Metalware

Cybersecurity for firmware

Founding Embedded Software Engineer

$120K - $200K / 0.50% - 2.00%
Location
Los Angeles, CA, US / San Francisco, CA, US
Job Type
Full-time
Experience
3+ years
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Ryan Chow
Ryan Chow
Founder

About the role

Metalware was founded on the belief that technological innovation is the fundamental driver of human progress. Cyber-physical systems are advancing at an unprecedented pace across industries such as aerospace/defense, healthcare, automotive, industrials, and consumer electronics. Protecting these critical technologies is essential to ensure their reliability and safety against evolving threats. Metalware is dedicated to securing these systems, building a safer, more resilient world, accelerating progress, and safeguarding lives for a better future.

We’re seeking a founding embedded software engineer to develop novel firmware analysis tooling and hardware emulation infrastructure.

WHO YOU ARE

You’re passionate about working directly with our world-class customers who make drones, electric vehicles, humanoid robots, medical devices, nuclear power plants, satellites, and more.

You’re comfortable gathering user feedback, understanding requirements, and quickly shipping product updates and new features.

You’ll collaborate with the founders to shape product direction and technical roadmap.

You’ll develop cutting-edge embedded software, including implementing new research paper algorithms and shipping high-quality, optimized code to production.

You’ll own complete lifecycle of the software you create, including development, testing, and support.

RESPONSIBILITIES

  • Analyze and reverse-engineer firmware binaries to uncover vulnerabilities and improve detection accuracy.
  • Implement novel algorithms to balance fidelity and efficiency, ensuring high-performance emulation.
  • Train machine learning models to aid symbol recovery and automatic root cause analysis, and add support for new emulation targets.
  • Participate in architecture, design, and code reviews to ensure robust and scalable solutions.
  • Develop prototypes to validate key design concepts and quantify technical constraints.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

  • Proficient in C, C++, or Rust programming languages.
  • Professional experience in embedded or low-level systems development.
  • Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related STEM discipline with 3+ years of professional software engineering experience; OR 5+ years of professional software engineering experience in lieu of a degree.

IDEAL QUALIFICATIONS

  • Solid understanding of operating systems, drivers, networking protocols, electrical engineering, and mathematics.
  • Experience with firmware analysis tools such as Ghidra, IDA Pro, or similar.
  • Knowledge of emulator frameworks like QEMU, including Tiny Code Generator (TCG).
  • Familiarity with instruction set architectures (ISA) such as ARM, MIPS, RISC-V.
  • Prior experience in embedded device product security and machine learning model development.
  • Strong skills in debugging, performance optimization, and testing methodologies.
  • Familiarity with cybersecurity best practices and standards.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

  • Must be willing to work extended hours and weekends as needed to meet project deadlines and deliverables.

BENEFITS

  • Generous salary and equity package.
  • Full health, vision, dental, and 401(k) benefits.
  • Opportunities for professional development, including training and conference participation.

About Metalware

Metalware builds cybersecurity tools for firmware. We fuzz and detect security and reliability issues in software running on drones, satellites, medical devices, electric vehicles, industrial controllers, and more.

Cybersecurity threats are moving lower in the software stack. Firmware attacks have increased 5x in the last four years, costing companies $1M on average per device breach in critical industries.

We're well-funded by top investors and work directly with world-class hardware companies across many industries. We're growing fast—demand for Metalware has outpaced our ability to build and ship the product. We're looking for talented engineers that are passionate about embedded software and cybersecurity to join us.

Metalware
Founded:2023
Team Size:2
Location:San Francisco
Founders
Ryan Chow
Ryan Chow
Founder
Andrew Nedea
Andrew Nedea
Founder