Engineering & IT · Washington, DC

Embedded Engineer jobs in Washington, DC

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.

2,811
Open roles today
$42–$105/hr
Typical pay range
$146k
Median, full-time
3
Fresh in this list

No email, no resume, no sign-up. Save any listing below and you start anonymously.

You're signed in. Saving a listing drops it straight into your pipeline.

01

Open embedded engineer roles

10 shown of 2,811 · sorted by freshness

Embedded software Test Engineer

Siri InfoSolutions Inc · Washington DC · Full-time
$140k

Job Title: Embedded Software test Engineer Location: Redmond WA onsite only Type- Fulltime Min 12+ years of exp.. required! Salary $140K + Benefits Onsite Day 1 Onsite at customer location Key Responsibilities- Experienc…

Posted 6d ago
+ Save to tracker View listing

Embedded Software test Engineer

Black Rock Groups · Washington DC
$90k - $150k

Job Title: Embedded Software test Engineer Location: Redmond WA Onsite/ Remote: Day 1 Onsite at customer location The pay range for this role is $90k- $150k per annum including any bonuses or variable pay. Tech Mahindra…

Posted 1w ago
+ Save to tracker View listing

Embedded Software Engineer II

Globenet Consulting Corp · Washington DC

Description Job Description Benefits: Competitive salary Opportunity for advancement Training & development Embedded Software Engineer II Location: Mossville, IL — Onsite, five days per week Duration: 12-month contract W…

Posted 2w ago
+ Save to tracker View listing

Lead Computer Engineer

PEMCCO · Washington DC
$75.53 - $124.62 per hour

benefits Security Clearance: Ability to obtain and maintain a government security clearance if required Are you a senior engineering professional who enjoys solving complex technical challenges, leading engineering initi…

Posted 2w ago
+ Save to tracker View listing

Lead Systems Engineer

PEMCCO · Washington DC
$73.9 - $121.94 per hour

benefits Security Clearance: Ability to obtain and maintain a government security clearance if required Are you a senior systems engineering professional who enjoys leading complex engineering initiatives, developing inn…

Posted 2w ago
+ Save to tracker View listing

Embedded Software Engineer

Patrick Allen Group · Washington DC
$140k - $170k

Job Description Job Description We are seeking a Embedded Software Engineer who possesses a development background on a Linux Operating Systems platform with Debian based distribution. This position will be responsible f…

Posted 3w ago
+ Save to tracker View listing

Senior Embedded Software Engineer

Philips · Washington DC
$129k - $205k

JOB DESCRIPTION Job Title Senior Embedded Software Engineer Job Description Sr. Embedded Software Engineer, (Bothell, WA) As an Embedded Software Engineer for high-volume consumer medical devices, you will play a pivotal…

Posted 1mo ago
+ Save to tracker View listing

Embedded Firmware Engineer - BLE

SGS Consulting · Washington DC

Responsibilities: B.S. degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or equivalent experience. Experience in interfacing the... ...ability to use sniffers and logic analyzers to verify working embedded software sup…

Posted 3mo ago
+ Save to tracker View listing
02

What embedded engineers earn in Washington

Hourly first — that's how the offer arrives

ExperienceHourlyAnnual, full-time
Entry level $42–$59 $88k–$122k
Mid level $59–$81 $122k–$169k
Senior $78–$105 $162k–$219k

Adjusted for the Washington market from national ranges.

03

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.

05

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).

03

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.

06

Where this role goes

Typical progression

01 Junior Embedded Engineer
02 Embedded Engineer
03 Senior Embedded Engineer
04 Principal Firmware Engineer
Ten quiet minutes a day

Applying for embedded engineer jobs in Washington?

Robbi carries this page into your first day: your role, your city, your shift preference. Then it hands you a few small things each morning and keeps the pipeline honest.

Save what looks right here, then let Robbi hand you a few small things each morning and keep the follow-ups honest.

Start with this search No email, no resume, no sign-up. Open your tracker Everything you saved is already there.
2,811 Embedded Engineer roles in Washington Save them into one pipeline Save them into your pipeline
Start free My tracker