Director, System Software and Firmware Engineering , San Mateo, CA

Director, System Software and Firmware Engineering

United States, San Mateo, CA

Play Station isn’t just the best place to play—it’s also the best place to work. Today we’re recognized as a global leader in entertainment producing the Play Station family of products and services including Play Station®5, Play Station®4, Play Station®VR, Play Station®Plus, acclaimed Play Station software titles from Play Station Studios, and more. Play Station also strives to create an inclusive environment that empowers employees and embraces diversity.

We welcome and encourage everyone who has a passion and curiosity for innovation, technology, and play to explore our open positions and join our growing global team.

San Mateo, CA, USA

Up to 20% international travel.

• Lead and grow a global organization accountable for system software and firmware within the Play Station Product Development organization.
• Own the technical strategy and multi‑year roadmap for system software (device drivers and low‑level system utilities/SDKs) across PS5, Play Station Portal, Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android, and firmware running on SoCs/microcontrollers in minimal/no‑OS environments.
• Drive software system architecture, build reviews, and technical decisions that balance performance, power, latency, reliability, security, and manufacturability.
• Deliver end‑to‑end execution from early prototypes through production and post‑launch sustainment, in close partnership with hardware engineering, ecosystem engineering, program management, operations, QA, product, and security.
• Lead the Play Station Link technology roadmap and delivery, including partner requirements, integration strategy, validation, and ecosystem enablement.
• Establish and maintain strong operating mechanisms (planning, metrics, quality targets, risk management, release readiness, blocking issue).
• Communicate clearly and influence effectively across globally distributed teams and executive collaborators.
• Hire, mentor, and develop engineering leaders; build a culture of accountability, technical excellence, and collaboration.

• 10+ years of engineering experience with deep expertise in system software, embedded systems, firmware, or platform engineering.
• 5+ years of people leadership experience managing managers and/or multi‑team internal+external organizations, including hiring and org scaling.
• Demonstrated experience shipping products with tight hardware/software integration from bring‑up through high‑volume production.
• Proven ability to lead architecture and technical direction without being hands‑on coding day‑to‑day.
• Strong cross‑functional leadership skills and experience driving alignment across teams in different locations/time zones.
• Experience collaborating with external partners to deliver coordinated technology and high‑quality outcomes.
• Excellent communication skills (written, verbal, and executive‑level).

• Experience with high‑volume consumer electronics (consoles, portables, accessories/peripherals, audio/input devices).
• Familiarity with SoCs, embedded boot flows, secure update concepts, and low‑level debugging.
• Cross‑platform low‑level experience on Linux/BSD/Windows/macOS/iOS/Android (drivers, services, privileged utilities).
• Background in short‑range wireless connectivity technologies and/or partner ecosystem certification programs.

• This role is based in San Mateo, California and reports directly to the VP of Product Development (also San Mateo based).
• Up to 25% international travel is encouraged.
• The Director will be encouraged to build and lead a distributed team.

Sony is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All persons will receive consideration for employment without regard to gender (including gender identity, gender expression and gender reassignment), race (including color, nationality, ethnic or national origin), religion or belief, marital or civil partnership status, disability, age, sexual orientation, pregnancy, birthing parent or parental status, trade union membership or membership in any other legally protected category.

We strive to build an inclusive environment, empower employees and embrace diversity. We encourage everyone to respond. Play Station is a Fair Chance employer and qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records will be considered for employment.

Base pay range for this role is $279,000 – $418,400 USD. In addition, this role may be eligible for a bonus package and top‑tier benefits package that includes medical, dental, vision, 401(k) matching, paid time off, wellness program and coveted employee discounts for Sony products. Background checks are conducted at the offer stage for all new employees. Candidate privacy notices apply to the collection, use, and sharing of personal information during the hiring process.