Mainspring Energy · 4 hours ago
Principal Embedded Software Engineer
Menlo Park, CA
Full-time
Onsite
Lead/Staff
$210K/yr - $247K/yr
10+ years expMainspring Energy is revolutionizing power generation with innovative technology and is seeking a highly experienced Embedded Software Architect. This role involves leading the design and evolution of next-generation product platforms, focusing on defining the architectural vision for embedded systems that require hard real-time performance and seamless integration with hardware.
EnergyRenewable EnergyClean EnergyOil and Gas
Responsibilities
Architectural Design: Define, document, and champion the end-to-end software architecture for embedded systems, ensuring compliance with system requirements for performance, safety, security, and reliability
RTOS and Control Systems: Serve as the subject matter expert for the implementation and optimization of Real-Time Operating Systems (RTOS) and the integration of complex, high-frequency control algorithms (e.g., state-space, predictive control, PID loops, motor control)
Technical Leadership: Guide and mentor embedded software development teams on best practices, design patterns, coding standards, and architectural decisions. Conduct rigorous design reviews and code inspections
Hardware-Software Interface: Define the precise interfaces and interaction models between application software, low-level drivers, and custom hardware components, including microcontrollers (MCUs) and Digital Signal Processors (DSPs)
Platform Strategy: Drive the evolution of our embedded software platform, identifying opportunities for reuse, modularity, and migrating legacy codebases to modern architectural patterns
Performance Optimization: Analyze and optimize system performance, memory usage, and resource allocation to meet strict real-time deadlines and minimize latency
Risk and Compliance: Identify and mitigate technical risks associated with architecture choices and ensure the system design adheres to relevant industry standards and safety-critical requirements
Tooling and Automation: Evaluate and recommend development tools, build systems, continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines, and testing frameworks for embedded environments
Qualification
Required
10+ years of progressive experience in embedded software development, with at least 3-5 years in an Architect or Lead capacity for complex systems
Deep expertise in designing and implementing solutions using various Real-Time Operating Systems (RTOS) such as FreeRTOS, VxWorks, QNX, or similar
Demonstrated experience in implementing and tuning sophisticated control algorithms and signal processing techniques in an embedded environment, ensuring hard real-time performance
Proficiency in C/C++ for embedded systems, including advanced understanding of memory management, concurrent programming, and performance tuning
Extensive experience defining and working with communication protocols (e.g., Ethernet, CAN, SPI, I2C, UART) and data logging/telemetry systems
Strong understanding of hardware-software integration, including schematic review, datasheet interpretation, and low-level peripheral driver development
Proven ability to document and communicate complex architectural concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences
Preferred
Master's degree or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related field
Experience with safety-critical systems or industry compliance standards (e.g., IEC 61508, ISO 26262, DO-178C)
Experience in the design and optimization of battery management systems (BMS), motor control, power electronics, or energy grid technologies
Familiarity with model-based design and code generation tools (e.g., MATLAB/Simulink)
Company
Mainspring Energy
Mainspring Energy provides power generation technology using linear generators for clean energy.
201-500 employees
H1B Sponsorship
Mainspring Energy 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
2025 (40)
2024 (23)
2023 (13)
2022 (12)
2021 (6)
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageTotal Funding
$813MKey Investors
General CatalystUS Department of EnergyBloombergNEF
2025-04-14Series F· $258M
2024-10-22Grant· $87M
2023-04-17Grant
Leadership Team
Shannon Miller
CEO and Founder
Adam Simpson
CCO and Founder
Recent News
Crunchbase News
2025-12-17
Company data provided by crunchbase