Embedded systems engineers write low-level code for the task-specific computers built into larger products, whether that’s a phone, a rocket, a robot or a car. Working directly between the hardware and software layers, the role is responsible for managing sensors, processors, motors, memory and power in real time without much room for error.
Embedded systems engineering is becoming even more relevant as artificial intelligence moves closer to the edge, where devices are now being engineered to process information locally instead of depending on the cloud. On average, they make about $135,000 a year, according to Ziprecruiter.
Below are some of the biggest names actively hiring embedded systems engineers.
Top Companies Hiring Embedded Systems Engineers
- Apple
- Nvidia
- SpaceX
- Qualcomm
- Tesla
Top Companies Embedded Systems Engineers
Headquarters: Austin, Texas
Founded: 2003
Company size: 100k+ employees
Industry: Automotive, Energy, Robotics
Tesla’s autonomous vehicles and Optimus humanoids depend on low-level software that can turn sensor data and AI models into split-second physical movement. The work mostly focuses on motor controls, battery-management firmware and real-time sensor systems that help cars steer, brake and accelerate, while helping robots balance and respond to their surroundings.
Headquarters: Gerlingen, Germany
Founded: 1886
Company size: 400k+ employees
Industry: Automotive, Industrial Technology, IoT
Bosch is one of the world’s largest automotive and industrial suppliers. The company is currently hiring for roles like classic AUTOSAR developer and embedded security engineer to support software-defined vehicle systems. Engineers there work on CAN, LIN and Ethernet communication stacks, UDS diagnostics and safety-critical C/C++ code for systems linked to over-the-air updates, autonomous braking, MEMS sensors and industrial IoT gateways.
Headquarters: San Diego, California
Founded: 1985
Company size: 50k+ employees
Industry: Semiconductors, Wireless Communications
Qualcomm’s chips are in more than 5 billion devices around the world. As one of the key players shaping global 5G and ARM-based chip standards, the company plays a major role in how connected devices communicate with wireless networks. Embedded engineers there work heavily in Linux kernel development, networking stacks, telematics firmware and ARM-based SoC platforms.
Headquarters: Santa Clara, California
Founded: 1968
Company size: 80k+ employees
Industry: Semiconductors, Computing Infrastructure
Intel’s embedded systems engineers develop the firmware that helps processors start up correctly and communicate with operating systems. Their work also helps manage how chips handle power and interact with memory. Current roles like silicon firmware development engineer and embedded OS engineer often involve UEFI BIOS, microcode, Zephyr RTOS, PCIe and ACPI, especially across AI PCs, data center chips and GPU accelerators.
Headquarters: Hawthorne, California
Founded: 2002
Company size: 15k+ employees
Industry: Aerospace, Satellite Communications
SpaceX builds satellite systems, spacecraft hardware, rockets and the onboard computers that keep them in flight. In other words, internal system failures can have immediate physical consequences. As the company expands its work around Starship and Falcon 9 recovery, embedded systems engineers help develop the avionics, control systems and low-latency software behind launches, landings and orbital maneuvers. Roles like senior embedded software engineer and FPGA designer call for reliable C++ and hardware experience.
Headquarters: North Reading, Massachusetts
Founded: 2012
Company size: 14k+ employees
Industry: Warehouse Automation, Logistics, Robotics
Amazon processes about 20 million online orders per day. Embedded systems engineers at the company’s robotics division are behind the army of shelf-transport robots and package-sorting manipulation systems that move this inventory through its vast network of global fulfillment centers. The work involves writing low-level C++ for real-time control loops and hardware abstraction layers, so that thousands of robots can execute sub-millisecond obstacle avoidance and synchronized path planning while safely operating as “cobots” alongside human workers.
Headquarters: Santa Clara, California
Founded: 1993
Company size: 40k+ employees
Industry: AI Infrastructure, Semiconductors, Robotics
Nvidia launched the first GPU in 1999. Since then, the company has become a central figure in the AI economy, combining chips, networking and software into the infrastructure that train and run AI models. Embedded engineers there work close to that hardware stack, building the firmware, drivers and platform software that help GPUs, SoCs and edge AI systems run inside everything from smart cars to humanoid robots.
Headquarters: Veldhoven, Netherlands
Founded: 1984
Company size: 40k+ employees
Industry: Semiconductor Manufacturing Equipment
ASML manufactures the EUV lithography machines used to produce the world’s most advanced chips. Because these systems require nanometer-level precision, its embedded engineers work on motion control, mechatronics, industrial automation and machine-control software capable of working at microscopic tolerances.
Headquarters: Cupertino, California
Founded: 1976
Company size: 160k+ employees
Industry: Consumer Electronics, Semiconductors, Software
Apple builds some of the most tightly integrated hardware-software systems in the world, designing much of the hardware in-house across more than 2.5 billion active devices. From iPhones and silicon chips to Vision Pro and Apple Watch, its embedded systems engineers handle things like power management firmware, wireless protocols, device drivers and live sensor fusion that directly shape how Apple devices behave in users’ hands.
Headquarters: Bethesda, Maryland
Founded: 1995
Company size: 120k+ employees
Industry: Defense, Aerospace
Lockheed Martin builds some of the military’s most complex hardware, including F-35 fighter jets, missile defense systems and satellites, all of which rely on highly specialized, fault-tolerant computing. Embedded systems engineers there develop the mission-critical firmware, real-time operating systems and FPGA-based signal processing that drive electronic warfare and autonomous flight controls. Current openings include roles within Skunk Works — the company’s elite tactical research arm — for flight software engineers, embedded cyber security researchers and FPGA firmware engineers.
Related Articles
