Firmware Jobs in Washington
Firmware jobs in Washington are concentrated in the state's dense aerospace, defense, and consumer electronics sectors, with demand running from entry-level embedded systems roles through senior principal engineers. The Seattle metro draws the heaviest hiring volume, with Redmond and Bellevue close behind as anchors for hardware-intensive development. Microsoft, Boeing, and Amazon are among the most consistent Washington employers adding firmware talent, particularly for IoT, real-time operating systems, and low-level driver development. Find a role that fits below and apply directly.
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Showing 4 of 23+ Firmware jobs
Microsoft Silicon, Cloud Hardware, and Infrastructure Engineering (SCHIE) is the team behind Microsoft’s expanding Cloud Infrastructure and responsible for powering Microsoft’s “Intelligent Cloud” mission. SCHIE delivers the core infrastructure and foundational technologies for Microsoft's over 200 online businesses including Bing, MSN, Office 365, Xbox Live, Teams, OneDrive, and the Microsoft Azure platform globally with our server and data center infrastructure, security and compliance, operations, globalization, and manageability solutions. Our focus is on smart growth, high efficiency, and delivering a trusted experience to customers and partners worldwide and we are looking for engineers to help achieve that mission.
The firmware architecture team within SCHIE is responsible for defining the shape and details of the firmware that allows complex SoCs like the Cobalt general purpose server processor and Maia AI accelerator to operate safely, reliably, securely, and at the lowest possible total cost of ownership. We work with our partners in the silicon and Azure datacenter teams to help shape the overall platforms, relying on both industry standards and unique features to ensure a compelling product for our datacenter customers.
A firmware architect in the team is given the opportunity to both work with some of the most cutting edge silicon being produced, while shaping and designing the firmware on those platforms to maximize availability, performance, and more.
#SCHIE
Responsibilities
- Design, develop, and implement firmware solutions for embedded systems.
- Contribute to all phases of product development, from initial design and architecture through manufacturing and productization.
- Define and develop firmware architecture for key systems, ensuring scalability, reliability, and performance.
- Collaborate closely with hardware engineering teams to ensure seamless integration between hardware and firmware.
- Design, develop, and maintain firmware components, including driver interfaces, system libraries, and low-level hardware interfaces.
- Support SoC bring-up, platform initialization, bootloader development, and board support package (BSP) porting.
- Develop and optimize firmware for hardware interfaces and peripherals, including PCIe, NVMe, I2C, SPI, USB, and UART.
- Contribute to internal fabric, protocol development, and low-level hardware feature implementation.
- Implement and optimize operating system primitives, including memory management, scheduling, interrupts, and threading.
- Debug, troubleshoot, and resolve complex firmware and hardware integration issues.
- Provide technical leadership in firmware design, development, testing, and validation.
- Partner with cross-functional engineering teams to ensure successful system integration, product readiness, and deployment.
Qualifications
Required Qualifications:
-
Doctorate in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field AND 3+ years technical engineering experience
- OR Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field AND 6+ years technical engineering experience
- OR Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field AND 8+ years technical engineering experience
- OR equivalent experience.
Other Requirements:
-
Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements are required for this role. These requirements include, but are not limited to, the following specialized security screenings:
- Microsoft Cloud Background Check: This position will be required to pass the Microsoft Cloud background check upon hire/transfer and every two years thereafter.
- This role will require access to information that is controlled for export under export control regulations, potentially under the U.S. International Traffic in Arms Regulations or Export Administration Regulations, the EU Dual Use Regulation, and/or other export control regulations. As a condition of employment, the successful candidate will be required to provide either proof of their country of citizenship or proof of their U.S. residency or other protected status (e.g., under 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)) for assessment of eligibility to access the export-controlled information. To meet this legal requirement, and as a condition of employment, the successful candidate’s citizenship will be verified with a valid passport. Lawful permanent residents, refugees, and asylees may verify status using other documents, where applicable.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Doctorate in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field AND 5+ years technical engineering experience with coding OR Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field AND 8+ years technical engineering experience with coding OR Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field AND 12+ years technical engineering experience with coding OR equivalent experience.
- 1+ year(s) experience working on or leading projects from beginning-to-end.
- Experience writing architecture documents for systems implemented by other teams.
- Experience with SoC bring-up and internal workings, such as internal fabric, power management, reset flows, and secure operational flows.
- Strong collaboration skills, including coordinating with both inside the team and outside stakeholders.
- Experience with Rust is also helpful.
Firmware Engineering IC5 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $142,800 - $274,800 per year. There is a different range applicable to specific work locations, within the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, and the base pay range for this role in those locations is USD $188,000 - $304,200 per year.
Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here:
https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/us-corporate-pay
This position will be open for a minimum of 5 days, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled.
Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, immigration status, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran or military status, race, ethnicity, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance with religious accommodations and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process.
Microsoft Silicon, Cloud Hardware, and Infrastructure Engineering (SCHIE) is the team behind Microsoft’s expanding Cloud Infrastructure and responsible for powering Microsoft’s “Intelligent Cloud” mission. SCHIE delivers the core infrastructure and foundational technologies for Microsoft's over 200 online businesses including Bing, MSN, Office 365, Xbox Live, Teams, OneDrive, and the Microsoft Azure platform globally with our server and data center infrastructure, security and compliance, operations, globalization, and manageability solutions. Our focus is on smart growth, high efficiency, and delivering a trusted experience to customers and partners worldwide and we are looking for engineers to help achieve that mission.
The firmware architecture team within SCHIE is responsible for defining the shape and details of the firmware that allows complex SoCs like the Cobalt general purpose server processor and Maia AI accelerator to operate safely, reliably, securely, and at the lowest possible total cost of ownership. We work with our partners in the silicon and Azure datacenter teams to help shape the overall platforms, relying on both industry standards and unique features to ensure a compelling product for our datacenter customers.
A firmware architect in the team is given the opportunity to both work with some of the most cutting edge silicon being produced, while shaping and designing the firmware on those platforms to maximize availability, performance, and more.
#SCHIE
Responsibilities
- Design, develop, and implement firmware solutions for embedded systems.
- Contribute to all phases of product development, from initial design and architecture through manufacturing and productization.
- Define and develop firmware architecture for key systems, ensuring scalability, reliability, and performance.
- Collaborate closely with hardware engineering teams to ensure seamless integration between hardware and firmware.
- Design, develop, and maintain firmware components, including driver interfaces, system libraries, and low-level hardware interfaces.
- Support SoC bring-up, platform initialization, bootloader development, and board support package (BSP) porting.
- Develop and optimize firmware for hardware interfaces and peripherals, including PCIe, NVMe, I2C, SPI, USB, and UART.
- Contribute to internal fabric, protocol development, and low-level hardware feature implementation.
- Implement and optimize operating system primitives, including memory management, scheduling, interrupts, and threading.
- Debug, troubleshoot, and resolve complex firmware and hardware integration issues.
- Provide technical leadership in firmware design, development, testing, and validation.
- Partner with cross-functional engineering teams to ensure successful system integration, product readiness, and deployment.
Qualifications
Required Qualifications:
-
Doctorate in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field AND 3+ years technical engineering experience
- OR Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field AND 6+ years technical engineering experience
- OR Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field AND 8+ years technical engineering experience
- OR equivalent experience.
Other Requirements:
-
Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements are required for this role. These requirements include, but are not limited to, the following specialized security screenings:
- Microsoft Cloud Background Check: This position will be required to pass the Microsoft Cloud background check upon hire/transfer and every two years thereafter.
- This role will require access to information that is controlled for export under export control regulations, potentially under the U.S. International Traffic in Arms Regulations or Export Administration Regulations, the EU Dual Use Regulation, and/or other export control regulations. As a condition of employment, the successful candidate will be required to provide either proof of their country of citizenship or proof of their U.S. residency or other protected status (e.g., under 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)) for assessment of eligibility to access the export-controlled information. To meet this legal requirement, and as a condition of employment, the successful candidate’s citizenship will be verified with a valid passport. Lawful permanent residents, refugees, and asylees may verify status using other documents, where applicable.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Doctorate in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field AND 5+ years technical engineering experience with coding OR Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field AND 8+ years technical engineering experience with coding OR Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field AND 12+ years technical engineering experience with coding OR equivalent experience.
- 1+ year(s) experience working on or leading projects from beginning-to-end.
- Experience writing architecture documents for systems implemented by other teams.
- Experience with SoC bring-up and internal workings, such as internal fabric, power management, reset flows, and secure operational flows.
- Strong collaboration skills, including coordinating with both inside the team and outside stakeholders.
- Experience with Rust is also helpful.
Firmware Engineering IC5 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $142,800 - $274,800 per year. There is a different range applicable to specific work locations, within the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, and the base pay range for this role in those locations is USD $188,000 - $304,200 per year.
Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here:
https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/us-corporate-pay
This position will be open for a minimum of 5 days, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled.
Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, immigration status, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran or military status, race, ethnicity, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance with religious accommodations and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process.
See All 23 Firmware Jobs in Washington
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Find Firmware JobsFirmware Jobs by City in Washington
Where Washington roles are concentrated, by current openings.
Firmware Job Market in Washington
A snapshot from current Washington openings, updated as new roles post.
Who's Hiring
Top Industries Hiring
- Manufacturing
- Sports & Recreation
- Technology & Software
What Washington Employers Look For
The qualifications that appear most often in firmware jobs across Washington.
- Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, or computer science required
- Proficiency in C or C++ for embedded systems development in resource-constrained environments
- Experience with real-time operating systems such as FreeRTOS, VxWorks, or Zephyr
- Familiarity with hardware debugging tools including JTAG, oscilloscopes, and logic analyzers
- Knowledge of communication protocols including UART, SPI, I2C, USB, and CAN bus
- Experience with version control systems and embedded software development lifecycles
Firmware Jobs in Washington: Frequently Asked Questions
How do you become a firmware engineer in Washington?
Washington does not require a state-issued license to work as a firmware engineer. The standard path is a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, or computer science, followed by hands-on experience with embedded C or C++ and a microcontroller platform. Washington employers in aerospace and defense often expect familiarity with DO-178C or similar safety standards, so coursework or project work in those areas strengthens a candidacy considerably.
Which companies hire firmware engineers in Washington?
Employers hiring firmware engineers in Washington right now include Microsoft, Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, and HP, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of November 2026. Washington's concentration of aerospace primes, consumer electronics firms, and cloud hardware teams means firmware openings tend to cluster around product lines with significant embedded or silicon-level development requirements.
Which Washington cities have the most firmware jobs?
Seattle, Redmond, and Pullman lead Washington for firmware openings. The Seattle metro accounts for the largest share, driven by Boeing's commercial aviation programs, Amazon's hardware and devices division, and a dense cluster of semiconductor and IoT startups. Redmond and Bellevue carry strong volume through Microsoft's hardware engineering and Xbox platform teams, making the greater Eastside a consistent second concentration of embedded roles.
Are there remote firmware jobs in Washington?
Yes, but they're rare. Firmware work is inherently hands-on, requiring access to development boards, lab equipment, and prototype hardware, which limits how much of the role can move fully remote. About 33% of firmware openings tied to Washington are remote or hybrid as of November 2026, and where flexibility exists it tends to apply to architecture, code review, and integration work rather than bring-up and debugging phases.
How can I get hired as a firmware engineer in Washington with little or no experience?
The most realistic entry path is an internship or new-graduate role at one of Washington's large hardware employers. Boeing, Microsoft, and Amazon all run structured early-career programs that accept candidates with strong capstone or personal embedded projects in lieu of professional experience. Roles titled embedded software intern, systems software engineer I, or hardware validation engineer are the most common entry points. A portfolio demonstrating bare-metal C on a real microcontroller, even from coursework, meaningfully separates candidates at this stage.
Where can I find and apply to firmware jobs in Washington?
You can find and apply to firmware jobs in Washington on Migrate Mate, which lists current Washington openings across industries including aerospace, defense, consumer electronics, and cloud hardware. Find roles that fit your experience and apply directly from each listing without detours through additional platforms or sign-up steps.
See All 23 Firmware Jobs in Washington
Find roles in Washington that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
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