$115.58k - $173.37k
growing Aerospace and Defense innovators. Here, visionary minds engineer the future of space technology through pioneering, compact, and... ...of high-speed, analog, digital, and power electronics, driving embedded board…
Engineering & IT · San Diego, CA
Embedded Engineer jobs in San Diego, CA
Embedded engineers write the software that runs inside devices — from consumer gadgets to cars and medical equipment — working close to the hardware in C and C++ under tight resource limits.
225
Open roles today
$40–$99/hr
Typical pay range
$137k
Median, full-time
2
Fresh in this list
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01
Open embedded engineer roles
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passionate, flexible, and highly motivated team player to join our group of Technology professionals. We are looking for a talented APM-E Engineer to provide direct technical and systems engineering support to the Assist…
$125k - $150k
growing Aerospace and Defense innovators. Here, visionary minds engineer the future of space technology through pioneering, compact, and... ...innovate the infinite, together. A DAY IN THE LIFE: The Embedded Software Eng…
$170k - $190k
growing Aerospace and Defense innovators. Here, visionary minds engineer the future of space technology through pioneering, compact, and... ...the infinite, together. A DAY IN THE LIFE: As a Senior Embedded Software Engi…
$110k - $140k
growing Aerospace and Defense innovators. Here, visionary minds engineer the future of space technology through pioneering, compact, and... ...the infinite, together. A DAY IN THE LIFE: As an Embedded Software Applicatio…
$110k - $130k
growing Aerospace and Defense innovators. Here, visionary minds engineer the future of space technology through pioneering, compact, and... ...the infinite, together. A DAY IN THE LIFE: As an Embedded Software Engineer I…
$90k - $150k
GVI Inc., a subsidiary of Three Saints Bay, LLC, and a Federal Government Contractor industry leader, is seeking a RF Hardware Engineer in San Diego, CA. Position Responsibilities ~ This engineer performs typical duties…
$51 - $58 per hour
The System Engineer II (SE II) will have experience with Power BI, SharePoint, and other Microsoft 365 tools to streamline business processes, improve data visibility, and enhance collaboration. The SE II will work close…
Clearance. About the Role . G2 Ops supports mission-critical defense and technology initiatives by solving complex operational and engineering challenges. We are seeking a motivated, collaborative Systems Engineer (Mid–S…
$190k - $225k
Description Position at Samtec, Inc Samtec is seeking a Senior Hardware Engineer with expertise in high-speed optoelectronic platforms to join our Vista, CA team. If you enjoy solving complex technical challenges and see…
$115.63k - $135.65k
Kratos Defense and Rocket Support Service is seeking an enthusiastic, versatile, and resourceful Hardware Engineer to work in San Diego, CA. You will be a member of a small team at a U.S. Navy lab required to support res…
$108k - $153k
Description DescisiveInstinct is looking for a Systems Engineer, also known as a lead systems analyst or a network engineer with programming expertise, is an IT professional who designs, integrates, and maintains secure,…
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What embedded engineers earn in San Diego
Hourly first — that's how the offer arrives
| Experience | Hourly | Annual, full-time |
|---|---|---|
| Entry level | $40–$56 | $83k–$116k |
| Mid level | $56–$76 | $116k–$159k |
| Senior | $74–$99 | $153k–$206k |
Adjusted for the San Diego market from national ranges.
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What employers ask for
The skills these listings keep naming
C and C++Microcontrollers (ARM Cortex-M)RTOS (FreeRTOS, Zephyr)Hardware protocols (SPI, I2C, UART)Reading schematics and datasheetsDebugging with scopes and JTAGMemory and power constraintsRust or Python (a plus)Version control and CI for firmware
04
Interview questions worth rehearsing
With the thing the interviewer is actually listening for
What does the volatile keyword do, and when do you need it?
Explain it prevents the compiler optimizing away reads/writes, with the classic cases: hardware registers and variables shared with ISRs. Precision matters here.
How do you debug a device that crashes intermittently in the field?
Talk about logging within constraints, watchdog data, reproducing environmental conditions, and instrumented builds. Field debugging method is a core competency.
Walk me through what happens from power-on to your main loop running.
Cover reset vector, startup code, memory initialization, and clock configuration. Comfort with the boot path signals genuine low-level experience.
How do you write an interrupt service routine safely?
Keep it short, defer work to the main loop or a task, protect shared data, and avoid blocking calls. Mention the race conditions you are preventing.
How do you handle a memory-constrained target — say 64KB of RAM?
Discuss static allocation, avoiding heap fragmentation, measuring stack usage, and linker-map analysis. Concrete numbers from a past project help.
How do you test firmware?
Unit tests off-target with mocked hardware, hardware-in-the-loop rigs, and on-target integration tests. Acknowledging what is hard to test is part of a good answer.
Tell me about a hardware/software interaction bug you solved.
The best stories involve a scope or logic analyzer and a datasheet detail everyone missed. Show the collaboration with hardware engineers.
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Resume tips that move the needle
For embedded engineers specifically — generic advice costs you here
01
Name the microcontroller families, RTOSes, and protocols per project — embedded hiring screens on exact platform matches.
02
Describe the products you shipped and their constraints (battery life achieved, memory footprint, certification requirements).
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Include debugging tooling experience — JTAG, oscilloscopes, logic analyzers — as it separates firmware engineers from application developers.
04
Mention safety or regulatory work (MISRA, ISO 26262, FDA) if you have it; those doors are hard to open otherwise.
05
Personal hardware projects with write-ups carry real weight in this field — link one if it is presentable.
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Where this role goes
Typical progression
01
Junior Embedded Engineer
02
Embedded Engineer
03
Senior Embedded Engineer
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Principal Firmware Engineer
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