Firmware Intern at WindBorne Systems
Palo Alto, CA
$33/hrfrom the description
Jul 5, 2026
Palo Alto, CA
Jul 21, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A firmware internship focused on embedded software running directly on autonomous weather balloon hardware. Day-to-day work spans writing and maintaining low-level chip drivers, owning a custom open-source RTOS hardware abstraction layer, and pushing sensor hardware to operate reliably under extreme conditions well outside normal specifications. The role suits candidates with hands-on C/C++ embedded experience who are comfortable reading schematics and debugging complex hardware-software interactions.
Junior level · San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA · Internship
“or” means any one of them counts — you don't need all of them.
We read this from the posting text with AI. Skim the description below before ruling yourself out.
How this req sits in the market our data
Roughly 1,100 people in the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA area plausibly meet what this posting asks for (software developers). range 290–1,450
Applicant volume Moderate — A normal amount of company. The rare requirements below are what will separate a shortlisted application from the rest.
Most people in this occupation already list these. Still required — just not what gets you shortlisted.
What the occupation pays Median $190,744 (middle half $167,095–$224,501). This posting is about at that midpoint.
Estimated from BLS employment for this occupation and area, per-skill prevalence across our listing corpus, and published wage benchmarks — as of Jul 28, 2026. It is a model, not a headcount.
Why we read it this way (8)
This is an internship role open year-round (not just summer); applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.
The posting is titled 'Firmware Intern' with no seniority modifier — advertised seniority is Unspecified; the scope and expectations are entry/junior level.
C and C++ are listed together as a single fluency requirement; they are emitted as separate skills because both are genuinely distinct languages used in the role.
A CS/EE degree is listed under 'Nice to have', so the degree requirement is set to None.
RTOS experience is implied as a core responsibility (owning the custom RTOS HAL 'Amslah'), but it appears in the responsibilities narrative rather than a hard-requirements section, so it is marked preferred.
FPGAs/HDL and RF systems appear explicitly under 'Nice to have'.
The role is in-person required at Redwood City, CA (1600 Bridge Pkwy), which falls within the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward CBSA.
Posting is for a internship engagement — the market benchmarks below price full-time roles, so read the comp comparison with that in mind.
Read the full posting
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