What are the responsibilities and job description for the Firmware Engineer Intern - Summer 2026 position at NXP Semiconductors?
We are seeking a highly motivated Post Graduate (Master’s) student or recent graduate to join our firmware team. In this role, you will work closely with our senior hardware and software engineers to develop, debug, and optimize firmware for a custom ARM Cortex-M series based design. You will gain hands-on experience bridging the gap between hardware bring-up and application-level software.
Key Responsibilities
NXP is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer regardless of age, color, national origin, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, marital status, status as a disabled veteran and/or veteran of the Vietnam Era or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law. In addition, NXP will provide reasonable accommodations for otherwise qualified disabled individuals.
Key Responsibilities
- Board Support Package (BSP) Development: Develop and maintain low-level drivers (UART, I2C, SPI, GPIO, DMA, Timers) for custom ARM Cortex-M0/M3/M4/M33 hardware.
- Hardware Bring-up: Assist in the initial power-on and hardware validation of new custom PCBs using debuggers (J-Link, ST-Link) and oscilloscopes/logic analyzers.
- RTOS Integration: Port and optimize Real-Time Operating Systems (FreeRTOS, Zephyr, or ThreadX) on the target hardware.
- Application Layer: Write application-level firmware to demonstrate hardware capabilities and support system integration.
- Debugging: Utilize JTAG/SWD interfaces to debug complex system-level issues involving interrupts, memory management, and power modes.
- Documentation: Create technical documentation for driver APIs and hardware interfaces.
- Currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field, graduating August 2026 or later
- Strong understanding of the ARM Cortex-M architecture (e.g., NVIC, MPU, SysTick, Memory Map).
- Proficiency in C (C11/C99) for embedded systems. Familiarity with assembly is a plus.
- Experience with microcontroller peripherals (UART, SPI, I2C, ADC, DMA, Timers).
- Hands-on experience with debugging tools (JTAG/SWD) and test equipment (Oscilloscopes, Logic Analyzers).
- Familiarity with version control (Git) and IDEs (VS Code, Keil MDK, IAR, or Eclipse-based tools).
- Experience with RTOS concepts (task scheduling, mutexes, semaphores).
- Familiarity with Python or C# for developing internal test automation scripts.
- Understanding of low-power design techniques (sleep modes, clock gating).
- Experience reading schematics and datasheets to write register-level code.
- Knowledge of secure boot or cryptographic libraries (mbedTLS, TrustZone for ARMv8-M).
NXP is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer regardless of age, color, national origin, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, marital status, status as a disabled veteran and/or veteran of the Vietnam Era or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law. In addition, NXP will provide reasonable accommodations for otherwise qualified disabled individuals.