Firmware / Software Engineer

About Build AIBuild AI is the data hyperscaler for Physical AI. We co-design hardware, collection, infrastructure, and research to scale the in-the-wild physical labor dataset by orders of magnitude. We learn from humans doing the real job, in real environments. Inflecting revenue, backed by top-tier investors and staffed by leading engineers, Build is becoming the bottleneck to solving physical labor.Job SummaryWe're hiring firmware/software in Shenzhen for the devices that record physical labor. The job is the path from sensor to bits leaving the device: capture, storage, reliability, and enough software that a factory team can flash, test, and ship. You sit next to PCB and mechanical, not in a pure software org.Key ResponsibilitiesOwn firmware end-to-end on collection devices: boot, camera capture, storage, upload, recovery when the field is messyBring up new boards with PCB: clocks, buses (I2C, SPI, UART, USB), cameras, power — read the schematic, use a scope, close the bugBuild flashing, factory programming, and test software so we can make devices in volume (HIL or production validation a plus)Develop diagnostics, logging, and enough host-side glue that SF data infra can ingest without a snowflake per SKUOptimize for reliability and throughput, not a demo that dies after an hourWork with SF software (data infra, pipelining) on the device-to-cloud contractYou may be a good fit if you have (Must-have qualifications)You've shipped firmware on real hardware, in C/C++/Rust or similar, and you can debug with a scope and a logExperience with embedded architectures and IO (I2C, SPI, UART, USB or wireless), plus cameras, storage, and powerComfortable reading schematics and working with EE on bring-upYou would rather make 10,000 devices that work than one that is cleverStrong candidates may also have experience with (Nice-to-have qualifications)Software beyond firmware: factory tools, Python/Go to glue test and flash, simple device appsOTA, failure-tolerant upload, or fleet observabilityDelivered at least one project from prototype through productionFine in Shenzhen and in factories. Mandarin useful. English enough to work with SFBenefitsCompetitive payMedical, dental, and vision packages with generous premium coverage$500 per month credit for waiving medical benefitsHousing subsidy of $2k per month for those living within walking distance of the officeRelocation support for those moving to San Francisco (Financial District) or Shenzhen (Nanshan)Various wellness benefits covering fitness, mental health, and moreDaily lunch and dinner in our officeUnlimited compute budget subject to ROI justificationTravelHow we're differentBuild believes in the Bitter Lesson. We are betting early on learning from real human work at massive scale, and that the economies of scale of collection beat extra sensors and extra fidelity. Our addressable market is all physical labor, unlike many of our competitors.We are a fully in-person team in San Francisco (Financial District) and Shenzhen (Nanshan), and greatly value engineering skills. We do not have boundaries between engineering and research, and we expect all of our technical staff to contribute to both and work across disciplines as <needed.Build> AI is an equal opportunity employer. We review every application. If you do not meet every bullet, still apply. Questions: <[email hidden]>