Embedded Software Engineer

Department: Software Engineering

Location: Austin, TX

Employment Type: FullTime

About Base

Base is America’s next-generation power company. We’re rebuilding the foundation of modern civilization–electricity–by deploying a vast network of distributed batteries that is transforming today’s fragile, centralized grid into a resilient and abundant system. We are engineers, operators, and creatives solving some of the most complex, interdisciplinary challenges of our time.

About the Role

As an Embedded Software Engineer at Base, you will lead the architecture and technical direction of the firmware that powers our battery systems.

Our devices monitor hardware, control power electronics, communicate with cloud services, and respond to real-time grid conditions. The embedded platform you help define must operate safely and reliably across thousands of systems deployed in homes.

You will work closely with hardware, electrical, and software teams to shape how these systems are designed, built, and operated at fleet scale. This role requires deep technical judgment, strong systems thinking, and the ability to guide complex engineering decisions that affect the entire platform.

The systems you help architect will power Base’s distributed energy network.

What You'll Do

• Define and evolve the architecture of the embedded software platform that powers Base battery systems.

• Lead development of firmware that interfaces with sensors, power electronics, communications modules, and safety systems.

• Partner closely with hardware and electrical engineering to co-design reliable hardware and firmware systems.

• Drive system-level decisions across embedded, cloud, and fleet software to ensure the platform operates reliably at scale.

• Establish standards for reliability, diagnostics, and observability across devices deployed in the field.

• Design systems that support OTA updates and long-term device lifecycle management.

• Identify and solve foundational technical problems that affect the safety, reliability, and scalability of the Base fleet.

• Mentor engineers and raise the bar for embedded systems engineering across the company.

What You'll Bring

• 5+ years of experience developing embedded software or firmware.

• Deep expertise in C, C++, or Rust.

• Strong experience designing embedded systems that interact directly with hardware.

• Experience working with microcontrollers, embedded Linux, or real-time systems.

• Strong understanding of system architecture, reliability, and failure modes in production hardware systems.

• Experience building software for systems deployed at scale.

• Ability to work across disciplines including hardware, cloud software, and infrastructure.

• Track record of leading complex technical projects and shaping system architecture.

• First principles thinking and a bias toward solving hard problems.

Preferred Skills

• Experience reading hardware schematics and datasheets to guide firmware design and integration.

• Experience with the embedded Linux ecosystem, including kernel configuration, driver development, and device update mechanisms.

• Familiarity with modern processor architectures (ARM, RISC-V) and trade-offs in selecting platforms for embedded systems.

• Experience developing and debugging software on custom hardware.

• Working knowledge of power electronics or energy systems.

• Familiarity with safety and regulatory certification processes (UL1998, UL1741, UL1547).

About the Team

America's power grid is failing—electricity costs have risen even as generation gets cheaper, and blackouts are becoming more common. We're building the software that fixes it. Our team owns the entire stack: firmware that controls batteries in thousands of homes, trading algorithms that buy and sell power in real-time markets, distributed commanding systems that orchestrate a growing fleet as a single grid asset, factory software for our Austin manufacturing line, and the product experience that makes it all invisible to homeowners. If you want to write code that physically moves electrons, ships hardware, and reshapes critical infrastructure, this is the job.

Please note: Base is a startup, which means priorities shift and evolve quickly. Your role may expand or change based on the needs of the business at any given time, so the responsibilities listed may not be exhaustive.

Our Values

• First Principles Thinking: Question assumptions. Principles > rules.

• Operate at Base Pace: Focus on what matters, act quickly, and learn by doing.

• Give & Get Feedback: Be direct, be humble, and maintain a growth mindset.

• Everyone’s an Owner: Follow through on commitments and own results.

• Strong Opinions, Loosely Held: Drive clarity and make calls with imperfect information.

• Committed to the Mission: Rebuilding the grid is a big challenge. We work hard because we care deeply about the impact we’re creating. We work in-person. It’s not a 9-to-5. We are all-in.

• Fun & Optimism Coexist with Grit: Collaboration and celebration coincide with the intensity of building real things.

Do the best work of your life at Base.