Sr Staff Software Engineer - Power Management
Ambiq is hiring a Sr Staff Software Engineer, Power Management (on-site 5 days/week in NW Austin) to own the architecture, development, and optimization of SDK power-management software for ultra-low-power Edge AI MCUs. Day-to-day is hands-on embedded C/C++ firmware, drivers, and power optimization on ARM Cortex-M with an RTOS, alongside cross-functional work with SoC hardware architects.
- Compensation
- Not disclosed
- Location
- Austin, Texas, United States
- Work setup
- Not specified
- Seniority
- Staff
- Employment
- Not specified
- Experience
- 10+ years
- Category
- Software engineering
- Posted
Skills
Must have
- Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field
- 10+ years developing embedded software for ARM Cortex-M systems in bare-metal and RTOS environments
- Expert-level C/C++ with low-level firmware, device drivers, HAL, and startup code
- Strong understanding of SoC architecture: processor subsystems, memory hierarchy, bus interconnects, interrupts, DMA, caches, memory protection, IPC, shared memory
- Proven experience designing, implementing, debugging, profiling, and optimizing software for ultra-low-power embedded systems
- Strong understanding of embedded power management: clock management, voltage/frequency scaling, power domains, memory retention, clock gating, low-power modes
- Experience profiling power consumption across software/hardware boundaries and resolving system-level bottlenecks
- Hands-on with embedded debug tools: JTAG/SWD debuggers, oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, power analyzers, profiling tools
- Experience with Git-based source control, code reviews, continuous integration, automated testing
- Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills across hardware and software disciplines
- Ability to independently manage tasks, prioritize workload, and meet deadlines with minimal supervision
- Must be currently authorized to work in the United States for any employer (no visa sponsorship)
Nice to have
- ARM assembly language experience
- Experience defining software architectures and technical requirements for complex embedded systems
- Knowledge of power requirements of wireless protocols (BLE, WiFi, 802.15.4)
- Experience working with FreeRTOS & Zephyr
- Familiarity with at least one MCU IDE on Windows (ARM/Keil, IAR, Eclipse, or others)
Full description
Company OverviewAmbiq 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 the Sr. Staff Software Engineer, Power Management at Ambiq, you will drive the software architecture, requirements, development, testing, and performance optimization of the SDK power management software for our latest family of low-power Edge AI MCUs. In this role, you will work closely with SoC hardware power architects, product marketing, validation, and our IP vendors to define the software architecture, functional partitioning, and requirements for the platform's power management infrastructure. You will provide technical leadership and architectural direction to the software development and system test teams, ensuring the delivery of robust, production-quality software on schedule. The role encompasses the power management infrastructure, memory control and retention, clock management, low-power operating modes, and software techniques for optimizing system-level power consumption.
The successful candidate will have extensive experience in early-stage software architecture and hands-on embedded software development. They must have a proven track record of designing, implementing, debugging, profiling, and optimizing embedded software for ARM Cortex-M processors using an RTOS. Experience developing low-level firmware, power management software, device drivers, and hardware abstraction layers is essential. The ideal candidate is a strong technical leader who enjoys solving complex technical problems while remaining actively involved in software design, implementation, code reviews, and debugging.
Responsibilities
- Define software requirements and functional allocations based on evolving input from SoC hardware architects, product marketing, software architects, validation and software development teams.