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Staff Firmware Engineer

WatneySan Francisco🇺🇸United States

Why this role stands out

This role offers a unique opportunity to shape the future of autonomous robotics by building the foundational firmware that powers critical infrastructure at scale. You will thrive here if you are a collaborative engineer who enjoys leading board bring-up and pushing the boundaries of hardware reliability through high-impact technical architecture. Apply now to join a mission-driven team where your expertise will directly influence the next generation of robotic innovation.

Quick overview

SeniorityMid Senior
Employment typeFull Time
Work modeOn Site
LocationSan Francisco, United States
RustRobotics

Job description

Our Mission

Expand human ambition in the physical world.

Critical infrastructure is constrained by labor shortages, hazardous working conditions, and operational complexity. Watney builds and deploys autonomous robotic systems that increase the speed and capacity of buildout, starting with data centers.

About the Role

At Watney, firmware engineers write the firmware for our robots’ mainboards and actuators, and bring up new boards with our manufacturing partners. They work with our mechanical, electrical, and ML teams as new sensors and embodiments arrive.

How far firmware can take a robot on its own is still an open question: which faults a board can recover from without a person, and how one design carries across new boards and embodiments.

The firmware you write sets how reliable and safe every robot is. The architecture bets you make carry into every robot we build after this one.

What You’ll Do

  • Lead board bring-up with our manufacturing partners, from specification discovery through first boot.

  • Write the drivers and hardware abstraction layers that run on our microcontrollers and actuators.

  • Build and run automated hardware-in-the-loop tests across embodiments.

  • Build the common firmware base for mainboards and actuators, in Rust and C.

  • Work with the ML and mechanical teams to prototype and validate new sensors.

You May Be a Good Fit If You:

  • Have shipped production firmware to millions of devices.

  • Have written production firmware in Rust, C, or both.

  • Have debugged communication buses on real hardware.

  • Have built or operated hardware-in-the-loop test infrastructure.

  • Have worked with contract manufacturers or OEMs to turn ambiguous requirements into a board layout.

  • Have worked with electromechanical systems or cameras and optics, electrically, mechanically, or in software.

  • Have working knowledge of electrical engineering and either field-oriented control or RF.

We’re committed to building a diverse, inclusive team. At Watney Robotics, we welcome people of all backgrounds and identities, and we make hiring decisions based on skills, experience, and potential. If you’re passionate about robotics but don’t meet every requirement, we still encourage you to apply!

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