Freelance Embedded Firmware Engineer Jobs in Ohio

Work Schedule

Environmental Conditions

Job Description

At Thermo Fisher Scientific, our mission is to enable our customers to make the world safer. As a Senior Firmware Engineer, you will help develop and deliver the embedded software that powers next-generation handheld radiation detection and identification systems used in public safety, dosimetry, environmental monitoring, and emergency response.

You will play a key role in translating advanced sensing technologies and system concepts into reliable, field-ready products by designing, developing, and integrating robust firmware for embedded platforms. Working closely with scientists, electrical engineers, systems engineers, and software teams, you will help ensure our instruments perform accurately, reliably, and securely in demanding real-world environments. Your work will directly impact the usability, performance, connectivity, and long-term reliability of products that support critical safety and response missions around the world.

LOCATION: This is a fully onsite position based at our Oakwood Village, OH site. Unfortunately, relocation assistance is NOT provided.  Priority will be given to LOCAL candidates currently residing in surrounding area.

• Must be legally authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship now or in the future. 
• Must be able to pass a comprehensive background check, which includes a drug screen. 

Position Summary

We are seeking a highly skilled Senior Firmware Engineer to design, develop, test, and maintain embedded firmware for next-generation connected products. This role requires strong hands-on experience with embedded C, real-time operating systems, and microcontroller-based development, with particular emphasis on Renesas chipsets. The ideal candidate will be comfortable working close to the hardware, collaborating across electrical, software, systems, and product teams, and delivering reliable firmware for production-quality embedded systems.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, develop, debug, and maintain embedded firmware using C for microcontroller-based systems.
• Develop firmware running on real-time operating systems, including task scheduling, inter-task communication, timing, synchronization, and resource management.
• Bring up and integrate firmware on Renesas-based platforms, including peripheral configuration, board support packages, bootloaders, and device drivers.
• Work closely with electrical engineering teams to support hardware bring-up, schematic review, board validation, and root-cause analysis.
• Develop and maintain low-level drivers for interfaces such as I2C, SPI, UART, USB, CAN, Ethernet, GPIO, ADC, PWM, and similar embedded peripherals.
• Participate in firmware architecture, design reviews, code reviews, and technical decision-making.
• Implement robust, maintainable, and testable firmware for commercial or industrial embedded products.
• Debug complex firmware and hardware interactions using oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, JTAG/SWD debuggers, and other lab equipment.
• Support integration of embedded systems with higher-level software, connectivity stacks, and cloud-based services.
• Develop unit, integration, and system-level test strategies for embedded firmware.
• Create and maintain technical documentation, including requirements, design specifications, test plans, and release notes.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to deliver high-quality products on schedule.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical discipline.
• 7+ years of professional embedded firmware development experience.
• Strong programming experience in embedded C.
• Hands-on experience developing firmware for real-time operating systems such as FreeRTOS, ThreadX, Zephyr, embOS, or similar.
• Experience developing firmware for Renesas microcontrollers or microprocessors, including use of Renesas development tools, SDKs, BSPs, or IDEs.
• Strong understanding of embedded systems concepts, including interrupts, timers, DMA, memory management, bootloaders, power management, and communication protocols.
• Experience with firmware debugging tools such as JTAG/SWD, oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and protocol analyzers.
• Familiarity with common embedded communication interfaces including SPI, I2C, UART, USB, CAN, and Ethernet.
• Experience with version control systems such as Git.
• Ability to read schematics and work closely with hardware engineers during board bring-up and troubleshooting.
• Strong analytical, debugging, and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with AWS IoT Greengrass, AWS IoT Core, or cloud-connected embedded devices.
• Experience with secure boot, firmware update mechanisms, device provisioning, certificates, encryption, or embedded cybersecurity.
• Experience with connectivity protocols such as MQTT, TCP/IP, BLE, Wi-Fi, or cellular.
• Experience developing Linux-based edge applications or integrating microcontroller firmware with embedded Linux systems.
• Experience with automated testing, CI/CD pipelines, static analysis, or code quality tools for embedded software.
• Experience in regulated, industrial, medical, life sciences, or high-reliability product environments.
• Familiarity with software development processes such as Agile, Scrum, or stage-gate product development.

Desired Attributes

• Deep technical curiosity and a hands-on approach to solving complex embedded problems.
• Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively with cross-functional teams.
• Strong ownership mindset with attention to quality, reliability, and long-term maintainability.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced engineering environment with evolving requirements.
• Ability to mentor junior engineers and contribute to firmware best practices.

• Experience with AWS IoT Greengrass, cloud-connected devices, or edge computing is a strong plus.

Example Technology Stack

• Languages: C, C++, Python
• RTOS: FreeRTOS, ThreadX, Zephyr, or similar
• Chipsets: Renesas RA, RX, RL78, RZ, or similar Renesas platforms
• Tools: Renesas e² studio, IAR, GCC, JTAG/SWD debuggers, Git
• Interfaces: SPI, I2C, UART, USB, CAN, Ethernet, GPIO, ADC
• Cloud/Edge: AWS IoT Greengrass, AWS IoT Core, MQTT