Embedded Software Engineer
Hark Open · verified Oct 24, 2026 At a glance
Mid-level Embedded & Firmware role at Hark. San Jose · $120,000–$300,000 base.
techroles summary, based on the employer's posting.
What you'll do
- Build and debug software spanning the kernel, user space and microcontrollers across RTOS, bare-metal and embedded Linux environments
- Connect software layers with interfaces so features work across the device from end to end
- Measure performance, memory use and power draw, then address the problems those profiles reveal
- Coordinate with BSP, platform, UX, firmware and hardware teams to align drivers, system behavior and user-facing features
- Trace faults across process and hardware boundaries, from user-space services down to the device
What you bring
- At least five years developing embedded software for hardware products that have shipped
- Strong C and C++ skills, or proficiency in Rust, plus experience creating device drivers
- Hands-on development with RTOS and bare-metal systems, along with embedded Linux
- Experience improving performance and power use, with practical knowledge of computer architecture and modern MCUs
Who this fits
This role suits a mid-career embedded systems engineer who wants to work across kernel, user-space and microcontroller software. You’ll collaborate with firmware, hardware and product teams on the same device.
From the employer
About Hark
Hark is an artificial intelligence laboratory, building the most advanced, personal intelligence in the world.
We believe that artificial intelligence can be used to help offload our mental workload through thinking like us and sometimes ahead of us. Intelligence that is proactive and personalized through new models capable of interacting with the world through speech, text, vision and persistent memory.
We're pairing that intelligence with next-generation hardware to create a universal interface between humans and machines. While today's AI largely operates through chat boxes and decade-old devices, Hark is focused on what comes next: agentic systems that interact naturally with people and the real world.
About the Role
The Embedded Software team owns the software running on Hark’s next generation of AI hardware, and we are looking for an Embedded Software Engineer to build the system software at the heart of it. You will design, implement, and debug system-level components and services that span the kernel, user space, and the microcontroller domains, and you will work across RTOS, bare metal, and Linux environments on the same product.
This is a systems software role. You will partner with the BSP, platform, UX, firmware, and hardware teams to make the device work as one product.
Responsibilities
- Design, implement, and debug system-level components and services across kernel, user space, and MCU domains
- Develop system software on RTOS and bare metal environments as well as embedded Linux
- Build and maintain interfaces across the stack to deliver end to end features
- Run performance analysis and produce memory and power profiles, then close the gaps they expose
- Partner with the BSP, platform, and UX teams so system software, drivers, and user-facing behavior land together
- Debug across layer and process boundaries, from a user space service down to the hardware
Requirements
- 5+ years of professional embedded software development experience on shipping hardware products
- Proficiency in C and C++, or Rust
- Device driver development experience
- Experience developing on RTOS and bare metal environments
- Experience with performance and power optimization
- Solid computer architecture fundamentals, including hands-on work with modern MCUs
- Familiarity with embedded toolchains and cross-compilation
- Strong communication skills for work across firmware, hardware, and product teams
Bonus Qualifications
- Development experience with DSP audio
- Development experience with camera ISP
- Development experience with NPUs, hardware accelerators, and inference runtimes
- Experience on leading commercial silicon SoCs and their vendor toolchains
- Experience with networking and connectivity, including wireless stacks
- Experience with complex, multi-core SoCs
- Android platform experience, including AOSP
Compensation
The US base salary range for this full-time position is between $120,000 - $300,000 annually.
The pay offered for this position may vary based on several individual factors, including job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. The total compensation package may also include additional components/benefits depending on the specific role. This information will be shared if an employment offer is extended.
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