Senior Firmware Engineer

Job Summary

We are looking for a Senior Firmware Engineer to own the full firmware lifecycle for our core consumer electronics products.

Job Responsibilities

• Development & Architecture
  • Lead firmware design and development for core consumer electronics products, including bring-up, driver development, and application-layer firmware for Linux based operating systems.
  • Define firmware architecture with a focus on scalability, reliability, and performance across product generations.
  • Develop and maintain firmware for microcontrollers and embedded processors in partnership with ODM/JDM.
  • Own firmware architecture end to end.
• Lifecycle Ownership – Development to Production
  • Own the full firmware release process, from feature development and integration through Prototype, EVT, DVT, PVT, and mass production handoff (responsible for feature complete, performance complete, and stability complete).
  • Define and maintain firmware versioning, release branching strategies, and build reproducibility standards.
  • Identify and resolve firmware issues that surface during Prototype/EVT/DVT/PVT builds and ensures that software development lines up to phases, driving root cause analysis and corrective actions to closure.
• Validation & Quality
  • Partner with QA and test engineering teams to develop comprehensive firmware validation plans, including unit tests, integration tests, and hardware-in-the-loop testing.
  • Champion CI/CD practices for firmware, including automated build pipelines, regression testing, and static analysis tooling.
  • Establish and enforce firmware quality gates prior to each program milestone.
  • Support field failure analysis and drive firmware fixes for issues identified postlaunch.
• ODM/JDM Partnership & Oversight
  • Serve as the primary firmware liaison between internal teams and ODM/JDM partners, providing clear technical direction, requirements, and acceptance criteria.
  • Review and provide feedback on firmware deliverables from ODM/JDM partners, ensuring alignment with internal architecture standards, coding guidelines, and product requirements.
  • Define firmware ownership boundaries between internal and ODM/JDM teams; maintain accountability for final firmware quality regardless of where code originates.
  • Drive firmware readiness reviews at each build milestone (Prototype/EVT/DVT/PVT), holding ODM/JDM partners to schedule and quality commitments.
  • Facilitate knowledge transfer and ensure adequate internal documentation and source control ownership of all ODM/JDM-developed firmware assets.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
  • Work closely with hardware engineers during board bring-up, schematic review, and signal integrity troubleshooting — both internally and alongside ODM/JDM hardware teams.
  • Partner with product management and technical lead to translate product requirements into firmware specifications that can be clearly communicated to external partners.
  • Coordinate with mobile/cloud/app teams on communication protocols and system-level integration (BLE, Wi-Fi, USB, etc.).

Job Requirements

• 7+ years of firmware/embedded software engineering experience, with at least 2 years on consumer electronics products.
• Solid understanding of RTOS concepts as well as embedded Linux on low powered systems.
• Experience with common communication protocols: UART, SPI, I2C, USB, BLE, WiFi, and LTE as well as imaging and compression algorithms.
• Proven track record of shipping firmware through full product lifecycle, including factory and mass production phases.
• Experience working with or managing ODM/JDM firmware development partners, including requirements handoff, code reviews, and milestone-based acceptance testing.
• Ability to evaluate third-party firmware quality and provide structured, actionable technical feedback.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to work effectively across time zones and cultural contexts with external engineering teams.
• Essential Job Function
  • Experience with OTA (over-the-air) firmware update systems and secure boot/firmware signing.
  • Familiarity with FCC/CE/UL certification processes as they relate to firmware.
  • Exposure to low-power optimization techniques for battery-powered consumer devices.
  • Experience with Python or similar scripting for test automation and tooling.
  • Background in audio, wearables, smart home, or similar consumer electronics categories.
  • Experience collaborating with ODM/JDM partners based in Taiwan, China, or other Asia-Pacific regions, including comfort with async communication workflows and occasional international travel to partner sites during key build milestones.