Software Engineer, Embedded

San Francisco, CA or Denver, CO | Full-Time

About Pila

We’re a seed-stage startup transforming the way energy is stored and used in homes. At Pila, our mission is to amplify self-sufficiency, safety, and comfort in our homes starting with the most essential element: reliable power. We build elegant and intuitive products designed to empower 100% of households with energy management and resiliency. 

Our small but mighty team has deep experience building the world’s most innovative energy and IoT products — SPAN, Tesla, Apple, Lightship, and Amazon Alexa just to name a few.  

The Role

We’re looking for an exceptional hands-on Embedded Software Engineer to join our growing team. Our core team is primarily based in San Francisco. You’ll architect, build, and scale firmware and embedded software for Pila’s distributed nanogrid—real devices in real homes. From low-level drivers and real-time controls to mesh networking, OTA, security, and manufacturing test, you’ll own features end-to-end and see your work ship.

You’ll collaborate with our existing software, electrical, mechanical, and product teammates to design, prototype, test, break, redesign, retest, and scale software that’s powerful, reliable, and delightful.

Key Responsibilities

  • Own embedded software end-to-end: architecture, implementation, board bring-up, diagnostics, test, and manufacturing/field deployment.

  • Integrate and bring up ASICs and peripheral components: including power metering ICs, internal sensors and actuators, USB-PD controllers, and MIPI-DSI display drivers—across SPI/I²C/UART and other device interfaces.

  • Build robust firmware on MCU/RTOS platforms (e.g., ARM Cortex-M + FreeRTOS/Zephyr): drivers, comms stacks, control loops, power management, bootloaders, secure OTA.

  • Develop Linux-side services on our edge compute where needed (process supervision, telemetry, update orchestration, containerized services).

  • Design and implement robust embedded state machines and control systems for on-device energy management, fault handling, and coordinated system behavior across the nanogrid.

  • Implement resilient communications: CAN (BMS/EMS), RS-485/Modbus, Matter, Thread/OpenThread, BLE, Wi-Fi, and external device messaging (MQTT/HTTP/Protobuf).

  • Deliver quality and safety: unit/integration tests, HIL rigs, CI/CD for firmware, fault handling, watchdogs, brownout recovery, secure boot, SBOMs.

  • Support product compliance: design and validation aligned with safety standards and regulatory requirements; partner on certification test plans.

  • Manufacturing enablement: define/own end-of-line programming, calibration, and test utilities; create field diagnostics and logging.

  • Cross-functional collaboration: work closely with EE for schematics/PCB reviews and with product/design for app/API interfaces and UX-critical behaviors.

  • Documentation: specs, APIs, test procedures, and troubleshooting guides to support certification, production, and support teams.

Qualifications

  • BS/MS in Computer/Electrical Engineering or related field (or equivalent experience).

  • 3–7 years building production embedded systems for energy, consumer devices, EVs, or IoT.

  • Mastery of C/C++ for embedded targets; strong proficiency with RTOS (FreeRTOS or Zephyr).

  • Proven board bring-up and debug with JTAG/SWD, oscilloscopes, logic analyzers.

  • Experience with bootloaders, secure OTA, and resilient update strategies.

  • Solid grasp of networking and device comms: CAN, RS-485/Modbus, SPI, I²C, UART, BLE, Wi-Fi.

  • Comfort with Linux on embedded platforms (systemd, shell/Python tooling) and build systems.

  • Test-driven mindset: unit tests, HIL, CI, structured logging/telemetry.

  • Excellent problem solving, attention to detail, and ability to work independently and collaboratively.

Bonus Qualifications

  • Zephyr RTOS, ESP-IDF, or Yocto experience.

  • Rust for embedded or Linux services.

  • Matter/CHIP, OpenThread certification flows.

  • Energy/power domain familiarity: battery BMS, metering, power electronics control, DER/VPP/DR protocols (e.g., OpenADR).

  • Safety and functional safety exposure (UL/IEC Class B concepts, IEC 60730/61508 practices).

  • Security for embedded systems: secure boot, key management, firmware signing, SBOMs.

  • High-volume manufacturing experience and EOL test design.

Great talent comes from everywhere. If you’re passionate about embedded systems, sustainability, and making an impact, we encourage you to apply—even if you don’t meet every single requirement.

What We Offer

  • Work at the forefront of home energy innovation to create a more equitable, sustainable future.

  • Competitive salary and equity in a fast-growing, mission-driven startup.

  • Generous time off and flexible work arrangements.

  • Comprehensive health benefits.

  • Salary Range: $155,000 to $185,000

How to Apply

Ready to join us in reshaping the future of energy? 

Send your resume and a brief introduction to careers@pilaenergy.com with the subject line “Embedded Software Engineer – Your Name.”