Firmware Engineer

Applied Intuition, Inc. is powering the future of physical AI. Founded in 2017 and now valued at $15 billion, the Silicon Valley company is creating the digital infrastructure needed to bring intelligence to every moving machine on the planet. Applied Intuition services the automotive, defense, trucking, construction, mining and agriculture industries in three core areas: tools and infrastructure, operating systems, and autonomy.

Eighteen of the top 20 global automakers, as well as the United States military and its allies, trust the company’s solutions to deliver physical intelligence. Applied Intuition is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, with offices in Washington, D.C.; San Diego; Ft. Walton Beach, Florida; Ann Arbor, Michigan; London; Stuttgart; Munich; Stockholm; Bangalore; Seoul; and Tokyo.

Learn more at applied.co.

We are an in-office company, and our expectation is that full-time employees primarily work from their Applied Intuition office 5 days a week. However, we also recognize the importance of flexibility and trust our employees to manage their schedules responsibly. This may include occasional remote work, starting the day with morning meetings from home before heading to the office, or leaving earlier when needed to accommodate family commitments. This in-office expectation does not apply to contractor positions

About the role

We are looking for firmware engineers who want to own the foundation of new hardware platforms from day one. This role focuses on low level firmware development, early board bring up, and system level enablement across microcontrollers and infotainment class SoCs.
As a firmware engineer, you will work close to the hardware with end to end ownership from first power-on through to a stable, production ready platform. Your work will define boot flows, OS bring up, performance characteristics, and power behavior that future products and teams will build on.

This is a deeply hands-on role for engineers who enjoy operating at the boundary of hardware and software, solving hard problems, and setting technical direction rather than inheriting it. You will collaborate closely with global teams, silicon vendors, and hardware partners and help establish best practices and technical standards for the India organization.

At Applied, you will

• Lead board bring up for new hardware platforms including microcontrollers and infotainment SoCs
• Develop and debug bootloaders and early boot software
• Bring up and customize FreeRTOS, QNX, Linux, and Android on new boards
• Enable Linux kernel and device driver enablement for custom hardware
• Optimize boot time, system startup, and runtime performance
• Drive power optimization across boot, idle states, and active workloads
• Debug complex hardware and software issues using JTAG, logic analyzers, and low level logs
• Collaborate closely with hardware teams, BSP vendors, and silicon partners
• Support system integration, validation, and bring up on real target hardware

At Applied we’re looking for someone who has

• Strong experience in firmware or low level embedded systems development
• Hands on experience with board bring up for MCUs or SoCs
• Deep knowledge of FreeRTOS and/or QNX for embedded systems
• Experience with the Linux kernel or Android at the platform level
• Solid understanding of bootloaders such as U Boot or custom boot flows
• Strong C and C++ programming skills
• Experience debugging early boot and hardware dependent issues
• Understanding of power management, boot optimization, and performance tuning
• Comfortable reading schematics and datasheets and working close to hardware
• Ability to work independently and take ownership from bring up to stabilization

Nice to have

• Experience with BSP customization and silicon vendor SDKs
• Familiarity with secure boot, firmware update flows, or OTA mechanisms
• Experience supporting customer facing engineering or production bring up
• Experience with cloud-connected vehicle platforms, SDV architectures, and AI-driven automotive applications
• Knowledge of functional safety (ASIL levels), cybersecurity (ISO 21434), and AUTOSAR tooling

Don’t meet every single requirement? If you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

Applied Intuition is an equal opportunity employer and federal contractor or subcontractor. Consequently, the parties agree that, as applicable, they will abide by the requirements of 41 CFR 60-1.4(a), 41 CFR 60-300.5(a) and 41 CFR 60-741.5(a) and that these laws are incorporated herein by reference. These regulations prohibit discrimination against qualified individuals based on their status as protected veterans or individuals with disabilities, and prohibit discrimination against all individuals based on their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or national origin.

These regulations require that covered prime contractors and subcontractors take affirmative action to employ and advance in employment individuals without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status or disability. The parties also agree that, as applicable, they will abide by the requirements of Executive Order 13496 (29 CFR Part 471, Appendix A to Subpart A), relating to the notice of employee rights under federal labor laws.

FOR US-BASED ROLES: Applied Intuition is committed to providing an accessible and inclusive application and interview experience to applicants who are disabled veterans and other applicants with disabilities or medical conditions. Reasonable accommodations are available, requesting an accommodation will not affect your candidacy in any way, and you are not required to disclose the nature of your disability or medical condition in order to make a request. If you require an accommodation please contact careers@applied.co. We will work with you!