You will own the development of Rhoda's low-level firmware stack for distributed real-time control across humanoid platforms. This role centers on deterministic communication, control-loop synchronization, and embedded software robustness in an EtherCAT environment spanning dozens of joints, sensors, and distributed controllers. You will design, implement, and validate firmware components that guarantee sub-millisecond coordination between motor drivers, safety controllers, and perception nodes - bridging the mechanical, electrical, and control domains. This role is an MTS with a clear path to grow! What You'll Do • Select and tune RTOS; define priorities and scheduling; optimize interrupt and DMA paths; harden watchdogs and recovery; measure and guard timing budgets • Design, implement, and maintain low-level firmware for real-time motion control nodes over EtherCAT • Develop synchronization and communication layers ensuring deterministic cycle times ( • Configure and optimize EtherCAT masters and slaves (distributed clocks, mailbox protocols, PDO mapping) • Implement real-time safety mechanisms (Safe Torque Off, watchdogs, and heartbeat monitoring) • Collaborate with Electronics, Controls, and Systems teams to define timing budgets and data interfaces • Contribute to the architecture of the hardware abstraction layer (HAL) and firmware APIs for actuator control • Develop unit, HIL, and integration tests for firmware validation • Profile and optimize ISR and DMA paths to minimize latency and jitter • Support bring-up and debugging of custom actuator controllers and sensor boards • Document firmware architecture, test results, and safety compliance evidence for design reviews What We're Looking For • Bachelor's or higher in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or Robotics • 2+ years of experience in embedded firmware development for real-time control systems • Experience with low-level system interfaces (I2C, SPI, Ethernet, USB, CAN bus) • Experience with micro-controller firmware development across ARM Cortex-M and similar architectures • Proficiency in C/C++ and experience with low-level debugging (JTAG, logic analyzers, oscilloscopes) • Experience with real time operating systems (RTOS) (FreeRTOS, Zephyr RTOS) • Familiarity with SPI, I²C, UART, PWM, ADC, and sensor interface design • Demonstrated ability to write reliable, well-structured, and maintainable embedded code in safety-critical environments • Evidence of shipping real-time-critical products Nice to Have (But Not Required) • Embedded Linux software development. Board Support Package (BSP) development and integration on Linux-based platforms • Linux kernel programming: device tree, Kconfig, device drivers, kernel modules. • Experience with GMSL2 and MIPI-CSI2 camera drivers (V4L2). • Experience with Field-Oriented Control (FOC) implementation for BLDC motor drives • Yocto Project / Bitbake for custom distribution builds.