Embedded Systems Engineer, Humanoid Robotics at FieldAI
Boston, MA
$135,000–$185,000
Jul 19, 2026
Boston, MA
Jul 21, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
This role centers on designing and building the embedded compute platform that powers a humanoid robot payload — a backpack-style system that ingests data from cameras, LiDAR, IMUs, and tactile sensors and outputs joint and locomotion commands. Day-to-day work spans compute platform selection, firmware and BSP bring-up, Linux kernel development, sensor and actuator driver integration, and supporting real-time ML inference at the edge. It suits engineers with hands-on embedded systems experience who are comfortable working across hardware, firmware, and close collaboration with ML teams.
Mid level · 3+ years · Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA · Bachelor's required · Full-time
Pay in the description: $135,000–$185,000
“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 95 people in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA area plausibly meet what this posting asks for (software developers). range 20–140
Applicant volume Light — Few people clear these requirements, so an application that does clear them gets looked at. Worth applying to even if you miss a nice-to-have.
Rare in this occupation — lead with these, and say what you built with them.
Most people in this occupation already list these. Still required — just not what gets you shortlisted.
What the occupation pays Median $164,459 (middle half $130,334–$195,752). 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)
The role title is 'Embedded Systems Engineer' with no explicit seniority level in the title. The posting states it 'welcomes candidates across mid-level to senior and staff levels' with a minimum of 3+ years experience; seniority is assessed as Mid (the minimum gate), reflecting the lower bound of the stated range.
SOC classification is Medium confidence: the role is primarily firmware/driver/kernel software development (15-1252 Software Developers), but the heavy embedded hardware and BSP bring-up work has some affinity with 15-1299 (Computer Occupations, All Other), listed as the runner-up.
Degree requirement: the JD lists 'B.S., M.S., or Ph.D.' as the education requirement under 'What You Have' — treated as a hard gate at the Bachelor's level minimum.
Driver development for cameras, LiDAR, IMUs, tactile sensors, and motors is listed under required qualifications ('What You Have') and is captured via the named sensor/protocol skills; the general driver-development capability is implicit in those skills.
CUDA and TensorRT appear under 'What You Have' but are framed with 'familiarity with' and 'ideally supporting manipulation or perception models,' softening them to preferred.
PREEMPT_RT, ISO 13849, and ISO 10218 appear under 'What Will Set You Apart,' the posting's explicit preferred/differentiator section.
UART, USB, and PCIe are listed alongside the required communication protocols but are very common baseline skills; they are subsumed by the broader protocol requirement and not emitted as separate skills to avoid over-listing undifferentiated items.
The role is fully onsite at the Irvine, CA office, which falls within the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim CBSA.
Read the full posting
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