Compensation Overview

Company Overview:

Second Order Effects (SOE) is an engineering consultancy that transforms uncertainty into fully functional hardware and software. We work on projects at various stages of development and scope; we perform analysis, build prototypes, and take products to market. Our cross-disciplinary team solves critical problems across numerous industries, including automotive, aerospace, consumer electronics, industrial automation, biomedical, green energy, and marine. Our designs control rocket engines, manage satellite communications, generate safety-overrides for self-driving cars, and are enjoyed by consumers around the world.

Founded in 2016, Second Order Effects has 90+ employees (and counting!) in offices in El Segundo, California and Redmond, Washington. We’ve worked with 90+ clients on 250+ projects as a partner, on a retainer, or on demand, all of which have no involvement with weapons.

How do we do this? We prioritize others, build the right thing, welcome difficulty, and play the long game. Learn more at soeffects.com!

Team Overview:

The Advanced Projects team is a cross-functional, multidisciplinary group that handles requirements-driven hardware development projects. We are focused on engineering design, developing custom electronics to fulfill our clients’ needs, and identifying the best components and techniques to implement the desired functionality, while emphasizing quality and reliability. Our projects tend to be larger, longer-term engagements, though team members often split time across multiple projects.

We are looking for people who know how to get things done, who are always looking to grow their capabilities and deepen their knowledge, and who challenge assumptions, constantly pushing for better solutions and finding novel approaches to problems old and new. If that sounds like you, you’ve come to the right place.

Job Overview:

As an Embedded Firmware Engineer, you will be a creative problem solver and gain exposure to a wide variety of technologies, concepts, and techniques in firmware development from concept and architecture to release. Ideally, you have a strong curiosity, a tenacious spirit, and a willingness to help solve complex engineering problems. 

What You Will Do:

• Develop, debug, and test embedded firmware for a wide variety of processor architectures and applications, including avionics systems, medical instruments, and interactive devices
• Design and implement data interfaces between embedded devices and mobile and desktop applications
• Develop low-level drivers to Interface with a wide range of embedded hardware peripheral devices, such as sensors, displays, and motors
• Create unit, module, and system level test scripts and test plans
• Participate in peer reviews of code features with other firmware team members
• Interface with clients and project leads to help define requirements and iterate designs through final release and validation testing
• Support bring up of new hardware designs in the lab with other engineers
• Participate in the development and maintenance of custom tools to support firmware development

What You Will Need:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Math or Science discipline
• Proficiency in at least one programming or hardware description language (e.g., Python, C/C++, C#, Rust, etc.)
• Familiarity with code development for microcontrollers or other embedded processors
• Experience with hardware-level software development, including timers, interrupts, and hardware peripherals, such as SPI and ADC
• Hardware-level debug experience, including familiarity with tools, such as oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, protocol analyzers, etc. 
• Experience using version control systems such as Git

What Would Be Useful:

• Master’s degree (Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, Math, related field)
• 2+ years experience developing embedded firmware or HDL 
• Proficiency with debugging, power and performance optimization, and unit testing
• Experience with HDL and FPGA design tools (e.g., Xilinx Vivado, Synopsys VCS)
• Experience implementing DSP and control system algorithms on microcontrollers or FPGAs
• Experience writing driver-level code to communicate with external devices over I²C or SPI
• Experience architecting embedded firmware solutions
• Intimate knowledge of computer architecture, software systems, networking, and mixed-signal hardware

Additional Requirements:

• Applicant must be willing to work 40 hours a week on-site in El Segundo, California, USA
• Applicant must be eligible to work on ITAR projects
• Job Type: Full-time (Salary)

ITAR Requirements:

• To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide sponsorship at this time.
  

Benefits:

• Compensation range of $102,630-$148,250 + equity incentive plan
• 100% employer-paid health insurance (Medical, Dental, Vision) for employees + 50% dependent coverage
• Flexible paid time off policy + 11 paid holidays + 12 paid sick days
• 401(k) retirement account and employer matching (Safe Harbor 4%)
• Flexible work policy
• Paid parental leave
• Relocation assistance available if 50+ miles away from the office
• Electric Vehicle (EV) charging ports
• Daily catered lunches, snacks, and accessible kitchen
• & more!

If you don’t meet 100% of the preferred skills and experience, we encourage you to still apply!

Second Order Effects is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with SOE is governed on the basis of excellence and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability, or any other legally protected status.