Sr. Firmware Engineer, Robotics, Frontier AI & Robotics

Join Amazons Frontier AI & Robotics team and help shape the future of intelligent robotic systems from the inside out. As a Sr./Staff Firmware Engineer Electronics you will develop the low-level firmware that brings our in-house robotic actuators to lifewriting the embedded code that bridges sophisticated hardware and the high-level AI control systems that power our next-generation robots. Your work will directly enable our robots to see reason and act in real-world warehouse environments making you a critical contributor to one of the most ambitious robotics programs in the world.

Key job responsibilities
Develop test and optimize embedded firmware for custom in-house robotic actuators including motor control algorithms (FOC commutation current/torque/speed/position loops) running on microcontrollers and DSPs
Design and implement real-time firmware for actuator state estimation fault detection and protection logic ensuring robust and safe operation across all actuator variants deployed in FARs robotic systems
Collaborate with electronics engineers and motor design engineers to define firmware requirements hardware interfaces (SPI I2C CAN EtherCAT RS-485) and actuator bring-up procedures for new hardware revisions
Develop and maintain firmware for field-oriented control (FOC) and sensored/sensorless motor commutation including tuning current regulators velocity controllers and position controllers for high-performance robots
Build and maintain firmware test frameworks and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) test environments to validate firmware behavior across actuator operating conditions edge cases and failure modes
Partner with controls engineers and AI researchers to ensure firmware-level interfaces support high-bandwidth low-latency communication required by whole-body control and motion planning algorithms
Contribute to actuator firmware architecture decisions define software-hardware interface standards and maintain firmware documentation and version control practices to enable scalable multi-actuator development
Support rapid hardware bring-up and debugging of new actuator prototypes leveraging oscilloscopes logic analyzers and custom diagnostic tools to characterize and validate firmware behavior on novel hardware

A day in the life
Your day is rooted in the intersection of hardware and software where youll be wiring firmware from scratch to control custom motors. You might start your morning reviewing firmware behavior logs from the previous nights actuator characterization runs then spend time working alongside motor design and electronics engineers to debug a torque ripple issue in the motor control the afternoon you could be writing and validating embedded firmware for a new actuator variant tuning (field-oriented control) FOC algorithms and collaborating with the controls team to ensure firmware interfaces align with high-level motion planning requirements.

Beyond the bench youll participate in architecture reviews with hardware and software engineers contribute to code reviews and document firmware specifications that enable smooth hardware handoffs. Youll be working on actuator variantseach with unique power torque and speed requirementsand youll be the firmware voice in cross-functional design discussions that shape how our actuators are built and controlled. The pace is fast the problems are novel and the impact is direct.

About the team
Frontier AI & Robotics (FAR) is the team at Amazon building the next generation of embodied intelligence. FAR drives the development and implementation of advanced AI models within Amazons operations that enable robots to see reason and act on the world around them supporting a number of different warehouse automation tasks.

- Experience in developing functional specifications design verification plans and functional test procedures
- Bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering Computer Engineering Embedded Systems or a related technical field
- 5 years of professional embedded firmware development experience with demonstrated expertise in real-time control systems for electromechanical or power electronics hardware
- Proficiency in C and/or C for embedded/real-time systems with experience writing firmware for microcontrollers or DSPs in resource-constrained environments
- Hands-on experience developing motor control firmware including field-oriented control (FOC) BLDC or PMSM motor commutation and closed-loop current speed or position control
- Experience with hardware communication protocols relevant to actuator systems (CAN SPI I2C UART EtherCAT or similar) and interfacing firmware with motor drivers encoders and analog sensors
- Demonstrated ability to debug firmware and hardware issues using tools such as oscilloscopes logic analyzers and in-circuit debuggers in a hands-on lab environment

- Experience developing actuator firmware for robotic systems collaborative robots or high-performance motion control platforms
- Familiarity with proprioceptive sensing and torque estimation techniques in robots including integration of force/torque sensors or current-based torque estimation in firmware
- Experience with EtherCAT or other real-time industrial fieldbus protocols for multi-axis robotic drive coordination
- Knowledge of functional safety standards (ISO 26262 IEC 61508) as applied to motor drive firmware and embedded safety monitoring logic
- Experience working in cross-functional hardware-software teams in fast-paced robotics aerospace or advanced electromechanical systems environments
- Familiarity with hardware bring-up workflows and DFT (design for test) practices for custom motor drive electronics

Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status disability or other legally protected status.

Los Angeles County applicants: Job duties for this position include: work safely and cooperatively with other employees supervisors and staff; adhere to standards of excellence despite stressful conditions; communicate effectively and respectfully with employees supervisors and staff to ensure exceptional customer service; and follow all federal state and local laws and Company policies. Criminal history may have a direct adverse and negative relationship with some of the material job duties of this position. These include the duties and responsibilities listed above as well as the abilities to adhere to company policies exercise sound judgment effectively manage stress and work safely and respectfully with others exhibit trustworthiness and professionalism and safeguard business operations and the Companys reputation. Pursuant to the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

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The base salary range for this position is listed below. Your Amazon package will include sign-on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs). Final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience qualifications and location. Amazon also offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance (medical dental vision prescription Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans EAP Mental Health Support Medical Advice Line Flexible Spending Accounts Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage) 401(k) matching paid time off and parental leave. Learn more about our benefits at CA San Francisco - 157900.00 - 213600.00 USD annually