Freelance Embedded Firmware Engineer Jobs in Tennessee

ORAU is conducting the search on behalf of Type One Energy for a permanent, fulltime Software Engineer (Embedded/Firmware) in Knoxville, Tennessee. 

Location: Knoxville TN

Salary: Highly Competitive Plus Benefits

Role: Permanent, full time

Reporting to: Director of Electrical and Software Engineering

About Type One Energy

Type One Energy Group is mission-driven to provide sustainable, affordable fusion power to the world. Established in 2019 and venture-backed in 2023, the company is led by a team of globally recognized fusion scientists with a strong track record of building state-of-the-art stellarator fusion machines, together with veteran business leaders experienced in scaling companies and commercializing energy technologies.

If you are searching for the best new ideas and share our vision, join us as a "Software Engineer- Embedded/Firmware".

Type One Energy offers:

In addition to a basic salary and yearly bonus, you will also get...

• Stock and share options
• Relocation allowance
• Insurance plans
• 401k retirement options
• And many more great voluntary benefits

Type One Energy applies proven advanced manufacturing methods, modern computational physics and high-field superconducting magnets to develop its optimized stellarator fusion energy system. Its FusionDirect development program pursues the lowest-risk, shortest-schedule path to a fusion power plant over the coming decade, using a partner-intensive and capital-efficient strategy.

Type One Energy is committed to community engagement in the development and deployment of its clean energy technology. For more information, visit www.typeoneenergy.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

Your role in the mission:

The Software Engineer - Embedded / Firmware will design and develop low-level software and firmware for instrumentation and control (I&C) systems supporting stellarator devices and associated equipment. This role focuses on embedded platforms, FPGA-based systems, real-time operating environments, and hardware integration.

The successful candidate will work closely with electrical, controls, and systems engineers to enable reliable operation of safety-critical and high-performance hardware. You will:

• Develop low-level embedded software and firmware, including I&C device drivers
• Design and implement FPGA control software using hardware description languages
• Develop, customize, and maintain embedded operating systems such as real-time Linux and PetaLinux
• Support printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) development in collaboration with hardware teams
• Perform hardware bring-up, validation, and debugging of new embedded platforms
• Implement and maintain software build systems, testing, and CI/CD pipelines
• Integrate firmware with higher-level control systems and applications
• Troubleshoot complex hardware-software interactions
• Create technical documentation including design specifications, interface definitions, and test procedures
• Participate in system integration, verification, and commissioning activities

What you'll need:

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Software Engineering, or a related field
• Minimum 3 years of experience in embedded software or firmware development
• Strong experience with PetaLinux and real-time Linux environments
• FPGA development experience using VHDL and/or Verilog
• Experience with standard embedded peripherals and communication protocols, including:
• • ADC, DAC
  • IC, SPI
  • Ethernet / TCP/IP
  • Serial interfaces and low-level hardware communication
• Experience with version control and CI/CD tools (e.g., Jenkins, GitHub Actions)
• Strong debugging and problem-solving skills across hardware and software domains
• Ability to work effectively in a multidisciplinary engineering environment

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with industrial automation or control systems
• Familiarity with LabVIEW and National Instruments hardware platforms
• Experience working in regulated industries such as medical devices, automotive, aerospace, nuclear, or energy
• Knowledge of safety-critical or high-reliability embedded systems
• Experience with system-level integration and testing of complex equipment