About the role- We are looking for a Senior Embedded Software, Firmware & Driver Engineer to build and own low-level software across a wide range of processors, accelerators, and custom silicon in our robotics and Physical AI systems. This is a deeply hands-on role for someone who thrives close to hardware-bringing up new chips, writing robust firmware and drivers, and integrating them into production-quality RTOS and Linux software stacks.
You will work across CPUs, MCUs, DSPs, NPUs, TPUs, and custom ASICs, developing firmware, boot flows, device drivers, and board-support packages (BSPs). The role spans early silicon and board bring-up through stable, scalable deployment, with a strong emphasis on correctness, performance, reliability, and maintainability.
What you'll do- Design, develop, and maintain embedded firmware and device drivers for a wide range of processors and accelerators, including ARM Cortex-M, Cortex-R, and Cortex-A; DSP cores (e.g., Tensilica); NPUs, TPUs, GPUs, and custom accelerators
- Lead chip, SoC, and board bring-up from first power-on to production readiness
- Develop and maintain BSPs, bootloaders, and low-level system software
- Write and debug device drivers for peripherals and interfaces such as I2C, SPI, UART, CAN, USB, PCIe, Ethernet; GPIO, PWM, timers, DMA, watchdogs; sensors, cameras, storage, and custom hardware blocks
- Develop firmware for RTOS-based systems and Linux-based platforms
- Integrate firmware and drivers into a larger production software stack
- Debug complex system-level issues across hardware, firmware, kernel, and user space
- Optimize for performance, latency, memory footprint, power, and reliability
- Collaborate closely with hardware, silicon, systems, and application teams to define interfaces and requirements
- Establish and follow best practices for embedded software development, testing, documentation, and code quality
- Support validation, manufacturing, and field issues with root-cause analysis and fixes
Required Qualifications- Bachelor's degree or higher in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field
- 7+ years of experience in embedded software, firmware, or driver development
- Strong hands-on experience with bare-metal and RTOS-based firmware development; Linux kernel, device drivers, and system bring-up
- Experience working across multiple processor architectures and cores (MCUs, CPUs, DSPs, accelerators)
- Deep understanding of embedded systems fundamentals: boot flows, interrupts, memory hierarchies, caches, MMUs; concurrency, synchronization, and real-time constraints
- Strong proficiency in embedded programming languages: C and C++; Assembly (at least at a debugging / bring-up level); Python and scripting for tooling, automation, and testing
- Experience with hardware bring-up, debugging, and validation
- Ability to read schematics, datasheets, and silicon reference manuals
- Experience delivering production-quality embedded software
Preferred Qualifications- Experience with common RTOSes (e.g., FreeRTOS, Zephyr, QNX, ThreadX, VxWorks)
- Strong Linux experience, including device tree; kernel configuration and build systems; driver development and debugging
- Experience with bootloaders (e.g., U-Boot, custom boot ROM flows)
- Familiarity with embedded Linux build systems (Yocto, Buildroot)
- Experience with hardware debug and bring-up tools: JTAG/SWD, logic analyzers, oscilloscopes; GDB, OpenOCD, Lauterbach, Trace32, etc.
- Experience with SoC and ASIC development environments
- Familiarity with power management, clocking, and performance tuning
- Experience in robotics, autonomous systems, or other safety-critical or real-time systems
Benefits (subject to location and local regulations)
- Competitive salary and equity
- Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage
- 401(k) retirement plan
- Flexible vacation and time-off policy
- Collaborative, fast-paced, and inclusive work environment
- Opportunity to work on cutting-edge technologies with a highly cross-functional team
About LyteLyte builds perception systems for Physical AI operating in complex environments. The company combines custom silicon, integrated sensors, and software into a unified platform for robotics, mobility, and next-generation automation. Lyte is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, with a global presence. For more information, visit www.lyte.ai
If you're excited about building impactful technology in a dynamic, hands-on environment, we'd love to hear from you!The pay range for this role is:
150,000 - 300,000 USD per year (Bay Area, CA)
