Embedded Systems Engineer

About the Company

We are a renewable energy and ocean technology company committed to rapidly developing and deploying technologies that will ensure a sustainable future for Earth by unlocking the vast energy potential of its oceans. Our focus is on capturing civilizational levels of ultra-low-cost renewable energy for applications including computing and affordable renewable fuels delivered to shore.

The company is a public benefit corporation headquartered in Portland, Oregon and backed by leading venture capitalists, philanthropic investors, university endowments, and private investment offices. We operate as an idea meritocracy in which the best ideas change the company’s direction on a regular basis. 

About the Job

Our core technology is the node, a device that produces energy in the ocean’s harshest conditions for years at a time without human maintenance or intervention.

We’re looking for a hands-on Embedded Systems Engineer who thrives at the intersection of hardware and firmware. In this role, you’ll design custom electronics and develop the low-level firmware that brings them to life, owning the product end-to-end, from schematic capture and board layout to board bring-up, real-time firmware development, integration, and testing. You’ll write bare-metal firmware (primarily in Rust), implement device drivers and communication protocols, and debug hardware using tools like oscilloscopes and logic analyzers.

This role is critical to the success of our mission, the embedded systems you design will be at the heart of our technology, enabling autonomous operation in one of the most extreme environments on Earth. You’ll work shoulder-to-shoulder with mechanical, manufacturing, software, and systems teams to deliver designs that are robust, manufacturable, and deeply integrated into the broader product architecture.

Our staff have worked at organizations such as SpaceX, Blue Origin, Boeing, Tesla, Apple, Virgin Orbit, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, New Relic, Bridgewater, Raytheon, Disney Imagineering, and the US Army and Air Force, as well as research universities, startups, and small companies across a range of industries. We are organized as a public benefit corporation and are backed by leading venture capital firms, private investors, philanthropic investors, and endowments.

We strive to be the best engineering team on the planet and we compensate our team members accordingly. 

Responsibilities

Hardware Design

• Design and develop custom circuit boards, including component selection, schematic capture, and multilayer PCB layout using industry-standard EDA tools (preferably Altium)
• Perform board bring-up and validation using oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, multimeters, and other tools
• Ensure hardware meets system-level requirements including power, thermal, and EMI/EMC constraints
• Collaborate with mechanical and manufacturing teams to ensure DFM (Design for Manufacturing), DFT (Design for Test), and reliability in field conditions
• Maintain documentation for hardware designs, revisions, and test procedures

Firmware Development

• Write, debug, and maintain bare-metal firmware in Rust for real-time embedded systems
• Develop and integrate communication protocols (SPI, I2C, UART, CAN, etc.) and device drivers for sensors and actuators
• Implement low-power firmware strategies and safety-critical features
• Support firmware testing and validation, including unit/integration tests and hardware-in-the-loop systems
• Maintain and improve firmware build systems, CI pipelines, and version control workflows

System Integration & Support

• Support full-system integration and debugging across hardware, firmware, and software interfaces
• Participate in cross-functional design reviews and contribute to system-level architecture decisions
• Assist with design verification testing and long-term reliability validation
• Troubleshoot issues in deployed systems and contribute to root-cause analysis

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field
• 2+ years of experience designing PCBs and writing embedded firmware
• Proficiency in Rust or C/C++ for bare-metal, real-time embedded systems
• Experience with microcontrollers (e.g., STM32, NXP, TI, Microchip)
• Familiarity with hardware debugging tools: oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, multimeters, signal generators, etc.
• Experience with PCB design tools (Altium preferred) and circuit simulation (e.g., LTspice)
• Solid understanding of digital/analog circuit design, power management, and signal integrity

Desired Qualifications

• Experience with environmental and reliability testing (e.g., HALT, temperature, vibration)
• Exposure to real-time operating systems (RTOS)
• Familiarity with safety-critical or harsh-environment systems (aerospace, marine, defense, etc.)
• Passion for renewable energy and sustainable technology

The above qualifications are desired, not required. We encourage you to apply if you are a strong candidate with only some of the desired skills and experience listed.

Additional Requirements 

• Intermittently able to work longer hours and weekends to support critical needs. While we expect a lot of each other, we also offer a high degree of autonomy and work-life balance, including unlimited PTO and flexible working hours. 

Compensation and Benefits

If hired for this full-time role, you will receive:

• Cash compensation of $140,000 - 180,000
• Equity in the company. We’re all owners and if we’re successful, this equity should be far and away the most valuable component of your compensation.
• A benefits package that helps you take care of yourself and your family, including:
• Flexible paid time off
• Health insurance (the company pays 100% of gold level PPO plan for full time employees, their partners, and dependents)
• Dental insurance (the company pays 33% for full time employees and 100% for their partners and dependents)
• Vision insurance (the company pays 100% for full time employees, their partners, and dependents)
• Disability insurance (the company pays 100% for a policy to provide long term financial support if you become disabled)
• Ability to contribute to tax-advantaged accounts, including 401(k), health FSA, and dependent care FSA
• Relocation assistance to facilitate your move to Portland (if needed).

Location

On-site, our offices, lab, shop, and manufacturing facilities are located in and near Portland, Oregon. Due to the nature of working in a lab and production environment, this position requires consistent on-site work.