Company Overview
Ambiq is on a mission to enable intelligence everywhere — powering the AI edge revolution with the world's lowest-power semiconductor solutions.
Built on our proprietary sub- and near-threshold technology, our chips deliver multi-fold improvements in energy efficiency without costly process scaling. Since 2010, we've shipped over 300 million units to customers building smarter wearables, medical devices, IoT products, and AI-powered edge applications.
Our cross-functional teams span design, research, development, production, marketing, sales, and operations across Austin, Hsinchu, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Singapore. We move fast, tackle hard problems, and create space for people to grow through complex, meaningful work that shapes the future of technology.
We're looking for self-motivated, creative problem-solvers who are eager to push technological limits and make a real impact in energy efficiency.
At Ambiq, we live by five values: Innovate. Collaborate. Focus. Learn. Achieve.
If that's you, join us — the intelligence everywhere revolution starts here.
This role will be on-site 5 days a week in NW Austin.
Scope
As a member of the team at Ambiq, a Sr. Staff Embedded Software Engineer (Security), will provide technical and team leadership in extending and supporting Ambiq’s Secure Bootrom/Bootloader and SDK for the Apollo SoC and emulation platforms.
This role will work within our global MCU software development team, closely with the architecture team and local MCU SoC design teams, focusing on MCU software development and testing.
A successful candidate should be team-oriented, fast-learning, result-driven, and self-motivated with an “always learning” mindset. He/She will have an inquiring spirit and be comfortable in a lab environment, working hands-on with bare metal hardware and debugging tools for embedded systems.
The candidate will be involved in maintaining and extending the Secure Boot ROM, Secure Bootloader, and security aspects of the SDK for Ambiq MCU products from concept through release.
Responsibilities
- Technical Leadership within the MCU Software team. Lead the technical planning, work assignments, and implementation for the new products and new features to be implemented by the MCU software team.
- As the team scales, there's a potential path to managing a small to mid-size team. The candidate is someone who's excited to grow into a player-coach role over time.
- Work with the teams, e.g., Design, Architecture, Verification, and Applications, to define and implement new security features from design to production.
- Participate in testing and verification of pre-silicon (via FPGA emulation), and post-silicon (first Silicon), and debug of issues found, focusing on Secure Bootrom and Bootloader and the hardware features supporting them.
- Integration and Testing of runtime cryptographic operations utilizing the embedded hardware accelerators.
- Work closely with the SQA and System Test team to help define and implement test cases for security deliverables to ensure full coverage.
- Work with other team members to implement the hardware abstraction layer (HAL) and board support package (BSP) of the SDK.
Qualifications
- BS/MS (EE, CE, or CS) with 8+ years of embedded projects utilizing both bare metal and RTOS systems/real-time environments.
- 3+ years of team management experience preferred
- Embedded Expertise: Strong knowledge of ARM architectures, RTOS, and low-level drivers (I2C, SPI, UART).
- Security Expertise: Experience with Secure Boot, PKI, encryption (AES, RSA, ECC), and embedded security (TrustZone, CryptoCell).
- Familiarity with debuggers (JTAG, Saleae), Git, and scripting languages (Python, Bash).
- Understanding of security implications for the embedded systems, and familiarity with IoT security concepts (TrustZone, CryptoCell, and secure boot)
- Expert-level proficiency in C, with C++ and object-oriented extensions.
- Strong proficiency in Python
- Use of gcc and Arm compilers and MCU IDEs from ARM, Keil, IAR, Eclipse or others
- Excellent problem-solving skills dealing with issues related to HW/SW debug, FPGA/Silicon testing
- Technical Leadership of projects utilizing CI/CD development and automated testing principles.
- Strong documentation skills, mentorship of junior engineers, and ability to work in cross-functional teams.
**Must be currently authorized to work in the United States for any employer.
Skills Required
- Bachelor’s or master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or Computer Science
- 8+ years of embedded software project experience using bare-metal and RTOS systems
- Strong knowledge of ARM architectures, RTOS, and low-level drivers including I2C, SPI, and UART
- Experience with Secure Boot, PKI, encryption, AES, RSA, ECC, and embedded security
- Experience with TrustZone, CryptoCell, and IoT security concepts
- Expert-level proficiency in C and experience with C++ and object-oriented programming
- Strong proficiency in Python
- Familiarity with JTAG, Saleae, Git, and scripting languages such as Python and Bash
- Experience using GCC, Arm compilers, and MCU IDEs such as Keil, IAR, or Eclipse
- Experience with hardware/software debugging and FPGA or silicon testing
- Technical leadership on projects using CI/CD and automated testing
- Strong documentation, mentoring, and cross-functional collaboration skills
- 3+ years of team management experience
- Current authorization to work in the United States for any employer
Ambiq Compensation & Benefits Highlights
-
Healthcare Strength — Health coverage is described as company-paid for medical, dental, and vision, with added mental-health support, an Employee Assistance Program, and HSA/FSA options. These elements indicate strong breadth and employer cost-sharing in core healthcare.
-
Retirement Support — A 401(k) plan with a defined company match is specified, alongside basic life, AD&D, and disability coverage. This combination points to meaningful support for long-term savings and financial protection.
-
Leave & Time Off Breadth — Time off includes PTO, a robust paid-holiday schedule plus a floating holiday, and a year-end company shutdown. These provisions suggest above-baseline time away from work.
Ambiq Insights
What We Do
Ambiq® enables intelligence (AI and beyond) everywhere by delivering the lowest-power semiconductor solutions for battery-powered edge devices. As a pioneer in ultra-low power SoCs, Ambiq empowers wearables, IoT, smart home, healthcare, and industrial products with always-on, energy-efficient intelligence. Backed by our SPOT® technology and global innovation leadership, Ambiq is shaping the future of edge AI.
Why Work With Us
Direct influence on silicon architecture Smaller, high-impact teams Hardware/software co-design in real time Faster technical decision cycles Visible ownership at Staff & Director level Austin-based collaboration culture
Ambiq Offices
OnSite Workspace
Building silicon and embedded AI systems requires tight collaboration across firmware, hardware, validation, and architecture teams. We believe the hardest engineering problems are solved through direct, daily collaboration.
