Senior Firmware Engineer, Autonomous Systems

Who We Are Sphere Defense is a fully funded technology startup with the mission of providing allied countries with sovereign, effective and seamless autonomous countermeasures to neutralize todays’ and tomorrow’s aerial threats.

Sphere Defense was founded by industry veterans with previous successful exits, and is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, in the heart of Europe.

About You You are an experienced and highly-motivated

Senior

Firmware Engineer

that has extensive experience with MCUs running bare-metal and RTOSs, and is experienced with building highly reliable embedded, mission‑critical systems. Ideally, you have worked with autonomous systems.

What You’ll Do

Be one of the first members of a high-performing team, designing and developing autonomous countermeasures to protect allied countries from aerial threats

Architect, develop and test high-performant and reliable firmware systems that encompass sensing, processing and actuation with low latency

Together with the hardware team, bring-up boards and systems, ensuring that all intended functional and performance requirements are met

Troubleshoot and debug problems, ensuring that issues are addressed as they appear

Establish sophisticated CI/CD pipelines, focusing on QA aspects

Be a team player and a mentor, being available to support the team when needed

Location Onsite in Brussels, Belgium. Our office is close to Central Station.

Reports to Chief Technology Officer

Requirements

Bachelor’s or master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Robotics or equivalent

At least 8 years in relevant roles, with increasing levels of ownership

Demonstrated experience in the role, owning complex systems based on MCUs and MPUs running bare-metal and RTOS

Proficiency in C/C++ and Python

Experience with bare-metal and RTOS firmware systems

Deep experience with System Design of complex and reliable autonomous systems

Ability to produce high-quality technical documentation

Experience with Device Drivers development and Board Bringup, including BSP creation

Experience with lab equipment (oscilloscope, multimeter, etc.) for board bring‑up and debug

Experience with implementing and maintaining complex. multi-stage, SIL/HIL CI/CD processes

Experience integrating sensors and peripherals such as IMUs, Hall sensors, network devices, etc.

Excellent interpersonal communication skills in written and spoken English; French or Dutch is a plus

You are a self-starter, able to work in a high-ambiguity environment and willing to take up new challenges

Preferred Qualifications

Experience with Linux and Yocto‑based embedded systems

Experience with the PX4 Flight Controller or other flight controllers

Proficient in Rust

Experience with ST and NXP chipsets

Experience with server communication (REST, gRPC, etc.)

Experience with Mobile Apps integration (BLE, WiFi)

What we offer

Attractive compensation

Year-end bonus

Stock Options Plan

Mobility Budget

32 days of holidays

Meal vouchers

Private Health insurance

We are building a core team of hard‑working people. If you want to join a company with tremendous impact and you are autonomous, creative and driven, we want to hear from you

Sphere Defense offers attractive compensation, stock options, and a unique opportunity to change the global defense landscape.

This role is only open to candidates with right to work in Belgium. We cannot provide visa sponsorship at this time.