A fast-growing smart home hardware company is looking for a Senior or Staff Embedded Firmware Engineer to help build and architect the firmware powering their next generation of connected IoT devices.
A fast-growing smart home hardware company is looking for a Senior or Staff Embedded Firmware Engineer to help build and architect the firmware powering their next generation of connected IoT devices.
Senior Staff Firmware Engineer
Sunnyvale, CA · On-site
$182K - $314K/yr
We are looking for a Firmware Engineer to lead our technical team and architect our firmware development. This role requires strong skills in firmware architecture, driver development, requirements ...
New
Senior Staff Firmware Engineer
Sunnyvale, CA · On-site
$182K - $314K/yr
We are looking for a Firmware Engineer to lead our technical team and architect our firmware development. This role requires strong skills in firmware architecture, driver development, requirements ...
New
Firmware Engineer, Staff
Ann Arbor, MI · On-site
Medical
Dental
Vision
Retirement
PTO
As a Staff Firmware Engineer in the Energy Systems group in Ann Arbor, you will play a critical role in developing firmware for our cutting-edge power systems products. You will engage in the entire ...
New
Quick apply
Firmware Engineer, Staff
Ann Arbor, MI · On-site
Medical
Dental
Vision
Retirement
PTO
As a Staff Firmware Engineer in the Energy Systems group in Ann Arbor, you will play a critical role in developing firmware for our cutting-edge power systems products. You will engage in the entire ...
New
Senior Staff Firmware Engineer
Sunnyvale, CA · Hybrid
$182K - $314K/yr
We are looking for a Firmware Engineer to lead our technical team and architect our firmware development. This role requires strong skills in firmware architecture, driver development, requirements ...
New
Senior Staff Firmware Engineer
Sunnyvale, CA · Hybrid
$182K - $314K/yr
We are looking for a Firmware Engineer to lead our technical team and architect our firmware development. This role requires strong skills in firmware architecture, driver development, requirements ...
New
Firmware Engineer, Staff
Ann Arbor, MI · On-site
$134K - $175K/yr
Medical
Dental
Vision
Retirement
PTO
As a Staff Firmware Engineer in the Energy Systems group in Ann Arbor, you will play a critical role in developing firmware for our cutting-edge power systems products. You will engage in the entire ...
New
Firmware Engineer, Staff
Ann Arbor, MI · On-site
$134K - $175K/yr
Medical
Dental
Vision
Retirement
PTO
As a Staff Firmware Engineer in the Energy Systems group in Ann Arbor, you will play a critical role in developing firmware for our cutting-edge power systems products. You will engage in the entire ...
New
Firmware Engineer, Staff
$134K - $175K/yr
Medical
Dental
Vision
Retirement
PTO
As a Staff Firmware Engineer in the Energy Systems group in Ann Arbor, you will play a critical role in developing firmware for our cutting-edge power systems products. You will engage in the entire ...
New
Firmware Engineer, Staff
$134K - $175K/yr
Medical
Dental
Vision
Retirement
PTO
As a Staff Firmware Engineer in the Energy Systems group in Ann Arbor, you will play a critical role in developing firmware for our cutting-edge power systems products. You will engage in the entire ...
New
Senior/Staff Firmware Engineer
Newark, CA · Remote
$122K - $161K/yr
Medical
Retirement
PTO
... engineer owns hard subsystems end-to-end; a Staff engineer's work changes how the whole team ... The PreScript firmware interface -- The firmware side of the wire protocol with the edge agent. You ...
Quick apply
Senior/Staff Firmware Engineer
Newark, CA · Remote
$122K - $161K/yr
Medical
Retirement
PTO
... engineer owns hard subsystems end-to-end; a Staff engineer's work changes how the whole team ... The PreScript firmware interface -- The firmware side of the wire protocol with the edge agent. You ...
Firmware Engineer, Staff
$134K - $175K/yr
Medical
Dental
Vision
Retirement
PTO
As a Staff Firmware Engineer in the Energy Systems group in Ann Arbor, you will play a critical role in developing firmware for our cutting-edge power systems products. You will engage in the entire ...
New
Firmware Engineer, Staff
$134K - $175K/yr
Medical
Dental
Vision
Retirement
PTO
As a Staff Firmware Engineer in the Energy Systems group in Ann Arbor, you will play a critical role in developing firmware for our cutting-edge power systems products. You will engage in the entire ...
New
Firmware Engineer, Staff
$134K - $175K/yr
Medical
Dental
Vision
Retirement
PTO
As a Staff Firmware Engineer in the Energy Systems group in Ann Arbor, you will play a critical role in developing firmware for our cutting-edge power systems products. You will engage in the entire ...
New
Firmware Engineer, Staff
$134K - $175K/yr
Medical
Dental
Vision
Retirement
PTO
As a Staff Firmware Engineer in the Energy Systems group in Ann Arbor, you will play a critical role in developing firmware for our cutting-edge power systems products. You will engage in the entire ...
New
Senior/Staff Firmware Engineer
$140K - $185K/yr
Ceribell is looking for a Firmware Engineer / Embedded Engineer who is passionate about biomedical applications and who has experience in the development of embedded or IoT products. The successful ...
Senior/Staff Firmware Engineer
$140K - $185K/yr
Ceribell is looking for a Firmware Engineer / Embedded Engineer who is passionate about biomedical applications and who has experience in the development of embedded or IoT products. The successful ...
Senior/Staff Firmware Engineer
Sunnyvale, CA · On-site
$120K - $225K/yr
Medical
Dental
Vision
Life
Retirement
PTO
Ceribell is looking for a Firmware Engineer / Embedded Engineer who is passionate about biomedical applications and who has experience in the development of embedded or IoT products. The successful ...
Senior/Staff Firmware Engineer
Sunnyvale, CA · On-site
$120K - $225K/yr
Medical
Dental
Vision
Life
Retirement
PTO
Ceribell is looking for a Firmware Engineer / Embedded Engineer who is passionate about biomedical applications and who has experience in the development of embedded or IoT products. The successful ...
Senior/Staff Firmware Engineer
$120K - $225K/yr
Ceribell is looking for a Firmware Engineer / Embedded Engineer who is passionate about biomedical applications and who has experience in the development of embedded or IoT products. The successful ...
Quick apply
Senior/Staff Firmware Engineer
$120K - $225K/yr
Ceribell is looking for a Firmware Engineer / Embedded Engineer who is passionate about biomedical applications and who has experience in the development of embedded or IoT products. The successful ...
If you're the best at what you do, come work at Innophase IoT! We're seeking a Staff/Senior Staff Firmware Engineer to join our collaborative team in developing robust and reliable firmware for next ...
If you're the best at what you do, come work at Innophase IoT! We're seeking a Staff/Senior Staff Firmware Engineer to join our collaborative team in developing robust and reliable firmware for next ...
Staff Engineer, Firmware
$116K - $199K/yr
We are currently seeking a Staff Firmware Engineer with a minimum of 10 years of experience to join our team in Eden Prairie, MN. This role is an excellent opportunity for individuals who embody our ...
Staff Engineer, Firmware
$116K - $199K/yr
We are currently seeking a Staff Firmware Engineer with a minimum of 10 years of experience to join our team in Eden Prairie, MN. This role is an excellent opportunity for individuals who embody our ...
Staff Engineer, Firmware
Eden Prairie, MN · On-site
$199K/yr
We are currently seeking a Staff Firmware Engineer with a minimum of 10 years of experience to join our team in Eden Prairie, MN. This role is an excellent opportunity for individuals who embody our ...
Staff Engineer, Firmware
Eden Prairie, MN · On-site
$199K/yr
We are currently seeking a Staff Firmware Engineer with a minimum of 10 years of experience to join our team in Eden Prairie, MN. This role is an excellent opportunity for individuals who embody our ...
We are currently seeking a Staff Firmware Engineer with a minimum of 10 years of experience to join our team in Eden Prairie, MN. This role is an excellent opportunity for individuals who embody our ...
We are currently seeking a Staff Firmware Engineer with a minimum of 10 years of experience to join our team in Eden Prairie, MN. This role is an excellent opportunity for individuals who embody our ...
Staff Engineer, Firmware
Eden Prairie, MN · On-site
$116K - $199K/yr
We are currently seeking a Staff Firmware Engineer with a minimum of 10 years of experience to join our team in Eden Prairie, MN. This role is an excellent opportunity for individuals who embody our ...
Staff Engineer, Firmware
Eden Prairie, MN · On-site
$116K - $199K/yr
We are currently seeking a Staff Firmware Engineer with a minimum of 10 years of experience to join our team in Eden Prairie, MN. This role is an excellent opportunity for individuals who embody our ...
Staff Firmware Engineer, AI Native, Edge ML
Medical
Dental
Vision
Life
Retirement
PTO
About the Job We're looking for a Staff Firmware Engineer to build and own Life360's on-device ML platform - the reusable framework that lets any device in our portfolio sample sensor data, run ...
Staff Firmware Engineer, AI Native, Edge ML
Medical
Dental
Vision
Life
Retirement
PTO
About the Job We're looking for a Staff Firmware Engineer to build and own Life360's on-device ML platform - the reusable framework that lets any device in our portfolio sample sensor data, run ...
Staff Firmware Engineer, AI Native, Edge ML
Medical
Dental
Vision
Life
Retirement
PTO
About the Job We're looking for a Staff Firmware Engineer to build and own Life360's on-device ML platform - the reusable framework that lets any device in our portfolio sample sensor data, run ...
Staff Firmware Engineer, AI Native, Edge ML
Medical
Dental
Vision
Life
Retirement
PTO
About the Job We're looking for a Staff Firmware Engineer to build and own Life360's on-device ML platform - the reusable framework that lets any device in our portfolio sample sensor data, run ...
Senior / Staff Firmware Engineer
Eden Prairie, MN · On-site
$121K - $161K/yr
PTO
As our Staff Software Engineer, you'll support HID's success by: * Analyzing and evaluating ... Working and communicating in a cross-functional team environment comprised of firmware engineers ...
New
Senior / Staff Firmware Engineer
Eden Prairie, MN · On-site
$121K - $161K/yr
PTO
As our Staff Software Engineer, you'll support HID's success by: * Analyzing and evaluating ... Working and communicating in a cross-functional team environment comprised of firmware engineers ...
New
Staff Firmware Engineer information
See salary details
$75K - $86.8K
1% of jobs
$86.8K - $98.6K
2% of jobs
$98.6K - $110.5K
3% of jobs
$110.5K - $122.3K
3% of jobs
$122.3K - $134.1K
6% of jobs
$138.2K is the 25th percentile. Wages below this are outliers.
$134.1K - $145.9K
26% of jobs
$145.9K - $157.7K
3% of jobs
$157.7K - $169.5K
3% of jobs
The median wage is $170.4K / yr.
$169.5K - $181.4K
23% of jobs
$181.4K - $193.2K
1% of jobs
$194.2K is the 75th percentile. Wages above this are outliers.
$193.2K - $205K
27% of jobs
$75K
$167.4K
$205K
How much do staff firmware engineer jobs pay per year?
As of Aug 16, 2026, the average yearly pay for staff firmware engineer in the United States is $167,438.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $143,000.00 and $205,000.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.
What is a staff firmware engineer?
Staff Firmware Engineers are senior-level professionals who design, develop, and maintain the low-level software (firmware) that directly interacts with hardware devices. They play a key role in bridging the gap between hardware and software by writing code that enables hardware components to function as intended. In addition to coding, they often lead technical projects, mentor junior engineers, and collaborate with cross-functional teams to deliver robust embedded systems. Their expertise is crucial for industries such as consumer electronics, automotive, medical devices, and industrial automation.
How much does a staff firmware engineer get paid?
A staff firmware engineer typically earns between $120,000 and $180,000 annually, depending on experience, location, and company size. They often require strong skills in embedded systems, C/C++, and hardware integration, with some roles offering additional bonuses or stock options.
What are some typical challenges that staff firmware engineers encounter when working on cross-functional projects?
Staff Firmware Engineers often work closely with hardware, software, and product teams, which can present challenges such as coordinating timelines, aligning technical requirements, and ensuring clear communication across disciplines. Balancing feature development with maintaining firmware stability, especially when hardware specifications evolve, is a common hurdle. Proactively collaborating with other teams and staying adaptable to changes can help ensure project success and smooth integration of firmware with hardware and software components.
What is the difference between Staff Firmware Engineer vs Firmware Engineer?
| Aspect | Staff Firmware Engineer | Firmware Engineer |
|---|---|---|
| Credentials | Bachelor's or Master's in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related; experience in embedded systems | Bachelor's or Master's in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related; entry to mid-level experience |
| Work Environment | Designing, developing, and leading firmware projects in embedded systems for hardware products | Writing and testing firmware for embedded devices under supervision or as part of a team |
| Industry Usage | Used across consumer electronics, IoT, automotive, and industrial sectors | Commonly found in similar industries, often as entry or mid-level roles |
The main difference is that a Staff Firmware Engineer typically has more experience, leadership responsibilities, and involvement in complex projects, while a Firmware Engineer focuses on developing firmware under guidance. Both roles require similar technical skills and industry knowledge, but the Staff level emphasizes project leadership and advanced problem-solving.
What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a staff firmware engineer, and why are they important?
To thrive as a Staff Firmware Engineer, you need deep expertise in embedded systems, C/C++ programming, and a solid background in computer engineering or related fields. Familiarity with microcontroller architectures, RTOS, debugging tools, and version control systems like Git is typically required, along with certifications such as Certified Embedded Systems Engineer being advantageous. Strong problem-solving, leadership, and effective communication skills help engineers collaborate across hardware and software teams while mentoring junior engineers. These skills are critical for delivering reliable, high-performance firmware solutions that meet project requirements and drive innovation.
Are staff firmware engineers in demand?
Staff firmware engineers are in high demand due to the growth of embedded systems, IoT devices, and hardware development. Companies seek experienced engineers with skills in C/C++, debugging, and hardware integration to develop reliable firmware for various electronic products.
More about Staff Firmware Engineer jobs
What states have the most Staff Firmware Engineer jobs?
States with the most job openings for Staff Firmware Engineer jobs include:
What job categories do people searching Staff Firmware Engineer jobs look for?
The top searched job categories for Staff Firmware Engineer jobs are:
Job description
A fast-growing smart home hardware company is looking for a Senior or Staff Embedded Firmware Engineer to help build and architect the firmware powering their next generation of connected IoT devices. You'll work deep in either the video/streaming stack or the networking/connectivity stack, owning features independently or driving architecture and mentoring engineers depending on level.
If this sounds like a fit for your next career move, apply now!Â
Title: Senior / Staff Embedded Firmware Engineer
Location: Remote in the United States
Compensation: $150–200K base (level-dependent) + 20% bonus + RSUÂ
Must-Haves:
- 7+ years of embedded firmware development experience
- Embedded C and C++
- RTOS and/or Embedded Linux platform experience
- Deep expertise in at least one of: video/audio streaming (H.264/H.265, RTSP/RTP/WebRTC) OR networking/connectivity protocols (Wi-Fi, BLE, LTE, TCP/UDP)
- Git/source control
- Hands-on hardware debugging (oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, protocol analyzers)
- Device driver development/debugging
Strong Pluses:
- Consumer IoT / smart home product experience
- Zigbee, Z-Wave, Thread, or Matter protocol experience
- Linux memory management, bootloaders (U-Boot), kernel internals
- Python/Perl/Lua scripting
- Manufacturing/production support experience
- Demonstrated technical leadership (design reviews, mentoring, driving architecture) — a plus at any level, required for Staff-track placement
- Master's degree
**US Citizens and Permanent Residents are welcome to apply. Unable to provide sponsorship at this time.**Â
About Strategic Employment Partners
Sourced by ZipRecruiter
Strategic Employment Partners (SEP) was founded in 2007, serving companies in the Greater Los Angeles area by providing Technology Recruiting and Placement Services. With the combined experience of our seasoned professionals, SEP quickly began to build strong partnerships and provide curated talent for some of the largest and fastest growing companies in Los Angeles. Since then, SEP has expanded its operations and currently has eight divisions nationwide.
Industry
Recruiting and staffing services
Company size
51 - 200 Employees
Headquarters location
Los Angeles, CA, US
Year founded
2006