Contract Student Worker – Firmware Engineer (FW Thermal/Body)
- Level
- Intern
- Work type
- Hybrid · Foster City
Not stated in the posting: salary, visa.
Open. First seen 22 October 2026.
About the role
About Zoox
Zoox is transforming mobility with fully autonomous, electric vehicles designed from the ground up for a driverless future. Our mission is to make transportation safer, more sustainable, and accessible to everyone. At Zoox, innovation, collaboration, and a bold vision for the future drive everything we do.
About Our Part Time Student Worker Program
Zoox’s program offers hands-on experience with cutting-edge technology, mentorship from some of the industry’s brightest minds, and the opportunity to make meaningful contributions to real projects. We seek part time student workers who demonstrate strong academic performance, engagement beyond the classroom, intellectual curiosity, and a genuine interest in Zoox’s mission.
Project Overview
Zoox is seeking a motivated Firmware Engineer student worker to join our team, focusing on diagnostic services for the thermal and body systems. This is an opportunity to own highly-visible, foundational projects where you will extend our existing diagnostic infrastructure. You will work on the full development cycle of robot firmware development.
In this role, you will:
- Work on the development of diagnostics for autonomous vehicle software, ensuring robust fault detection, reactions, and serviceability
- Design, develop, and test embedded software for body, thermal, lighting, and door functions of the Zoox vehicle
- Contribute to all phases of the software development cycle including prototyping, requirements capture, design, implementation, and validation
- Collaborate with system, software, hardware, and test engineers to define, implement, and validate diagnostic requirements
Qualifications:
- Currently enrolled in a Bachelor's or Master's program in computer science, computer engineering, electrical engineering or equivalent experience
- Proficiency in modern C++ for firmware development
- Experience with Python programming
- Experience with embedded micro-controllers and/or microprocessors (ARM, PowerPC)
- Basic knowledge of control systems for electromechanical systems
Bonus Qualifications:
- Familiarity with C++ unit testing principles and framework such as gtest
- Hands-on experience with hardware bring-up and system debugging
- Understanding of sensors and actuators and automotive communication protocols (CAN, LIN)
Program Requirements:
- Currently pursuing a B.S. or M.S., in a relevant engineering field
- Available for a 6 month project
- Able to commit to at least 20 hours per week
- Ability to commute on-site to one of our offices
- Student Worker may not use proprietary Zoox information in university theses, publications, or share it outside
$30 per hour.
This is a contract position and employment for this position will be through a vendor contracted with Zoox. The hourly pay range is posted and you will be eligible for a benefits package as offered by the vendor.
What this role asks for
Standard for embedded / hardware roles
C++ · Embedded Systems · Python
Common in embedded / hardware postings at any company.
Compared with Zoox's other open jobs.
The team: Software Platforms and Product HIRES STEADILY
This role is one of 25 open in Software Platforms and Product. 4 were posted in the last 30 days and the oldest in September: a team that hires all year rather than one being built.
WHAT THE TEAM WORKS WITH, ACROSS ITS POSTINGS
Machine Learning (18 of 25), Python (14 of 25), Embedded Systems (11 of 25), C++ (9 of 25), Linux (7 of 25), C (6 of 25), SQL (6 of 25)
OTHER ROLES ON THIS TEAM
- Senior Software Development Engineer in Test posted Oct 14
- Software Development Engineer in Test posted Oct 13
- System Test Engineer posted Oct 6
- Technical Program Manager - System Behavior Analysis posted Sep 25
- Systems Test Engineer, System Behavior Analysis posted Sep 18
- Embedded Software Engineer - Drive Systems posted Aug 31
- Wireless Firmware Validation Engineer posted Aug 26
- Embedded Software Engineer, Wireless Technologies posted Aug 26
- Release Engineer posted Aug 7
- Embedded Software Engineer - Body Systems posted Aug 6
- Embedded Software Engineer - Battery Management Systems posted Aug 6
- Senior Manager, Software Tools Development posted Jul 27
- Embedded Software Engineer - Power Systems posted Jul 14
- Embedded Software Engineer posted Jun 10
- Contract Student Worker Automation & Behavioral Science Engineer posted Jun 4
- Senior/Staff Software Engineer - SRE, GitHub & CI/CD Infrastructure posted Jun 3
- Technical Program Manager - Product Software posted May 20
- Software Engineer - Ride and Fleet Services posted May 12
- Senior/Staff Software Engineer - ML/AI Applications posted May 5
- Senior/Staff Software Engineer - Ride and Fleet Services posted Jan 12
- System Test Engineer posted Jan 5
- Firmware Validation Engineer posted Aug 12
- Software Engineering Manager - Service Platform posted Jul 8
- Senior Director of Engineering, Product Software posted Sep 19
From the team and dates on Zoox's own job board.
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