Staff Engineer Firmware (C/C++/Rust)

Location: Onsite in Pleasanton, California, United States. Travel up to 5%.

Base salary: $163,430–$213,972 per year, plus bonus, equity, and benefits.

Company

hirify.global is a quantum technology company delivering integrated quantum computing, networking, sensing, and security solutions. Vector Atomic, an hirify.global company, develops quantum technology for navigation, timing, geophysical exploration, and telecommunications.

What you will do

• Provide architectural direction and technical leadership for real-time control systems and quantum instruments.
• Design embedded controllers on ARM SoC and ST Micro platforms, including user-space drivers, libraries, and reusable control frameworks.
• Develop production-quality C/C++ and Rust software, including robust control loops and data acquisition pipelines.
• Lead board testing, hardware bring-up, and hardware-software collaboration with physicists and electronics engineers.
• Mentor engineers through code reviews, pair programming, and technical coaching.
• Improve development infrastructure, CI/CD, automated testing, coding standards, and engineering processes.

Requirements

• BS/MS in electrical engineering, computer engineering, or computer science with 8–12 years of experience, or a PhD with 8+ years of related experience.
• Must be a U.S. citizen, lawful U.S. permanent resident, or fall within eligible refugee or asylee categories because of U.S. export control requirements.
• Advanced experience designing complex embedded systems and software architectures from the ground up.
• Strong knowledge of hardware-software interfaces and low-level programming, including TCP, UART, and MMAP.
• Strong debugging and troubleshooting skills with profilers, debuggers, and simulation tools.
• Ability to lead cross-disciplinary technical initiatives and work in a laboratory environment.

Nice to have

• Production Rust development, including asynchronous runtimes, concurrency, and performance optimization.
• Embedded Linux, C/C++ systems programming, Linux kernel, and device-driver development.
• Control theory, including PID, state-space, and adaptive control algorithms.
• DSP, fixed-point algorithms, digital filter design, and SoC/FPGA systems.
• Python for scientific libraries and developer tooling, plus experience with laboratory equipment and embedded CI/CD.

Culture & Benefits

• Collaborative, hands-on environment focused on complex quantum technology challenges.
• Open and honest discourse, diverse perspectives, autonomy, and respect.
• Platinum-level family medical, dental, and vision coverage.
• Health and dependent care FSAs, employer 401(k) contributions, paid parental leave, and paid time off.
• 20 days of paid time off, 11 paid holidays, and a fully stocked kitchen.