Helion · 23 hours ago
Senior Firmware Engineer
Everett, WA
Full-time
Onsite
Senior Level, Lead/Staff
$200K/yr - $236K/yr
8+ years expHelion is a fusion power company based in Everett, WA, aiming to build the world's first fusion power plant for clean electricity. As a Senior Firmware Engineer, you will develop embedded systems for control and diagnostics of fusion machines, collaborating with engineers to create high-performance systems and automate testing processes.
EnergyEnvironmental EngineeringRenewable Energy
Responsibilities
Develop, test, and maintain firmware for real-time embedded systems used in machine control and diagnostics
Work closely with hardware and software engineers to translate system requirements into embedded designs
Bring up new boards, sensors, and actuators — debugging with oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and JTAG interfaces
Implement and maintain low-level communication protocols (UART, SPI, I²C, CAN, EtherCAT, etc.)
Design and refine embedded command interfaces, configuration utilities, and automated test frameworks
Optimize performance, reliability, and timing synchronization across distributed embedded systems
Contribute to continuous improvement of embedded toolchains, build systems, and test automation
Rapidly prototype novel control and measurement concepts to support new machine architectures
Collaborate across disciplines to ensure firmware integrates seamlessly with high-level software and data systems
Qualification
Required
BS or higher in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or Computer Science
8+ years of experience developing embedded systems in C, C++, and/or Rust
Experience with real-time MCU development (bare metal or RTOS-based)
Strong understanding of digital communication protocols (UART, SPI, I²C)
Familiarity with mixed-signal circuit design and debugging using oscilloscopes, DMMs, and logic analyzers
Experience with version control systems (Git)
Scripting experience in Python for automation, hardware bring-up, or testing
Solid grasp of embedded systems fundamentals: power, timing, data, and memory budgets
Experience developing and debugging on Linux-based systems
Benefits
Medical, Dental, and Vision plans for employees and their families
31 Days of PTO (21 vacation days and 10 sick days)
10 Paid holidays, plus company-wide winter break
Up to 5% employer 401(k) match
Short term disability, long term disability, and life insurance
Paid parental leave and support (up to 16 weeks)
Annual wellness stipend
Company
Helion
We are a fusion power company based in Everett, WA, with the mission to build the world's first fusion power plant, enabling a future with unlimited clean electricity.
201-500 employees
H1B Sponsorship
Helion has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2024 (1)
2023 (2)
2022 (1)
2021 (1)
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageTotal Funding
$1.04BKey Investors
Nucor CorporationSam AltmanDustin Moskovitz
2025-01-28Series F· $425M
2023-09-27Corporate Round· $35M
2021-11-05Series E· $500M
Leadership Team
David Kirtley
Founder and CEO
Chris Pihl
Co-Founder, CTO
Recent News
2025-12-24
Crunchbase News
2025-12-18
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2025-12-17
Company data provided by crunchbase