Senior / Lead Firmware Engineer

Staff Firmware Engineer

"The United States Air National Guard's 131st Rescue Squadron recently relied on Somewear's ATAK integration to coordinate a civilian rescue 1,200 miles off the U.S. Pacific coast. Because our platform provided consistent communications and situational awareness across air, ground, and medical teams, the mission wrapped up in half the expected time — and lives were saved."

At Somewear Labs, that's the kind of impact our technology delivers. We support those who venture beyond the limits of cellular connectivity with a satellite-enabled platform built for the world's most demanding environments. Our customers include helicopter paramedics, backcountry explorers, wildland firefighters, and U.S. Special Forces operators.

We're looking for a Staff Firmware Engineer to define the technical vision for our embedded systems and lead us in pushing the boundaries of what's possible in off-grid communication. You'll architect critical systems at the intersection of custom hardware, satellite technology, LTE, Bluetooth, sensors, and mesh networking — building software that directly powers life-saving missions in the field while setting the technical direction for the entire firmware organization.

Why this role matters

Firmware is the beating heart of our platform. Every architectural decision you make and technical strategy you define helps ensure critical information reaches the right people at the right time, even in the harshest environments. As a staff-level technical leader at a Series A company, you'll set the technical vision, drive cross-functional initiatives, mentor senior engineers, and shape our products and engineering culture for years to come.

What you'll do

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

What we're looking for

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

Bonus points for

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

What you'll love about Somewear

Mission-driven work : your technical vision and decisions directly impact life-saving operations worldwide

Strategic ownership : define technical strategy and architecture with significant autonomy and company-wide impact

Challenging problems : from ultra-low-power firmware to resilient off-grid protocols at scale—solve problems others can't

Close-knit, ambitious team : collaborate with engineers who are motivated, curious, and fun to work with

Technical leadership opportunity : shape engineering culture, set technical direction, mentor leaders, and influence company strategy

Direct impact : regular access to executive leadership and meaningful influence on product roadmap and technical strategy

Growth potential : as we scale, grow into broader technical leadership roles

What we offer :

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.

Join us to make an impact

Note : U.S. Persons ONLY. Please only apply if you meet this requirement.

Work from our San Francisco HQ or Chicago office, or remotely.

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