Willow Innovations, Inc. · 2 days ago
Lead Firmware Engineer (Medical Device & Connectivity)
Mountain View, CA
Full-time
Onsite
Senior Level, Lead/Staff
7+ years expWillow Innovations, Inc. is a mission-driven company focused on improving women's health through innovative technology. As the Lead Firmware Engineer, you will be responsible for developing firmware for wearable breast pumps, ensuring regulatory compliance, and leading a team of engineers in a highly impactful role.
Medical DeviceFashionElectronicsConsumer GoodsHealthcareCommercialConsumer ElectronicsHealth CareWearablesWomen's
Responsibilities
Lead the design and implementation of firmware for our wearable breast pumps, focusing on motor control algorithms, power management, and sensor fusion
Architect and optimize BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) communication protocols to ensure rock-solid pairing between the device and our mobile application
Ensure all firmware development follows IEC 62304 software lifecycle standards and supports ISO 13485 quality management systems
Manage and mentor a team of 2-4 firmware engineers. Conduct code reviews, manage sprints, and foster a culture of technical excellence
Work closely with the Electrical Engineering (EE) team on hardware bring-up, debugging, and component selection (MCUs, drivers, batteries)
Develop automated test frameworks and unit tests to ensure 100% reliability in a mission-critical medical context
Qualification
Required
Education: BS/MS in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related field
Firmware Expertise: 7+ years of experience in embedded C/C++. Experience with RTOS (e.g., FreeRTOS, Zephyr) and bare-metal development
Medical Device Experience: Proven track record of shipping products under FDA/CE regulatory pathways. Understanding of risk management (ISO 14971) is a major plus
Connectivity: Deep experience with BLE stacks (STM32WBxxx series preferred) and mobile-to-device data synchronization
Cybersecurity Expertise: Proven experience implementing hardware-based security features (e.g., Secure Boot, TrustZone, Cryptographic Co-processors) and secure communication protocols (TLS/DTLS over BLE)
Compliance Knowledge: Direct experience with FDA premarket cybersecurity guidance and the ability to map technical mitigations to identified cyber risks in a Traceability Matrix
Motor Control: Experience with PWM, PID loops, or BLDC motor control (essential for mimicking natural nursing patterns)
Leadership: Experience leading technical projects or managing direct reports in a fast-paced startup environment
Preferred
Experience with low-power optimization for battery-operated wearables
Familiarity with Over-the-Air (OTA) update implementation
A passion for women's health and FemTech innovation
Company
Willow Innovations, Inc.
Selected as one of TIME’s 25 Best Inventions, the Willow was the first to get rid of the clunky bottles, motors, and cords — and put moms in control.
51-200 employees
H1B Sponsorship
Willow Innovations, Inc. has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2021 (1)
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageTotal Funding
$144.27MKey Investors
Endeavour VisionLightstone Ventures,Meritech Capital Partners,New Enterprise Associates,Perceptive AdvisorsMeritech Capital Partners,New Enterprise Associates
2022-09-20Series D
2021-04-21Series C· $26.8M
2021-01-30Pre Seed
Leadership Team
John Chang
Founder and Chief Technical Officer
Recent News
New Enterprise Associates
2026-02-13
BusinessCloud
2025-12-23
Company data provided by crunchbase