Founding Embedded Engineer
BootLoop · San Francisco · $180,000–$280,000 (stated in the posting)
The Role
Have you ever wanted to work on firmware for a jet engine and a fusion power plant in the same day? As we continue to scale our product, we’re seeking a resourceful, product-obsessed founding embedded engineer to help us bring about a step change in what hardware companies are able to develop. This is a hands-on role - you’ll report directly to the CTO and work closely with the CEO, exercising real ownership over the BootLoop product portfolio. You’ll be our closest interface to customers, using BootLoop daily to dream up new workflows and product areas, building prototypes, and helping clients solve their hardest firmware problems. As the company grows, you’ll help create a team of incredible engineers around you.
The Team
BootLoop was founded by Chris and Noah. Chris was previously at SpaceX where he was the Software Lead for the Starship Booster Catch and the Firmware Lead for the Raptor Engine. Noah is an AI/ML researcher who has built edge AI systems spanning the microwatt and milliwatt scale all the way up to agent frameworks, for companies like NVIDIA and L'Oréal. Together, we've built a team of engineers from Uber, xAI, Microsoft, and SpaceX - people who've shipped at the highest levels of software and hardware, and who are now focused on reshaping how firmware gets built.
What You’ll Do
Own major product areas end-to-end. Conceive, design, implement, and ship features across our platform - from desktop application to cloud stack - in close collaboration with customers
Be our resident creative technologist. Use BootLoop every day to prototype new workflows, discover new product opportunities, and build out experiences that showcase what’s possible Work directly with clients across industries - rockets, fusion, supersonic aircraft, medical devices - serving as a trusted technical partner who helps them solve firmware challenges in the most efficient way possible
Build the tools firmware engineers never had. Design and implement hardware-in the-loop validation systems, simulation frameworks, and automated testing infrastructure that let engineers go from zero to firmware at the click of a button
Push the boundaries of AI-assisted firmware development. Invent novel ways to automate and accelerate the firmware developer experience using our state-of-the-art internal tools and the best external building blocks available
Collaborate with founders on product strategy, technical feasibility, and platform decisions - you’ll have an outsized impact on changing the landscape of firmware development
About You
4+ years of real-world embedded software experience - embedded Linux, microcontroller, FPGA, or ideally a combination.
Deep toolchain and build system experience. You’ve done the grunt work of setting up the systems that make firmware engineering possible - cross-compilation, CI/CD for hardware, debugging infrastructure. You likely come from a higher-velocity organization where there was no separate tools team.
You’re already the most AI-forward person at your company. You’ve been playing with AI tooling extensively and have strong opinions about how AI should transform firmware development.
Track record of shipping 0-to-1 products independently at early-stage companies.
Demonstrated extremely high degree of ownership and autonomy. You don’t wait to be told what to build - you identify the opportunity, prototype it, and ship it.
Comfortable as a client-facing technical partner. You can talk to engineers at customer companies, understand their problems quickly, and earn their trust.
Builder mentality. You’re not just an ideas person - you can get elbow-deep in cloud stack, firmware, or whatever’s needed to bring a prototype to life.
Nice to Have
Experience across multiple embedded domains (automotive, aerospace, medical, energy)
Developer tools or infrastructure experience
Experience in a forward-deployed or solutions engineering capacity
What We Offer
Competitive compensation: $180k - $280k base salary
Significant equity: 1.5 - 3% stake in a seed-stage company as a founding engineer
Unlimited AI spend - we invest in the tools that make you fastest
High-impact role: You’ll define how this product gets built and own critical features end-to-end
Direct founder access: Work side-by-side with CEO/CTO daily, shape company strategy
Cutting-edge product: Build something genuinely innovative that helps companies build world-changing technologies
Health & benefits: Comprehensive health insurance, unlimited PTO, relocation compensation
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