Senior Firmware Engineer, Connectivity

Sr. Firmware Engineer, Bluetooth (BLE)

• Own the BLE Stack:
  Architect, implement, and maintain the Bluetooth connectivity layer across our Pod ecosystem. Define GATT services, characteristics, and connection strategies that deliver reliable, secure, and power‑efficient communication.
• Optimize for Always‑On Devices:
  Drive radio‑on time, advertising intervals, connection parameters, and PHY selection while maintaining low‑latency sync of biometric data.
• Ensure Bulletproof Interoperability:
  Deliver a connectivity experience that "just works" across the long tail of iOS and Android devices, OS versions, and real‑world RF environments. Use sniffers, protocol analyzers, and on‑device telemetry to root‑cause cross‑stack issues with mobile and Pod gateway teams.
• Ship and Sustain OTA at Scale:
  Design and harden the secure OTA DFU pipeline so we can confidently push firmware to a global fleet of devices with low friction and zero bricks.
• Bring Up New Silicon:
  Partner with hardware teams on board bring‑up, antenna tuning, regulatory certification (FCC/CE/Bluetooth SIG qualification), and silicon‑vendor stack integration for our Nordic‑based platform.
• Global
  
  Collaboration:
  
  Work closely with our manufacturing partners in China to develop RF and BLE production tests, ensuring we ship high‑quality, fully‑validated devices on time.
• Effective Remote Communication:
  Thrive in a hybrid in‑person and remote work environment, ensuring clear and impactful communication across firmware, mobile, hardware, and ML teams.

• Proven BLE Expertise: 5+ years of embedded software engineering, with at least 3 years shipping production BLE firmware.
• Deep Protocol Knowledge:
  Strong working knowledge of the Bluetooth stack end‑to‑end — GAP, GATT, SMP, L2
  
  CAP, link layer behavior, advertising and scanning, connection events, pairing/bonding, and BLE security (LE Secure Connections, key management).
• Silicon Vendor Stacks:
  Hands‑on experience with at least one vendor BLE stack and SDK (Nordic Soft Device / nRF Connect SDK / Zephyr, Apple/Broadcom, TI, or similar). Comfortable reading and debugging vendor stack source.
• Embedded Fundamentals:
  Fluency in C/C++ on resource‑constrained microcontrollers; proficiency with Python or NodeJS for host‑side tooling. Skilled at peripheral drivers and bus protocols (UART, I2C, SPI), DMA, and low‑power design.
• Power Discipline:
  Demonstrated ability to hit ultra‑low‑power targets: measuring and optimizing radio duty cycle, sleep current, and connection parameters against real battery‑life budgets.
• Shipping at Scale:
  Have launched and maintained large fleets of wireless devices, including monitoring connectivity telemetry, sync reliability, and OTA firmware updates in the field.
• Hardware Acumen:
  Ability to read data sheets, schematics, and antenna matching networks for hardware bring‑up and RF debugging. Fluent with logic analyzers, oscilloscopes, and BLE protocol sniffers (Ellisys, Frontline, nRF Sniffer, or equivalent).
• Adaptive Problem Solver: A fast‑paced, iterative approach to debugging issues that span firmware, RF, mobile OS, and physics.
• Travel Readiness:
  Willingness and ability to travel regularly to China for supplier and CM support.

• Track record shipping secure OTA DFU (signed images, dual‑bank update, rollback) on a constrained device.
• Experience with multi‑link / multi‑role BLE topologies.
• Bluetooth SIG qualification and regulatory certification experience (FCC/IC/CE/MIC).
• Bare‑metal and cooperative‑scheduler design in environments without a traditional RTOS.
• Expertise in automated BLE testing, RF chamber test setup, and connectivity observability/telemetry.
• Deep understanding of embedded security practices: secure boot, key provisioning, encrypted firmware, and threat modeling for wireless attack surfaces.