01 · The role
What you would do
- Review embedded firmware, FPGA and RTL designs, flight software, test automation frameworks and hardware interfaces
- Weigh trade-offs in real-time performance, timing, memory, concurrency, fault handling and hardware-software integration
- Catch implementation errors, race conditions, timing and interface failures, and resource limits
- Write or review rigorous engineering problems with reference implementations, test cases and evaluation criteria
- Give clear technical feedback rooted in production hardware experience
02 · Requirements
What they ask for
- Five or more years in software, firmware, FPGA or embedded engineering, at least three of them recent and hands-on with real hardware
- Experience as the responsible engineer for production software or firmware that drives hardware, from architecture through bring-up, verification and deployment
- Deep expertise in at least one of: embedded and real-time systems, FPGA/RTL design and verification, flight or mission-critical software, or hardware test automation and hardware-in-the-loop setups
- Working command of tools that fit your specialty, such as C/C++, Python, RTOS or bare-metal development, embedded Linux, buses like SPI, I2C, UART and CAN, or Verilog, SystemVerilog and VHDL
- Hands-on debugging with JTAG or SWD debuggers, logic analyzers, oscilloscopes and HIL or SIL environments
Helpful, not required
- Experience at a company that designs, builds and tests hardware or embedded systems, for example in aerospace, automotive, semiconductors, consumer electronics, robotics, energy or medical devices
- Embedded firmware
- FPGA/RTL
- Real-time systems
- Hardware debugging
- C/C++
03 · Eligibility
Who can apply
Remote. The listing does not name eligible countries, so Mercor's own rules decide: it can only onboard people in countries its payments support, which in October 2026 included Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa and Egypt but not Kenya.
Some African countries
Open in some African countries only: check the listing for which. Mercor in Africa
Apply from where you live, as yourself. Using a VPN or someone else's identity to get around a country rule breaks these platforms' terms, and it is the quickest way to lose an account and any unpaid earnings.
04 · Applying
How to get in
You apply through Mercor's own process. The steps from sign-up to first paid task are on its profile.
- How AI interviews work at micro1 and Mercor: what the AI interview checks, and how to prepare.
- Getting paid from Africa: PayPal, Payoneer, Airtm, Wise and more. It covers which of Mercor's payout routes work where you live, and what they cost.
05 · Source
About this listing
We last confirmed this opening on Nov 1, 2026, and it was posted on Sep 26, 2026. Rates and hours come from the listing unless the note beside the rate says otherwise. Where the listing names no countries, the Africa status is our reading of it and of what is known of Mercor's country rules, set out on its profile, and never marks a role more open than they show. The listing itself has the final word.
The listing on work.mercor.com(opens in a new tab)