Kraken Kinetics is seeking an Embedded Firmware / Software Engineer to support the development, integration, and testing of firmware and embedded software for advanced defense products. This role contributes to electronic safe and arm devices, test equipment, and production acceptance systems. The engineer will work closely with cross-functional teams to bring hardware to life, support board bring-up, and improve testability. The position involves owning firmware design decisions and building practical solutions in a fast-paced environment.

Responsibilities

Develop, debug, and maintain embedded firmware for microcontroller-based embedded systems.
Support board bring-up, hardware debugging, firmware integration, and system-level troubleshooting.
Work closely with electrical engineers to verify hardware functionality and develop firmware to support product operation.
Develop firmware interfaces for sensors, communication buses, memory devices, power systems, safety logic, and test equipment.
Support development of production programming, automated test fixtures, and acceptance test tools.
Contribute to firmware architecture, code organization, revision control, development processes, and documentation standards.
Write and maintain test scripts, diagnostic utilities, and automation tools as needed.
Participate in design reviews, code reviews, test readiness reviews, and failure investigations.
Support requirements decomposition and verification activities in coordination with systems and test engineers.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
2+ years of experience developing embedded firmware or software.
Proficiency in C and/or C++ for embedded systems.
Experience with microcontrollers, interrupt-driven firmware, peripheral drivers, timers, DMA, and MCU-based board bring-up/debugging.
Familiarity with common embedded communication protocols such as SPI, I2C, UART, CAN, or similar.
Experience using oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, debuggers, or related tools to troubleshoot embedded systems.
Ability to read schematics, datasheets, and reference manuals to support firmware development and hardware troubleshooting.
Familiarity with Git or other version control systems.
Ability to work closely with hardware engineers and contribute in a hands-on lab environment.
Strong ownership mindset, attention to detail, and ability to work under compressed development timelines.

Nice to have

Experience with ARM Cortex-M microcontrollers such as PIC32, STM32, or similar embedded platforms.
Experience with safety-critical firmware, firmware verification, or regulated product development.
Familiarity with both bare-metal and RTOS concepts, watchdogs, fault handling, or secure firmware practices.
Experience setting up or maintaining CI/CD pipelines for embedded firmware, including automated builds, unit tests, static analysis, or release artifact generation.
Experience supporting production test systems or manufacturing acceptance test.
Background in defense, aerospace, robotics, autonomous systems, or high-reliability embedded products.
Experience using MCU peripherals, including DMA, hardware CRC engines, and communication interfaces.
Experience with Python or other scripting languages for test automation.
Experience contributing to firmware development processes, code review standards, or configuration management practices.

Benefits

Generous PTO policy
Comprehensive medical coverage (80% company-paid for employee + dependents).
Vision & dental (100% company-paid)
Short and long-term disability coverage (100% company-paid)
Generous 401(k) retirement plan
Company-paid life insurance
Great teammates and well stocked snacks