Software, Firmware Engineering Expert
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Job Description
Software and firmware engineers evaluating embedded, FPGA, flight, and hardware-test systems. Supporting Mercor’s AI research through real-world engineering judgment and technical validation.
Responsibilities:
- Apply hands-on software, firmware, and digital hardware expertise to technically complex engineering tasks involving real physical systems
- Review and evaluate embedded firmware, FPGA/RTL designs, flight software, test automation frameworks, hardware interfaces, and system-level engineering workflows
- Analyze architecture and implementation trade-offs involving real-time performance, timing, memory, compute resources, interfaces, reliability, fault handling, concurrency, and hardware/software integration
- Assess the technical correctness, robustness, and practical feasibility of engineering solutions for real-world embedded and hardware-connected systems
- Identify implementation errors, incorrect assumptions, race conditions, timing issues, interface failures, resource constraints, and other system-level failure modes
- Develop or review technically rigorous engineering problems, reference implementations, test cases, evaluation criteria, and supporting technical documentation
- Draw on practical experience with development, integration, hardware bring-up, debugging, verification, validation, test automation, and deployment
- Provide clear technical feedback grounded in real-world engineering experience and production hardware constraints
- Help improve how advanced AI systems reason about embedded development, hardware/software integration, digital design, real-time systems, testing, and debugging
- Collaborate remotely with experienced engineers and researchers on projects training and enhancing AI systems
Requirements:
- 5+ years of professional software, firmware, FPGA, or embedded systems engineering experience
- At least 3 years of recent, actively hands-on experience developing, integrating, testing, bringing up, or troubleshooting software/firmware on real hardware
- Experience as the responsible engineer for production hardware-connected software or firmware, owning meaningful portions of the lifecycle from requirements and architecture through implementation, integration, hardware bring-up, verification, validation, debugging, and deployment
- Deep technical expertise in at least one core domain: embedded firmware and real-time systems; FPGA/RTL design and verification; flight software and safety/mission-critical systems; or hardware test automation and hardware-in-the-loop infrastructure
- Strong practical command of applicable technologies including C/C++, Python, RTOS/bare-metal development, device drivers, bootloaders, embedded Linux, SPI/I²C/UART/CAN/Ethernet, Verilog/SystemVerilog/VHDL, FPGA toolchains, hardware interfaces, telemetry, and automated test systems
- Extensive hands-on experience debugging software-hardware interactions and physical systems using JTAG/SWD debuggers, logic analyzers, oscilloscopes, hardware simulators/emulators, HIL/SIL environments, automated test equipment, CI infrastructure, and structured root-cause analysis
- Proven experience developing systems in real-world product or hardware manufacturing environments
- Candidates from comparable hardware-focused organizations are encouraged to apply
- Must be able to work as an independent contractor
- H1-B and STEM OPT candidates are not supported
Benefits:
- Payments are weekly on Stripe or Wise based on services rendered
- Fully remote work
- Flexible engagement structures
- Work on your own schedule
- Projects can be extended, shortened, or concluded early depending on needs and performance
- Up to $480 referral payment for each successful referral, subject to referral limits
- Reasonable accommodations upon request
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