Sigma Design is hiring an Embedded Firmware Engineer on a contract-to-hire basis to develop, debug, and support embedded firmware for new hardware products. This hybrid role is based in Bellevue, Washington, with a focus on microcontroller-based bring-up, embedded C development, peripheral integration, and hands-on system debugging.
Key Responsibilities
- Bring up and validate firmware on new hardware by verifying power and clock operation, connecting and configuring debug interfaces, enabling peripherals, and establishing initial firmware functionality
- Develop, integrate, and debug embedded C firmware for 32-bit ARM Cortex-M-class microcontrollers and similar architectures
- Configure and communicate with companion integrated circuits and peripherals using I2C, SPI, UART, and other standard embedded communication interfaces
- Develop and debug USB-C and USB Power Delivery functionality, including power negotiation, source/sink roles, and fault handling
- Perform bench-level debugging using oscilloscopes, multimeters, logic or protocol analyzers, SWD/JTAG debuggers, and UART logging
- Analyze schematics, datasheets, register maps, and technical documentation to configure hardware devices and troubleshoot system-level issues
- Collaborate with hardware engineers to isolate and resolve hardware versus firmware issues during board bring-up and product development
- Develop and maintain board support packages, peripheral configurations, and firmware integrations as required
- Support firmware update and bootloader functionality, including development and deployment of firmware update images
- Develop or support firmware for power-path and regulator control, including voltage monitoring, fault detection and recovery, enable sequencing, and related power-management functions
- Document firmware configurations, implementation details, debugging activities, and design decisions to support product development and ongoing maintenance
- Use version control and established software development practices to maintain firmware source code and support collaborative development
- Support firmware integration, testing, troubleshooting, and verification across the product development lifecycle
- Collaborate with engineering and cross-functional teams to identify technical issues, develop solutions, and support successful product development and production
- Follow Business Technology policies to protect sensitive data and reduce information security occurrences
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or an equivalent technical discipline
- Minimum 5 years of relevant experience developing embedded firmware (or equivalent engineering experience preferred)
- Strong embedded C development proficiency for 32-bit microcontrollers, including interrupts, register-level peripheral programming, and development within flash and RAM constraints
- Working knowledge of USB-C and USB Power Delivery concepts, including source/sink/dual-role behavior and power contract negotiation
- Experience with I2C, SPI, UART, and other embedded communication interfaces, including device configuration and debugging
- Hands-on experience with hardware bring-up, from initial power-on through functional firmware or debugging firmware against physical hardware
- Ability to interpret schematics, datasheets, register tables, and hardware specifications for device configuration and troubleshooting
- Proficiency with embedded hardware debugging tools including oscilloscopes, logic or protocol analyzers, multimeters, and SWD/JTAG debuggers
- Experience using Git or similar version-control systems
Technologies
Embedded C, ARM Cortex-M, 32-bit microcontrollers, I2C, SPI, UART, USB-C, USB Power Delivery, SWD, JTAG, USB Power Delivery power negotiation, oscilloscopes, multimeters, logic or protocol analyzers, UART logging, Git, bootloader, DFU, microcontroller SDKs, IDE, middleware, board support package, power-path, regulator control, power-management firmware, voltage monitoring, fault detection and recovery, enable sequencing, USB subsystems, and related USB peripherals.
Contract Terms and Schedule
- Job type: Contract
- Work location: Bellevue, WA (hybrid)
- Schedule while on contract: Monday through Friday, day shift (hybrid, 3 days onsite)
Compensation
$116.00 per hour. The hourly range is an estimate based on multiple factors including experience, education, training, skills, and business considerations. Actual compensation may vary based on candidate qualifications and alignment with the role.
Benefits (While on Contract)
- Multiple options for medical insurance and dental insurance, including some with FSA and HSA
- 401(k) with up to 4% company match
- 15-days of accrued PTO and 9 company paid holidays
- Quarterly bonus program
- Voluntary benefits: vision, long-term disability, and life insurance
Compliance and Background Check
- ITAR: Permanent resident of the United States (U.S. person as defined by ITAR)
- Background: Pass a post-offer background verification
Work Environment
- Standard office environment with normal amounts of office-related conditions
- Occasional work in environmental conditions that emulate typical user environments to facilitate design testing and validation
- Occasional travel to other facilities, clients, or suppliers as required
Education and Experience Notes
- Minimum of 5 years of relevant embedded firmware development experience (or equivalent engineering experience preferred)
- Experience with microcontroller SDKs, IDEs, middleware, and board support package development preferred
- Experience with firmware update mechanisms and bootloaders, including DFU or equivalent processes, preferred
- Experience with power-path, regulator, or power-management firmware, including voltage monitoring, fault detection and recovery, and sequencing preferred
- Experience with USB subsystems and related technologies such as hubs, alternate modes, signal conditioning devices, or related USB peripherals preferred
- Experience with embedded software CI/build automation preferred
- Familiarity with USB-IF requirements, USB-C specifications, or USB Power Delivery compliance testing preferred
