Software & Firmware Engineer at Mercor

Software & Firmware Engineer | $100-120/hr | Remote (Contractor)

Mercor is seeking experienced software and firmware engineers to support an advanced engineering and AI research initiative with a leading technology organization. This role suits engineers who have designed, implemented, integrated, tested, debugged, or validated software and firmware that directly interfaces with real-world hardware systems, in areas such as embedded firmware, FPGA/RTL, flight software, or hardware test automation.

What the work involves

• Apply hands-on software, firmware, and digital hardware expertise to technically complex tasks involving real physical systems.
• Review and evaluate embedded firmware, FPGA/RTL designs, flight software, test automation frameworks, and hardware interfaces.
• Analyze architecture and implementation trade-offs: real-time performance, timing, memory, reliability, fault handling, concurrency, and hardware/software integration.
• Identify implementation errors, race conditions, timing issues, interface failures, and other system-level failure modes.
• Develop or review engineering problems, reference implementations, test cases, evaluation criteria, and technical documentation.
• Provide clear technical feedback grounded in real-world engineering experience and production hardware constraints.

Who it's for

• 5+ years of professional software, firmware, FPGA, or embedded systems engineering experience, including at least 3 years of recent, actively hands-on work on real hardware (not solely program or people management).
• Experience as the responsible engineer for production hardware-connected software or firmware, owning parts of the lifecycle from requirements through implementation, bring-up, verification, validation, debugging, and deployment.
• Deep expertise in at least one core domain: embedded firmware and real-time systems; FPGA/RTL design and verification; flight software and safety/mission-critical systems; or hardware test automation and hardware-in-the-loop infrastructure.
• Strong command of relevant technologies such as C/C++, Python, RTOS/bare-metal development, device drivers, bootloaders, embedded Linux, SPI/I²C/UART/CAN/Ethernet, Verilog/SystemVerilog/VHDL, FPGA toolchains, telemetry, and automated test systems.
• Hands-on debugging of software-hardware interactions using JTAG/SWD debuggers, logic analyzers, oscilloscopes, HIL/SIL environments, automated test equipment, and structured root-cause analysis.
• Experience in real-world product or hardware manufacturing environments (aerospace/defense, space, automotive, semiconductors, consumer electronics, robotics, industrial/energy, or medical devices) is strongly preferred, with the ability to explain architectural decisions, trade-offs, test results, and failure mechanisms.

Pay and schedule

$100-120/hr, hourly contractor engagement.

Location

Fully remote, with flexible engagement structures.