Embedded Systems Engineer, Robotics
Dexmate · Fremont Office · onsite
USD 100,000 to 300,000 per year
ABOUT DEXMATE
Dexmate is building the foundation for physical AI — combining a new generation of robots with a universal Physical AI OS, making robots as easy to build and deploy as software. Today, robotics is fragmented, slow, and closed: most builders are forced to reinvent the same stack again and again, and most ideas never make it past the prototype stage. We exist to change that. Our mission is to democratize robotics by lowering the barrier to entry, delivering a plug-and-play platform for developers, researchers, and enterprises, and cultivating an open ecosystem that accelerates the evolution of physical AI.
If you want to help shape the next layer of human capability — and believe the future of robotics should be built together, not in isolation — we'd love to build it with you.
THE ROLE
We're looking for an Embedded Systems Engineer to own the boundary where our robot's electronics meet its software. You will bring up and debug new PCBs, write the firmware and drivers that make every sensor, camera, actuator, and compute module talk to each other, and make sure data moves reliably across CAN/CAN FD, EtherCAT, GMSL, I2C, SPI, and Ethernet.
This is a hands-on, cross-layer role. One day you're probing a board with a scope to find why a bus is dropping frames; the next you're writing a Linux driver for a camera serializer or tuning an EtherCAT network for deterministic timing. You'll work closely with electrical, firmware, controls, and robotics software engineers, and you'll often be the person who figures out whether a problem lives in hardware, firmware, or software.
RESPONSIBILITIES
- Bringing up, validating, and debugging new PCBs: reading schematics and layouts, measuring signals, and isolating hardware vs. software faults
- Developing firmware for MCUs (bare-metal and RTOS) and drivers for embedded Linux platforms (e.g., NVIDIA Jetson / Orin)
- Writing and maintaining device drivers and communication stacks for CAN/CAN FD, EtherCAT, I2C, SPI, UART, and Ethernet
- Integrating camera and sensor pipelines over GMSL (serializer/deserializer configuration, device trees, V4L2 drivers, timing and synchronization)
- Bringing up and tuning EtherCAT and CAN networks across actuators, sensors, and power systems for deterministic, real-time performance
- Debugging signal-integrity, power, timing, and bus-level issues with oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and protocol analyzers
- Contributing firmware and software input during schematic and PCB design reviews to make boards easier to bring up, test, and debug
- Building diagnostics, test fixtures, and automated hardware-in-the-loop tests for boards and subsystems
- Supporting manufacturing, end-of-line testing, and field troubleshooting as robots move from prototype to deployment
- Documenting interfaces, bring-up procedures, and debugging playbooks for the wider team
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
- 3+ years of professional experience in embedded systems in robotics, automotive, industrial automation, or complex consumer electronics
- Strong C and C++ skills for firmware and driver development; working knowledge of Python for tooling and test automation
- Hands-on board bring-up experience, including reading schematics, PCB layouts, datasheets, and timing diagrams
- Driver-level experience with several of: CAN/CAN FD, EtherCAT, I2C, SPI, UART, Ethernet
- Experience with MCU firmware (ARM Cortex-M, STM32, TI C2000, or similar) on bare-metal or RTOS platforms
- Comfort with embedded debugging and lab tools: JTAG/SWD debuggers, oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and protocol analyzers
- Systematic debugging skills across the hardware, firmware, and software boundary
- Strong communication skills and comfort working directly with electrical, mechanical, controls, and software engineers
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Experience with GMSL or other high-speed camera links (e.g., MAX9295/MAX9296, FPD-Link), MIPI CSI-2, and V4L2
- Embedded Linux kernel and device-driver development, device trees, and BSP bring-up (NVIDIA Jetson / Orin a plus)
- Experience integrating EtherCAT master or slave stacks (SOEM, IgH, or equivalent)
- Familiarity with PCB design tools (Altium, KiCad) and the ability to propose schematic-level fixes
- Knowledge of signal integrity, power integrity, and EMC fundamentals
- Experience with motor-control, BMS, or power-electronics systems
- Experience with ROS 2 or other robotics middleware
- Prior experience working in a vertically integrated robotics or hardware startup
- Hands-on use of AI coding tools such as Claude Code or Codex to accelerate implementation, debugging, testing, and documentation