What is Firmware?
Firmware is a software, tangible electronic component, which contains necessary instructions for the hardware to work with the operating system. Firmware is embedded software instructions that are used to tell an electronic device on how to operate.
How is Firmware used?
Zippia reviewed thousands of resumes to understand how firmware is used in different jobs. Explore the list of common job responsibilities related to firmware below:
- Scheduled meeting on regular basis for code and firmware specification review, developed system verification and qualification for engineering platform.
- Designed hardware and firmware for an embedded micro-controller video synchronization product for general aviation installs.
- Release high-speed Fibre-Channel and Ethernet adapter firmware to internal teams and into customer facing environment.
- Authored the analysis software, microprocessor firmware and interface drivers.
- Implemented multiple firmware coding modifications for customer specific requirements.
- Analyzed hardware and firmware requirements to determine feasibility within time and cost constraints.
Are Firmware skills in demand?
Yes, firmware skills are in demand today. Currently, 8,521 job openings list firmware skills as a requirement. The job descriptions that most frequently include firmware skills are computer hardware developer, hardware/firmware engineer, and firmware test engineer.
How hard is it to learn Firmware?
Based on the average complexity level of the jobs that use firmware the most: computer hardware developer, hardware/firmware engineer, and firmware test engineer. The complexity level of these jobs is challenging.
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What jobs can you get with Firmware skills?
You can get a job as a computer hardware developer, hardware/firmware engineer, and firmware test engineer with firmware skills. After analyzing resumes and job postings, we identified these as the most common job titles for candidates with firmware skills.
Computer Hardware Developer
Job description:
Computer hardware developers handle the physical aspect of computers. The developers research, design, and manufacture test computer systems and components. They make sure that they function to their full capacity with the software they are being used with. Their duties include designing new computer hardware, manufacturing computer equipment schematics, analyzing the test results, and modifying the design of the new hardware as needed. They update the already existing computer equipment so it works with new software and oversee every step of the manufacturing process.
- Firmware
- Hardware Development
- Python
- Design Verification
- C++
- Java
Firmware Test Engineer
Job description:
Firmware engineers are technical experts who work on programming various devices. They have extensive knowledge of coding and software development. Firmware engineers must understand several programming languages, with the specifics depending on their industry. Designing code and testing proper functionality are additional job responsibilities.
- Python
- Firmware
- Test Automation
- Test Results
- Linux
- Test Scripts
Embedded Engineer
Job description:
Embedded engineers are skilled professionals who are responsible for conducting all activities that are related to embedded systems. These engineers are required to design and configure hardware components of embedded systems such as processor, controller, memory, and serial communication port. They must participate in reviewing the requirements, design, and source code of embedded systems as well as identify opportunities for software process and development cycle time improvements. Embedded engineers must troubleshoot malfunctioning embedded systems while providing written updates to managers and their clients.
- Python
- C
- C++
- Firmware
- Software Development
- Embedded Systems
Director, Hardware Engineering
- RF
- Product Development
- Hardware Development
- Firmware
- Mechanical Engineering
- Hardware Products
Manager, Hardware Engineering
Job description:
Managerial experience is a must if you want to be a hardware engineering manager. Mainly, they are tasked to oversee and monitor everything that is happening in an engineering department. They need to ensure that all the hardware equipment and products are being utilized properly and orderly. Engineering managers coordinate with the suppliers, contractors, manufacturers as well as clients to provide them a quality of service.
- RF
- Hardware Engineering
- Hardware Development
- Project Management
- Firmware
- PCB
Hardware Development Engineer
Job description:
A hardware development engineer carries out an analysis of the requirements of a needed product and tries to develop a prototype, taking into consideration the cost and specifications. You're also expected to work on already existing products and seek ways to modify them. You will be in charge of your team members and oversee all they do. Some of the hardware you may be required to design and test includes microprocessors, routers, keyboards, circuit boards, etc.
- Hardware Development
- Analog
- PCB
- Prototype
- Firmware
- Debugging
Hardware Design Engineer
Job description:
A hardware design engineer is an individual who develops, improves, and test components and systems for computers and other devices. Hardware design engineers must develop and design hardware components, such as circuit boards, switches, and networking elements. They are required to examine technological specifications and functional requirements as well as design components and systems that will deliver the expected performance. Hardware design engineers are also involved with manufacturing hardware, and they work closely with software engineers and developers during the development cycle.
- RF
- PCB
- Analog
- Firmware
- CAD
- Cadence
How much can you earn with Firmware skills?
You can earn up to $99,546 a year with firmware skills if you become a computer hardware developer, the highest-paying job that requires firmware skills. Hardware/firmware engineers can earn the second-highest salary among jobs that use Python, $97,508 a year.
| Job title | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|
| Computer Hardware Developer | $99,546 | $48 |
| Hardware/Firmware Engineer | $97,508 | $47 |
| Firmware Test Engineer | $84,319 | $41 |
| Senior Embedded Engineer | $121,757 | $59 |
| Embedded Engineer | $95,419 | $46 |
Companies using Firmware in 2025
The top companies that look for employees with firmware skills are Intel, Oracle, and Apple. In the millions of job postings we reviewed, these companies mention firmware skills most frequently.
1 courses for Firmware skills
1. USB Behind the Scenes: Hands-on HID Firmware Development
Have you ever wanted to develop your own device that can be connected to a computer using USB? Are you familiar with using USB UART adapters but want to take your USB knowledge and understanding to the next ultimate level? If yes, then this course is absolutely for you! I made the whole content of slides and code by myself after a lot of preparation and fine-tuning to give you the best experience you can find today online to learn and understand USB protocol and framework in theory and in practice. Your journey with me in this course should save you from any frustration that could happen when you try to learn or understand USB from any other online source. USB is for most a mystery and a very complex protocol, and most engineers try to avoid it or at least try to convert it to other simpler protocols. However, after taking this course, you will be able to be a confident native USB engineer, and you will be able to develop your first bare-metal USB device with me without using any library, which will give you full control over the powers of USB. Even if you want in your career to use a USB library, taking this course will give you a full understanding of what is going on behind the scenes, and will allow you to be able to develop and fine-tune and USB device you want, because, after the end of this course, I would expect from you to have a full understanding of the concept of USB and how it works. In this course, we will:- Start with some theoretical information about USB.- Understand the essential details of USB protocol.- Take our time to understand how to configure the clock of any embedded system correctly.- Implement a bare-metal USB firmware for ARM Cortex M4 based microcontroller (STM32F4xx family).- Implement a bare-metal USB framework.- Develop our own USB HID mouse from zero to fully functional! Of course, the source code of the project we are going to develop together in this course will be available for you to download. You may use it as a template (fully or partially) for your projects in the future. This course is in its early stages and some new additional content will be added or enhanced if necessary frequently. Nevertheless, the current content is full and sufficient to get a fully functional USB human interface device. Happy engineering! See you inside the course!...