person at our San Francisco office. You must be authorized to work in the U.S. without current or future visa sponsorship — we anticipate work that requires the path to U.S. security clearance.