Staff Software Systems Engineer at Formenergy (Berkeley, CA)Staff Software Systems Engineer

The Software Systems Assurance team at Form Energy is growing! We coordinate the software architecture, requirements, and verification strategy for Multi-Day Energy Storage products that enable gigawatt-scale battery power plants. We are looking for a Staff Software Systems Engineer to act as the technical authority bridging complex software architecture, functional safety, and embedded hardware integration. Depending on your background, this role offers the opportunity to specialize in either Broad Systems Architecture (facilitating cross-team design of distributed, safety-critical systems) or Product Assurance & Formal Modeling (using MBSE/Requirements-As-Code to translate high-level security and safety specs into executable, version-controlled schemas and bare-metal execution).

What You'll Do:

• Systems Decomposition: Distill, organize, and document the architectural structures, state machines, and requirements of a grid-scale battery electric storage system (BESS), from grid command down to battery cell firmware.
• Cross-Functional Architecture: Facilitate the design and implementation of a distributed, fault-tolerant, safety-critical system, bridging the gap between controls, electronics, and power systems engineers.
• Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE): Transition system state machines, Functional Safety (FuSA) Hardware-Software Interfaces (HSI), and Interface Control Documents (ICDs) from static documents into version-controlled data schemas.
• Formal Authoring, Translation & Verification: Author/translate high-level security specifications and functional safety hazard models (UL 1998/5500, ISO 21434) into verifiable execution contracts and deterministic rules.
• Disambiguation: Get in the code to get answers. You will locate and resolve ambiguity across the system, showing up for the team when context or clarity is needed.

What You'll Bring:

• 8+ years of relevant experience in software engineering, embedded systems engineering, or product assurance, including 2+ years of technical leadership experience.
• Demonstrated track record of delivering complex, production-grade embedded systems, safety-critical hardware/software, or service-oriented architectures at scale.
• Fluency in architectural design, failure/risk analysis, and cross-functional communication (diagramming, explaining, and specifying on a near-real-time basis).
• Strong foundation in discrete logic, mathematical modeling, or formal specification, with a demonstrated ability to implement executable specifications using structured data schemas (e.g., JSON Schema, Protobuf, YAML, CUE) rather than static documents.
• Ability to collaborate across diverse, interdisciplinary stakeholders to achieve unified, highly robust hardware/software designs under tight deadlines.

Preferred Qualifications:

• For the Assurance/Lab Track: Hands-on experience reading bare-metal C code and performing deep diagnostic debugging using protocol analyzers (Wireshark) and embedded debuggers across CAN, SPI, Ethernet, or Embedded Linux/MPUs.
• For the Formal Modeling Track: Direct capability to decompose complex programmable component safety requirements (e.g., UL 1998, UL 5500) into concrete software safety assertions. Experience with formal specification tools (like TLA+) is a major plus.

#LI-Onsite

Humanity is a cornerstone of Form Energy’s culture, and we make sure our compensation and benefits reflect that. Form Energy offers competitive salaries, stock options, and a holistic benefits package to ensure all employees have what they need to thrive while working here.

When it comes to you and your family’s health, we cover 100% of medical, dental, and vision premiums for full-time employees - and 80% of healthcare premiums for dependents. This starts from day one. We also offer at least 12 weeks of paid leave for new parents (up to 20 weeks for birthing parents), and generous vacation policies to give employees time to recharge when needed.

To build America’s energy future, we need everyone at the table. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer, and encourage candidates from all backgrounds to apply to our open jobs.

If you may require reasonable accommodations to participate in our interview process, please contact accommodations@formenergy.com. Requests for accommodations will be treated with discretion.

Form Energy is committed to maintaining the privacy of our applicants. Please be aware that we will never solicit sensitive personal information such as Social Security numbers or bank account details during the recruiting or hiring process.