Sr Manager Device Software, Connected Products

Sr Manager Device Software, Connected Products

Full-time | Department:
Information Technology

Location:

This position is eligible for a hybrid work environment out of our Deerfield, IL HQ or San Francisco, CA offices.

• Directly manage, mentor, and develop a team of embedded software engineers; conduct regular 1:1s, performance reviews, and career development planning.
• Maintain honest, timely feedback with each direct report; invest most heavily in developing top performers and hold clear accountability across the team.
• Know each engineer’s motivations, strengths, and career aspirations; build an environment where people can grow toward what they’re naturally excellent at.
• Build knowledge redundancy across the team; eliminate single points of failure through deliberate documentation and cross‑training.
• Define and own embedded software architecture across both Linux-based and RTOS-based firmware disciplines
  ; guide technical direction and ensure critical decisions are well documented.
• Lead new hardware bring-up efforts and platform convergence initiatives; maintain the firmware‑cloud interface contract in collaboration with backend and platform teams.
• Own CI/CD pipeline health, release processes, and OTA fleet management for production device populations.
• Drive adoption of development best practices, code review standards, and AI‑assisted development tooling.
• Own the firmware technical roadmap and delivery commitments; balance new feature development against platform stability and intentional technical debt reduction.
• Partner with Product Management to assess and prioritize firmware feature requests across multiple product lines.
• Coordinate with Hardware Engineering on new product bring‑up and establish clear HWFW interface processes
  .
• Coordinate with Data Science on algorithm and model integration into embedded firmware.
• Collaborate with QA on firmware testing strategies, manufacturing test plans, and production readiness criteria.
• Work with compliance teams to support radio, safety, and cybersecurity certification processes for connected devices.

• BS in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or equivalent relevant experience.
• 7+ years of industry experience in a technical role.
• 2+ years People management experience: performance management, career development, and building a high‑functioning team.
• Proven track record leading and developing embedded software or firmware engineering teams.
• Deep understanding of embedded Linux (Yocto/buildroot or equivalent); able to guide architecture, evaluate trade‑offs, and support engineers across the full development lifecycle.
• Strong working knowledge of RTOS concepts and architectures (FreeRTOS, Zephyr, or equivalent): task scheduling, memory management, inter‑task communication, synchronization primitives.
• Experience with Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) as used in IoT embedded software.
• Experience with OTA update systems and production device fleet management.
• Understanding of firmware document control and configuration management in hardware product organizations.
• Strong system design and architecture skills
  ; comfort making and communicating technical decisions under uncertainty.
• Excellent cross‑functional communication skills; able to represent the firmware team clearly to product, hardware, data science, compliance, and manufacturing stakeholders.

• Experience with IoT connected consumer electronics at scale.
• Hands‑on experience with OTA and fleet observability platforms (Mender, Memfault, or equivalent).
• Proficiency in embedded debugging tools and techniques.
• Understanding of communication protocols: BLE, Wi‑Fi, SPI, I2C, UART, Zigbee, Z‑Wave.
• Experience with ARM Cortex‑M, RISC‑V, or similar microcontroller architectures.
• Knowledge of power management techniques for battery‑operated devices.
• Track record managing compliance processes for radio, safety, and cybersecurity certifications (FCC, CE‑RED, IC, UKCA, ANATEL).
• Experience managing mixed teams of FTEs and contractors.
• Background working across both embedded Linux and RTOS‑based firmware disciplines simultaneously.
• Track record of successful product…