What is a Firmware Engineer?

Firmware is the programmable content for electronic devices such as remote controllers, cell phones, and medical devices. Firmware engineers are designing and applying the algorithms that enable the hardware to operate. The program features can be changed, arranged, and modeled for different industries like the automobile, wellness, and consumer electronics industries.

A firmware engineer is responsible for developing and deploying software for particular applications and systems in the industry. A firmware engineer plans, upgrades, and handles applications day-to-day. This includes the distribution of capital for complete programming tasks and creating comprehensive strategies to ensure the correct running of the firmware.

Firmware engineer applicants who have a background in programming and experience are desirable to employers. It is a requirement that applicants must possess a bachelor's degree that focuses on firmware or a related field and familiarity with computer languages used for application development like Java, C/C++, and Microsoft SQL.

What Does a Firmware Engineer Do

There are certain skills that many firmware engineers have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed analytical skills, communication skills and creativity.

Learn more about what a Firmware Engineer does

How To Become a Firmware Engineer

If you're interested in becoming a firmware engineer, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 70.4% of firmware engineers have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 23.2% of firmware engineers have master's degrees. Even though most firmware engineers have a college degree, it's impossible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Learn More About How To Become a Firmware Engineer

Firmware Engineer Job Description

A firmware engineer is responsible for the programming of the software found in things like TV remotes, cars, and mobile phones. Their duties include meeting with customers to determine project goals, developing the software, and conducting tests and repairs as necessary.

Learn more about Firmware Engineer Job Description
Top Firmware Engineer Jobs Near You

Firmware Engineer Career Paths

In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of senior software engineer you might progress to a role such as project manager eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title chief technology officer.

Firmware Engineer

Average Salary for a Firmware Engineer

Firmware Engineers in America make an average salary of $97,183 per year or $47 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $129,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $73,000 per year.
Average Firmware Engineer Salary
$97,183 Yearly
$46.72 hourly
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Roles and Types of Firmware Engineer

The role of a firmware engineer includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general firmware engineer responsibilities:

  • Participate in product definition, specification and requirements analysis working with cross functional stakeholders support electronic hardware development with circuit design
  • Designs and codes complicated software used to control instrumentation, perform data analysis
  • Develop and mentor the firmware engineer team design

There are several types of firmware engineer, including:

Software Engineer

Role:

Software Engineers get to apply lots of different areas of study into their everyday work. Whether it's science, engineering, mathematics, computer science, or even design, these engineers are able to use lots of different methods and techniques in their line of work.

Essentially, software engineers design, develop and test software applications for computers. They usually work in offices or labs during their average 40-hour workweek. Even though they use a wide range of study, typically software engineers only require a Bachelor's degree, although a Master's degree is appealing to most employers.

  • Average Salary: $100,260
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Engineer

Role:

Engineers design and develop new products in a variety of different industries. They might be mechanical or software engineers or create electric machinery, design chemical or geotechnical processes, or help to structure civil or management disciplines. Whatever the case may be, engineers are involved in creating the diverse technologies that facilitate the processes of our lives in different areas. Combining creative thinking with the principles of mathematics and science using a wide range of technical skills, engineers work on the design, manufacturing, installation, and maintenance of various products from machines, vehicles, buildings, and roads to software or social processes serving consumers, businesses, and societies.

Engineers are creative thinkers and brilliant problem solvers. They excel at mathematical, scientific, and mechanical analysis. They follow plans and blueprints with a strong focus, yet remain flexible and work well under pressure.

Engineers develop systems for solving various problems as members of a team. They know that a single component is worthless without their counterparts, so they have to be great communicators, as well, to be successful at their job.

  • Average Salary: $92,077
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Systems Engineer

Role:

If you're looking for a job that has a lot of job opportunities tied to it, look no further. Systems engineers are in full demand from all sorts of companies across multiple industries. Everyone needs an "I.T." person in their midst because it's no secret that very few actually know how to use technology.

Sure, most people may refer to you as the I.T. person, but your job is much more complicated than that. Of course, the majority of your time will be spent managing the I.T. services and solving any issues that present themselves, but you will have days that you'll have to recover important emails or divert a disaster.

The only thing stopping you from becoming a systems engineer is a bachelor's degree. Once you've got that under your belt, you'll be on your way to becoming a systems engineer. A really important aspect of being a systems engineer is having the communication skills necessary. The hardest part of your job will be "dumbing" down technology terms so that people can understand what's going on with the I.T. system. Once you get through that, the rest of your job will be easy peasy.

  • Average Salary: $82,834
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree
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States With The Most Firmware Engineer Jobs

Mouse over a state to see the number of active firmware engineer jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where firmware engineers earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of Firmware Engineer Jobs By State

RankStateNumber of JobsAverage Salary
1California7,960$108,735
2Texas2,787$86,518
3Virginia2,731$81,390
4Maryland1,829$85,728
5Washington1,697$113,354
6New York1,627$95,528
7Massachusetts1,602$86,410
8Florida1,510$73,566
9Colorado1,452$79,825
10Illinois1,235$75,360
11Pennsylvania1,019$79,449
12Georgia991$75,321
13North Carolina971$74,102
14Michigan865$81,181
15New Jersey857$93,492
16Ohio852$75,311
17Oregon830$93,931
18Indiana803$77,328
19Minnesota709$78,248
20Arizona645$86,745
21Utah553$83,624
22Alabama550$81,291
23Missouri433$69,724
24Wisconsin417$80,395
25Iowa351$76,618
26Connecticut331$80,014
27Tennessee292$76,600
28Kansas261$73,635
29South Carolina245$72,838
30Nebraska225$71,582
31Delaware222$83,400
32New Hampshire216$84,117
33Arkansas215$79,775
34Rhode Island198$78,942
35Kentucky197$71,324
36New Mexico192$91,584
37Idaho181$85,201
38Nevada178$87,748
39Louisiana168$75,036
40Oklahoma160$72,368
41Maine117$93,139
42Montana110$82,286
43Hawaii109$84,570
44North Dakota105$80,070
45Mississippi98$72,688
46Vermont97$95,329
47West Virginia94$77,696
48Alaska81$91,681
49South Dakota81$77,906
50Wyoming71$83,249

Firmware Engineer Education

Firmware Engineer Majors

Electrical Engineering
43.2 %
Computer Engineering
20.4 %
Computer Science
16.8 %

Firmware Engineer Degrees

Bachelors

70.4 %

Masters

23.2 %

Associate

3.6 %

Top Colleges for Firmware Engineers

1. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

In-State Tuition

$50,420

Enrollment

7,582

2. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

In-State Tuition

$55,695

Enrollment

6,596

3. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$6,798

Enrollment

31,503

4. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-State Tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

5. Georgia Institute of Technology

Atlanta, GA • Private

In-State Tuition

$12,424

Enrollment

15,201

6. Purdue University

West Lafayette, IN • Private

In-State Tuition

$9,992

Enrollment

33,495

7. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-State Tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

8. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$59,430

Enrollment

8,216

9. California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

Pomona, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$7,353

Enrollment

24,841

10. University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$13,226

Enrollment

31,568

Top Skills For a Firmware Engineer

The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 6.5% of firmware engineers listed python on their resume, but soft skills such as analytical skills and communication skills are important as well.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Firmware Engineer Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Firmware Engineer templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Firmware Engineer resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

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Firmware Engineer Resume

Firmware Engineer diversity

Firmware Engineer Gender Distribution

Male
Male
88%
Female
Female
12%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

  • Among firmware engineers, 11.6% of them are women, while 88.4% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among firmware engineers is White, which makes up 50.4% of all firmware engineers.

  • The most common foreign language among firmware engineers is Chinese at 21.9%.

Online Courses For Firmware Engineer That You May Like

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Best States For a Firmware Engineer

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a firmware engineer. The best states for people in this position are Washington, California, New York, and Vermont. Firmware engineers make the most in Washington with an average salary of $113,354. Whereas in California and New York, they would average $108,735 and $95,528, respectively. While firmware engineers would only make an average of $95,329 in Vermont, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.

1. Washington

Total Firmware Engineer Jobs: 1,697
Highest 10% Earn:
$155,000
Location Quotient:
1.65

$113,354

Avg. Salary

View 1,697 Firmware Engineer Jobs In WA

2. California

Total Firmware Engineer Jobs: 7,960
Highest 10% Earn:
$150,000
Location Quotient:
1.94

$108,735

Avg. Salary

View 7,960 Firmware Engineer Jobs In CA

3. Vermont

Total Firmware Engineer Jobs: 97
Highest 10% Earn:
$124,000
Location Quotient:
0.9

$95,329

Avg. Salary

View 97 Firmware Engineer Jobs In VT
Full List Of Best States For Firmware Engineers

How Do Firmware Engineers Rate Their Jobs?

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Top Firmware Engineer Employers

Most Common Employers For Firmware Engineer

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1Meta$165,614$79.6242
2Apple$147,953$71.13174
3Microsoft$146,082$70.2327
4Infinera$134,006$64.4323
5Micron Technology$125,361$60.2770
6Broadcom$123,657$59.45154
7Synaptics$122,710$59.0036
8Western Digital$119,635$57.5275
9Tesla$111,128$53.4366
10CyberCoders$106,480$51.1923
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Updated April 6, 2023