STEM OPT Firmware Engineer Jobs
Firmware Engineer roles sit squarely within STEM OPT eligibility, letting you work up to 36 months total on your F-1 authorization, including the 24-month STEM extension. Your employer must be enrolled in E-Verify, and your degree in computer engineering, electrical engineering, or a related STEM field must align with the role.
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INTRODUCTION
Eaton’s Advanced Technology team is hiring a Senior Firmware Engineer for its Protection, Control, and Solutions business. We are seeking an innovative, problem-solver to drive firmware development for embedded electronics used in next-generation, solid-state circuit protection devices. The focus of this role includes creating firmware functionality related to hardware drivers, protection, metering, communication, and user interface. This is a rare opportunity to shape a new category of power protection technology from the ground up – working shoulder-to-shoulder with a cross-functional engineering team to turn cutting-edge semiconductor and protection technology into a product line that redefines how electrical systems are protected.
This role will be located in Moon Township, PA. A hybrid work model is available. We are able to offer sponsorship assistance for qualified candidates.
The expected annual salary range for this role is $86000 - $126000 a year.
Please note the salary information shown above is a general guideline only. Salaries are based upon candidate skills, experience, and qualifications, as well as market and business considerations.
YOUR ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES
- Develop embedded firmware for both bare metal and RTOS based embedded systems.
- Develop control and electrical fault management algorithm and firmware.
- Plan work in detail at individual level, creating a robust and trackable plan, coordinated with the larger development team, including requirement definition and issue tracking.
- Leverage central firmware repository (Github) for firmware development collaboration.
- Leverage Jira for task management, team coordination and bug tracking.
- Leverage AI related firmware development tools to increase throughput and efficiency.
- Document development efforts in both specifications and code comments.
- Review own work as well as others work in formal design and quality reviews.
- Test own work or work of others, meeting quality and reliability goals.
- Perform and contribute to technical research and investigations.
- Collaborate with teams from ERL, Electrical Sector Center of Excellence, and external technology resources (National Labs and Universities) for technology and product innovation.
- Generate value added intellectual property.
QUALIFICATIONS
Required (Basic) Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in an Engineering field (Electrical, Computer Engineering, or Computer Science) from an accredited institution.
- Minimum 3 years’ experience developing embedded firmware for electronic controls. No relocation benefit is offered for this position. Only candidates within a 50-mile radius of Moon Township, PA will be considered. Active Duty Military Service member candidates are exempt from the geographical area limitation.
Preferred Qualifications:
- 2 years of experience working with Real-time Operating systems.
- 2 years of experience working with embedded firmware in 8 bit through 32 bit microcontrollers (e.g. ARM Cortex, PIC).
- 2 years of experience in implementing wired communication protocols.
- 2 years of experience in developing device drivers and hardware bring up.
Skills:
- Proficient in C.
- Experience with C++.
- Knowledge and experience related to real time embedded systems.
- Experience in using defect tracking systems and code repository.
- Ability to read schematics.
- Enjoys hands on work and has experience with lab equipment and safety.
- Experienced in code sharing tools and multi-person development.
- Knowledge of and experience with project tracking tools such as Jira and JAMA.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
LI-HA1
All positions may require participation in video and in-person interviews as part of the hiring process. All candidates will be evaluated based on job-related competencies, and all candidates’ privacy rights and data security will be protected in accordance with applicable laws.
We are committed to ensuring equal employment opportunities for all job applicants and employees. Employment decisions are based upon job-related reasons regardless of an applicant's race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, disability, marital status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other status protected by law.
Eaton believes in second chance employment. Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction history will be considered regardless of their arrest or conviction history, consistent with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, the California Fair Chance Act and other local laws.
You do not need to disclose your conviction history or participate in a background check until a conditional job offer is made to you. After making a conditional offer and running a background check, if Eaton is concerned about conviction that is directly related to the job, you will be given the chance to explain the circumstances surrounding the conviction, provide mitigating evidence, or challenge the accuracy of the background report.
To request a disability-related reasonable accommodation to assist you in your job search, application, or interview process, please call us at 1-800-836-6345 to discuss your specific need. Only accommodation requests will be accepted by this phone number.
We know that good benefit programs are important to employees and their families. Eaton provides various Health and Welfare benefits as well as Retirement benefits, and several programs that provide for paid and unpaid time away from work. Click here for more detail: Eaton Benefits Overview. Please note that specific programs and options available to an employee may depend on eligibility factors such as geographic location, date of hire, and the applicability of collective bargaining agreements.
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Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding STEM OPT Authorization as a Firmware Engineer
Verify your CIP code matches the role
Pull your official transcript and confirm your degree's Classification of Instructional Programs code maps to computer engineering, electrical engineering, or computer science. A mismatch between your CIP code and the firmware role's SOC code is the most common reason DSOs flag I-983 training plans.
Search for E-Verify enrollment before applying
Ask recruiting contacts whether the company is enrolled in E-Verify before you spend time on take-home assessments. Hardware and embedded-systems startups frequently lack E-Verify enrollment even when they're eager to hire, which disqualifies them as STEM OPT employers entirely.
Build your portfolio around bare-metal projects
Firmware hiring managers evaluate RTOS experience, peripheral driver code, and bootloader work far more than academic coursework. Push documented embedded projects to a public repository before applications go out so interviewers can assess signal-to-noise work, not just your resume claims.
Use Migrate Mate to filter verified STEM OPT employers
Target companies whose DOL Labor Condition Application filings confirm active sponsorship for engineering roles. Migrate Mate surfaces this filing history by occupation code, so you can focus outreach on employers already familiar with STEM OPT obligations rather than educating every recruiter from scratch.
Submit your I-983 training plan before your start date
Your DSO must file the STEM OPT extension with USCIS at least 90 days before your initial OPT expires, and the I-983 must be signed by an authorized company official, not just a recruiter. Confirm your offer letter names a supervisor who can execute that document.
Check prevailing wage before evaluating offers
Run your target job title and work location through the OFLC Wage Search to see the DOL wage levels for your SOC code. Employers enrolling you in STEM OPT must attest you're paid at least at the Level I prevailing wage, so offers below that threshold signal compliance gaps.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a firmware engineer role qualify for the STEM OPT extension?
Yes, if your degree is in a qualifying STEM field such as computer engineering, electrical engineering, or computer science and your employer classifies the role under a matching SOC code. USCIS evaluates both your CIP code and the job's occupational classification when reviewing the STEM OPT extension. Your DSO confirms eligibility before filing, so bring both documents to that meeting.
What E-Verify requirement applies to my firmware employer?
Every employer who supervises a STEM OPT student must be enrolled in E-Verify at the hiring site where you'll physically work. If your team is distributed or you're placed at a client site, the E-Verify enrollment must cover that specific location, not just the parent company's headquarters. Confirm enrollment status with HR before signing your offer letter, since a non-enrolled employer cannot legally supervise your STEM OPT period.
What goes into the I-983 training plan for a firmware role?
The I-983 requires your employer to document specific learning objectives tied to your STEM degree, the supervision structure, how your performance will be evaluated, and how the training relates to your academic field. For firmware roles, this typically includes goals around embedded systems design, debugging methodologies, or protocol implementation. Both you and an authorized company official must sign it, and you're required to conduct a formal review with your supervisor at the six-month and twelve-month marks.
How does cap-gap protection work if my H-1B is selected while on STEM OPT?
If your employer files an H-1B visa petition on your behalf before your STEM OPT expires and you're selected in the lottery, cap-gap automatically extends your work authorization through September 30 of that year. You don't need to file separately for cap-gap; USCIS extends it by operation of law once the petition is accepted. You can continue working your firmware role without interruption during this bridging period.
Where can I find firmware engineer jobs at STEM OPT-eligible employers?
Migrate Mate filters firmware and embedded systems roles by employers with confirmed E-Verify enrollment and active DOL Labor Condition Application filing history in engineering occupation codes. That lets you skip the step of manually vetting each company's sponsorship track record and focus your applications on employers already equipped to support STEM OPT students. You can filter by location, role type, and employer filing activity directly on the platform.