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Staff Firmware Engineer, Platform Security

ALSO· Software Engineering
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Palo Alto$200k - $240kFull-timePosted 2mo ago

About the role

We’re ALSO, an electric mobility company building secure vehicle firmware. The Staff Firmware Security Architect will set the technical direction for the vehicle firmware security platform, owning end-to-end security architecture across ECUs, and partnering with cloud, manufacturing, and firmware teams to make security practical in CI, on the bench, and in production.

Responsibilities

  • Secure boot & root of trust: define secure boot architecture across MCU families (ROM → bootloader → app) — image signing, verification, anti-rollback, and debug/JTAG lockdown for production — setting the standard other ECU teams adopt
  • Key storage & management: own the on-device and fleet key strategy (HSM/OTP/secure element), key hierarchy design, and integration with signing and PKI services across development, manufacturing, and field
  • Network & bus integrity: lead CAN/CAN-FD security design (authentication, integrity, encryption where required), and establish policies for protected diagnostics and secure UDS access platform-wide
  • OTA security: own end-to-end trust for firmware updates — signed/encrypted payloads, on-device verification, rollback safety, and secure handoff between cloud signing infrastructure and vehicle update flows
  • Platform security frameworks: architect reusable security libraries and APIs (crypto wrappers, secure storage, auth services) that product ECU teams adopt without reinventing trust
  • Threat modeling & hardening: lead threat models across boot, update, and network attack surfaces, and partner with product and cloud teams on security reviews and production readiness
  • Validation & cross-functional leadership: drive security test strategy (benchtop PoCs, negative tests, HIL scenarios), integrate critical checks into CI, mentor engineers on secure design, and align firmware, cloud, manufacturing, and systems stakeholders on requirements and trade-offs

Qualifications

  • 8+ years in embedded software/firmware development, with deep ownership of secure boot, crypto, or vehicle/IoT security architecture, and a proven track record setting technical direction across multiple ECUs or products, not just one component
  • BS in an engineering discipline (Computer Science or Electrical Engineering preferred; MS or equivalent depth a plus)
  • Hands-on expertise with cryptographic primitives and embedded crypto (AES, ECC/RSA, HMAC, certificates) on constrained MCUs, including key provisioning, OTP/fuse programming, and HSM or secure element usage in production
  • Experience designing and shipping secure boot chains, bootloaders, signed firmware images, and OTA trust models in production
  • Experience securing vehicle or industrial networks (CAN/CAN-FD, authenticated messaging, secure diagnostics) is a strong plus
  • Expert-level C/C++ on bare-metal or RTOS (FreeRTOS, Zephyr, ThreadX, or similar), with deep comfort with linkers, memory maps, and debugging tools (JTAG/SWD)
  • Ability to wire signing and verification into CI/release pipelines and drive platform-wide adoption
  • Excellent communication skills — able to document security architecture, threat models, and runbooks, and mentor senior engineers; hardware-in-the-loop testing and emulation experience is a plus

Skills

Required:Secure bootCryptography (AES, ECC/RSA, HMAC)Key management & provisioningOTA securityC/C++ (bare-metal/RTOS)
Nice to have:CAN/CAN-FD security

Benefits

  • Robust health coverage — excellent health, dental and vision insurance covered up to 100% by ALSO with FSA & HSA options
  • One Medical membership and dedicated insurance advocates
  • Rich fertility and family building benefits with Progyny
  • Flexible time off
  • 401(k) match
Last updated Aug 19, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.
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