Staff Embedded Software Engineer

Job Title

Staff Embedded Software Engineer

Role Summary

Join the Tool Software team to develop firmware and control software for fab2's semiconductor fabrication equipment. The role spans microcontroller firmware, real-time Linux applications, diagnostics, and production deployment.

Work closely with electrical, mechanical, process, and fab teams to bring tools from board bring-up to reliable production use.

Experience Level

Senior — requires substantial prior experience; posting specifies a minimum of 8 years of relevant embedded software experience.

Responsibilities

Build and deliver embedded software and control systems for semiconductor processing equipment.

• Lead microcontroller firmware development for processing tools and components.
• Design and implement real-time Linux applications for equipment control, automation, and diagnostics.
• Prototype, bring up boards, develop drivers, control logic, and state machines.
• Integrate sensors, actuators, and control systems with hardware and mechanical designs.
• Collaborate with electronics and mechanical engineers on schematics, requirements, and tool integration.
• Deploy and maintain production software, including over-the-air updates and release infrastructure.
• Debug across hardware/software boundaries to improve performance, uptime, and process repeatability.

Requirements

Core qualifications and technical skills required; separate list for desirable skills.

• Minimum of 8 years of relevant experience in real-time embedded software development.
• Proven experience programming microcontrollers in C.
• Experience with Python for diagnostics and tooling.
• Experience taking embedded systems from 0→1: system definition, prototyping, and production deployment.
• Familiarity with microcontroller peripherals: ADC, GPIO, PWM, SPI, I2C, CAN.
• Experience working with actuators, sensors, and digital signal processing.
• Ability to debug hardware-software interactions and drive cross-discipline integration.
• Must be able to comply with U.S. export control requirements for controlled technology.

Nice-to-have

• Background in semiconductors, industrial automation, or manufacturing.
• Familiarity with controls for motor drivers, mass flow controllers, temperature controllers, or precision actuators.
• Experience programming in Rust and with embedded Linux (Yocto, Buildroot).
• Interest in applied math, linear algebra, and numerical methods; familiarity with FMEA or reliability-focused design.

Education Requirements

BS in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or Physics is listed as expected; equivalent practical experience or demonstrable exceptional skills accepted.

About the Company

Company: fab2

Headquarters: Austin, TX, United States

Early-stage hardware startup that designs and builds semiconductor fabrication equipment, tools, and the hardware/software needed to make fabs. Works on lithography, metrology, motion systems and related components; founded by Sam Zeloof and Jim Keller with offices in Austin and San Francisco.