About the role
WindBorne Systems is supercharging weather models with a unique proprietary data source: a global constellation of next-generation smart weather balloons targeting the most critical atmospheric data. We design, manufacture, and operate our own balloons, using the data they collect to generate otherwise unattainable weather intelligence. Our mission is to eliminate weather uncertainty, and in the process help humanity adapt to climate change, be that predicting hurricanes or speeding the adoption of renewables. We are building a future in which the planet is instrumented by thousands of our microballoons, eliminating gaps in our understanding of the planet and giving people and businesses the information they need to make critical decisions. The founding team of Stanford engineers was named Forbes 2019 30 under 30 and is backed by top investors including Khosla Ventures. WindBorne is looking for a Firmware Engineer to own our entire firmware stack. As a vertically integrated weather company, we design, calibrate, & integrate our own custom sensors & control mechanisms into our autonomous balloons. This poses some unique challenges: most components are outside their temperature spec, power is extremely limited and it is not easy to update code when the system is many miles in the air. We believe the most interesting work happens at the intersection of hardware and software, where clever code can compensate for physical limitations. In this role, you’ll design and run experiments to understand the behaviours of our system in weird conditions, then cosplay as a 1960s NASA engineer to glean insight from the limited data available. You’ll own firmware strategy, making quick, tactical decisions on whether to vomit some code for a janky test or design a robust solution that will accelerate future development. From maintaining our custom RTOS and hardware abstraction layer to developing the driver interfaces for our suite of atmospheric sensors, you'll be solving fascinating challenges alongside a team of brilliant, passionate engineers who are revolutionizing our understanding of the atmosphere.