Somewear Labs · 2 months ago
Senior/Lead Firmware Engineer
San Francisco, CA
Full-time
Hybrid
Senior Level, Lead/Staff
10+ years expSomewear Labs is a company that provides a satellite-enabled platform for communication in demanding environments. They are looking for a Senior/Lead Firmware Engineer to define the technical vision for embedded systems, lead cross-functional initiatives, and mentor engineers, ensuring that critical information reaches the right people in the harshest conditions.
HardwareMobileSatellite CommunicationSoftwareTelecommunications
No H1B
U.S. Citizen Only
Responsibilities
Define technical vision and strategy for firmware architecture across our entire product portfolio
Architect and own complex embedded systems in C, C++, and Rust targeting Zephyr RTOS, setting patterns that scale across the organization
Drive company-wide technical decisions around system architecture, performance optimization, power management, and technology selection
Lead cross-functional initiatives that span firmware, hardware, mobile, and backend teams—translating business goals into technical roadmaps
Own end-to-end technical delivery of critical features from concept through production deployment on custom hardware
Set the standard for board bring-up and hardware validation, establishing processes that electrical and firmware teams follow company-wide
Architect robust communication protocols and device drivers for power-constrained, safety-critical environments
Define and evolve system-level protocols in partnership with hardware, mobile, and backend engineering teams
Champion engineering excellence by establishing standards, best practices, and tooling that elevate the entire engineering organization
Mentor and develop senior engineers, conducting design reviews and systematically raising the technical capabilities across the team
Evaluate emerging technologies and drive strategic build vs. buy decisions with company-level impact
Influence product and company strategy by identifying technical opportunities, constraints, and competitive advantages
Represent firmware engineering in executive-level technical discussions and company-wide planning
Solve the hardest technical problems that require deep expertise and novel approaches
Qualification
Required
10+ years of firmware development on resource-constrained embedded systems
Proven track record of defining technical vision and strategy for embedded systems in production environments
Expert-level proficiency architecting and shipping complex, safety-critical embedded systems at scale
Deep expertise with wireless protocols (WiFi, Bluetooth, ZigBee, Thread, LoRa, mesh networking) and proven ability to design novel protocols
Strong understanding of cellular technologies (LTE, 5G, NB-IoT), satellite communications, and RF system design
Mastery of RTOS internals (Zephyr, FreeRTOS, or similar) and hardware interfaces (UART, SPI, I²C, USB)
Advanced debugging skills with oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, JTAG debuggers, and power profiling tools—able to solve issues others cannot
Demonstrated experience optimizing for power consumption, memory footprint, and real-time performance in production systems with measurable impact
Proven track record of leading multi-team technical initiatives, driving consensus on complex architectural decisions, and delivering company-critical projects
Strong leadership skills with experience mentoring senior engineers and elevating technical capabilities across organizations
Exceptional collaboration skills working across hardware, mobile, backend, and product teams at all levels of the organization
Strategic thinking with ability to balance technical excellence with business priorities and time-to-market constraints
A passion for building technology where reliability, security, and safety are non-negotiable
Willingness to dive deep across the stack and take ownership from concept to deployed product, while also operating at strategic altitude
Comfort with ambiguity and ability to define technical direction when the path forward is unclear
Preferred
Deep experience with secure boot, cryptographic implementations, firmware security, and threat modeling
Background in RF systems, antenna design, or wireless system optimization
Significant contributions to open-source embedded projects with demonstrated community impact
Proven experience designing and implementing FOTA (firmware over-the-air) update systems for constrained devices
Hands-on experience with regulatory compliance (FCC, CE, safety certifications) and guiding products through certification
Experience architecting systems for defense, aerospace, or other safety-critical industries
Published research, patents, or industry recognition in embedded systems or wireless communications
Benefits
A competitive and equitable compensation plan. This is a full-time, salaried position that includes significant equity.
Physical well-being including health, dental and vision benefits.
Focus Days: No meetings every Monday to allow you to focus and operate at your best!
Unlimited PTO
Flexible parental leave
Remote employee equipment stipend to create a great remote work environment.
An authentic investment in you as a human being and your career as a professional.
Company
Somewear Labs
Enabling critical communications for the world’s most important organizations
11-50 employees
Funding
Current Stage
Early StageTotal Funding
$13.7MKey Investors
Bling Capital
2022-09-22Series A· $13.7M
2018-12-13Seed
2017-02-01Convertible Note
Leadership Team
James Kubik
Co-founder & CEO
Alan Besquin
Co-Founder, CTO
Recent News
2025-02-08
Built In Chicago
2024-04-08
Company data provided by crunchbase