Freelance Embedded System Software Engineer Jobs in Houston, TX

Description -

The System Embedded Software Engineer - Security is responsible for designing, developing, and validating secure embedded software, firmware, and driver solutions for HP commercial PC platforms. This role focuses on building security into the full firmware lifecycle, including secure boot, cryptographic services, platform identity, device onboarding, firmware update protection, and runtime threat mitigation.

The engineer works closely with hardware, BIOS, firmware, software, security, and product teams to identify risks, define secure implementation requirements, and resolve vulnerabilities before product release. The role also requires strong technical documentation, security-focused design reviews, and awareness of emerging threats, industry standards, and best practices for embedded and firmware security.
Responsibilities

• Leads the design and development of secure embedded software, firmware, and driver components for commercial PC platforms.
• Defines security requirements for firmware features, system interfaces, update mechanisms, device identity, and platform onboarding flows.
• Performs threat modeling, risk assessment, and secure design reviews across embedded software and firmware architectures.
• Implements and validates security capabilities such as secure boot, measured boot, cryptographic protocols, key management, access control, and firmware update protection.
• Investigates, reproduces, and resolves firmware security issues, including vulnerabilities found through internal testing, penetration testing, fuzzing, static analysis, or external reporting.
• Reviews code, design specifications, and project deliverables for compliance with security standards, secure coding practices, and platform firmware requirements.
• Collaborates with hardware, BIOS, OS, firmware, and cybersecurity teams to ensure end-to-end protection across the device security boundary.
• Creates and maintains technical documentation, including security architecture, interface specifications, protocol definitions, test plans, and mitigation plans.
• Drives continuous improvement in embedded security practices, including security automation, CI/CD integration, vulnerability scanning, and secure development lifecycle processes.
• Provides technical leadership and mentoring to engineers on secure firmware design, debugging, validation, and vulnerability remediation.

Education & Experience Recommended

• Bachelor or Master Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical

  Cybersecurity, or a related discipline.

• 10+ years of experience in embedded software, firmware, driver development, or product security, with hands-on experience delivering secure firmware or embedded systems.

Preferred Certifications

Software Engineering

• Secure embedded systems development, including bare metal, RTOS, bootloader, and low-level firmware environments.
• Experience with embedded security architecture, device identity, secure provisioning, secure onboarding, and low-footprint cryptographic implementations.
• Knowledge of secure coding practices, vulnerability classes, memory safety risks, and defensive firmware design techniques.
• Experience building fault-tolerant, tamper-resistant, and highly reliable embedded systems.
• CI/CD pipeline expertise for embedded systems, including automated security testing, static analysis, signing, and release validation.

Security, Connectivity, and Interoperability

• Embedded security development experience in cryptography, authentication, secure protocols, certificate handling, and key management.
• Experience securing wireless, peripheral, and interconnect protocol stacks across multiple connectivity technologies.
• Understanding of protocol-level security, transport protection, secure pairing, access control, and interoperability risk mitigation.
• Ability to interpret hardware and protocol specifications to identify security gaps, define mitigations, and guide secure design approaches.

Knowledge & Skills

• Firmware security development on Arm-based processors and embedded controller platforms
• Proficient in C; familiar with Python, scripting, build automation, and security test tooling
• Source control and secure development workflow experience, including GitHub, code review, branch control, and release governance
• Secure boot, bootloader architecture, firmware signing, verification, rollback protection, and update recovery mechanisms
• Embedded firmware debugging and security validation using JTAG, SWD, trace tools, and vulnerability analysis methods
• Experience with UART, I2C, SPI, USB, PCIe, wireless, and other platform interfaces with awareness of associated security risks
• Use of logic analyzers, protocol analyzers, oscilloscopes, and similar tools to debug security-relevant firmware and hardware interactions
• RTOS concepts, privilege separation, memory protection, concurrency risks, and secure multi-threaded firmware development
• Basic analog/digital electronics knowledge; able to read schematics and identify hardware security assumptions or constraints
• Capable of interpreting specifications, data sheets, standards, and security requirements to develop robust firmware solutions

The pay range for this role is$147,050to$230,850USD annually with additional opportunities for pay in the form of bonus and/or equity (applies to United States of America candidates only). Pay varies by work location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.
Benefits:
HP offers a comprehensive benefits package for this position, including:

• Health insurance
• Dental insurance
• Vision insurance
• Long term/short term disability insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Flexible spending account
• Life insurance
• Generous time off policies, including;
• 4-12 weeks fully paid parental leave based on tenure
• 11 paid holidays
• Additional flexible paid vacation and sick leave (US benefits overview)

The compensation and benefits information is accurate as of the date of this posting. The Company reserves the right to modify this information at any time, with or without notice, subject to applicable law.

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Equal Opportunity Employer (EEO) -

HP, Inc. provides equal employment opportunity to all employees and prospective employees, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, sexual orientation, age, disability, or status as a protected veteran, marital status, familial status, physical or mental disability, medical condition, pregnancy, genetic predisposition or carrier status, uniformed service status, political affiliation or any other characteristic protected by applicable national, federal, state, and local law(s).

Please be assured that you will not be subject to any adverse treatment if you choose to disclose the information requested. This information is provided voluntarily. The information obtained will be kept in strict confidence.

For more information, review HP'sEEO Policy or read about your rights as an applicant under the law here: "Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal"