Staff Firmware Architecture Engineer, Propulsion and Battery

About the role

You will own the end to end design, development, and test of critical embedded software and tooling that supports the full scope of ALSO's products. You will lead architectural discussion in support of the design and implementation of hardware abstraction layers, peripheral drivers, and board support packages across MCU families. You will drive architectural decisions for the firmware platform and build systems, enabling teams to efficiently develop, test, and deploy firmware across the product portfolio. You will support RTOS configuration, integration, and optimization; driving decisions on OS selection, task architecture, and resource management. You will design and develop frameworks for core platform functions like telemetry generation, updating firmware, and health monitoring in reusable, common libraries. You will contribute to Bazel-based build infrastructure ensuring reproducible builds, efficient dependency management, and scalable build configurations across targets.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Drive firmware architecture for propulsion and battery systems, defining hardware abstraction layers, peripheral drivers, and board support packages that ensure safety, scalability, and performance across the vehicle portfolio.
• Architect and implement operating system management strategies, leading RTOS configuration, integration, and optimization while guiding decisions on task architecture and resource management for deterministic behavior.
• Design, develop, and maintain core firmware frameworks and libraries that standardize telemetry generation, firmware updating, and health monitoring for reuse across all product lines.
• Evolve the Bazel-based build system to enforce reproducible builds, optimize dependency management, and scale configurations across diverse MCU targets and vehicle platforms.
• Define and enforce architecture and coding standards, driver interface designs, and platform APIs while making informed decisions on MCU selection, memory management, and peripheral allocation.
• Lead build and test infrastructure improvements within CI/CD pipelines, managing toolchain maintenance, compiler and linker configurations, and ensuring fast, reliable, and deterministic build and test flows.
• Optimize boot time, memory footprint, and runtime performance through data-driven architectural choices and profiling across propulsion and battery control stacks.
• Collaborate closely with electrical, mechanical, test, and integration teams to design and document the software integration workflow for various ECUs and vehicle functions.
• Partner with other firmware teams to build robust, reusable, and scalable software components that accelerate development and reduce integration risk across the product portfolio.
• Provide vehicle system integration support including feature implementation, ECU handshaking, debugging, and root cause analysis for propulsion and battery-related issues in real-world environments.
• Drive firmware initiatives that ensure product quality and vehicle safety, applying rigorous processes and validation for safety-critical battery and powertrain functions.
• Mentor and influence firmware direction by contributing to platform roadmaps, standards, and long-term technical strategy for the mobility ecosystem.

Requirements

• Hold a B.S. or M.S. in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field.
• Bring 7+ years of experience in firmware development, with a strong background in safety-critical, time-sensitive, and resource-constrained environments.
• Demonstrate prior experience as a Software Architect, with a proven ability to design portable, maintainable, and scalable codebases.
• Show expert proficiency in C programming, with familiarity with C++ and Python, and experience writing and maintaining bash scripts for automation.
• Have a track record of delivering software-enabled hardware products, including low-level firmware development for drivers, bootloaders, and system control.
• Possess hands-on experience debugging embedded systems in real-world environments using diagnostic tools such as oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and JTAG interfaces.
• Show a strong understanding of control systems and system integration principles as they apply to vehicle electronics and software.
• Demonstrate familiarity with electric drivetrains, battery technology, and common vehicle communication protocols and peripherals such as ADC, CAN, force sensors, and IMU sensors.
• Show familiarity with model-based design and software development tools such as MATLAB/Simulink for algorithm development and verification.
• Demonstrate experience with real-time operating system platforms, particularly in functional-safety-critical applications and compliance-driven contexts.
• Show familiarity with static analysis and linting tools to enforce software quality, correctness, and maintainability across large firmware codebases.
• Bring experience with CI/CD and test automation tailored to software-enabled hardware products, with an emphasis on reliability, coverage, and traceability.
• Exhibit a highly collaborative mindset and strong communication skills, enabling effective partnerships across cross-functional and distributed teams.

Nice to have

• Familiarity with electric vehicle communication networks such as CAN-FD, LIN, and emerging automotive Ethernet stacks.
• Experience with functional safety workflows and standards relevant to automotive firmware, including ISO 26262 concepts.
• Background in battery management system firmware, cell monitoring, and safety enforcement logic.
• Prior work in high-volume automotive or mobility platforms with over-the-air update pipelines and secure boot implementations.
• Exposure to real-time performance tracing and profiling tools for embedded systems.

Practical notes

The role is based in Palo Alto and requires full-time on-site presence. Candidates must be eligible to work in the United States without sponsorship for this position. No visa sponsorship is available. Relocation details and specific start dates are not provided; interested candidates should refer to internal hiring workflows for further clarification.