Lead Embedded Firmware Engineer - US (Full Time)

Very is a fully distributed technology firm led by expert problem-solvers who create efficient, scalable solutions that move commercial, industrial, and consumer products from pilot to production in record time.

We believe that real innovation happens in the grind — working shoulder to shoulder with clients who are building the future. Our team thrives on that energy. When we’re not helping clients deliver business-critical outcomes, we’re refining our craft and celebrating what it means to do hard things well.

We’ve built a collaborative, tight-knit culture that thrives in both remote and in-person settings. We’ve won numerous workplace awards over the years, including Great Place to Work certification and recognition from Parity.org as a Best Company for Women to Advance.

Our clients include well-known brands like Vizio, Peloton, Clear, iHeart Radio, and Fellowes — all determined to leverage connected devices and AI to drive meaningful impact. Our job is simple: help them win.

About This Role

We are seeking a Lead Firmware engineer with 8+ years of professional embedded development experience who has deep expertise building production embedded systems on modern wireless MCU platforms such as Espressif ESP32. In this role, you’ll own the device firmware stack end to end, from schematic review and board bring-up through production firmware, OTA, and certification, while setting technical direction and mentoring the engineers around you.

What You’ll Be Working On

We dedicate each engineer to a single project in order to promote focus and minimize context switching. You will be developing production-grade firmware for connected devices from bring-up through production deployment and ongoing maintenance.

You will own firmware development across the full device lifecycle, including schematic review, board bring-up, driver integration, BLE provisioning, cloud connectivity, OTA updates, and certification readiness.

You will also participate in hardware debugging and validation using tools such as JTAG/SWD, logic analyzers, and protocol sniffers to diagnose low-level issues across firmware, hardware, and network layers.

You’ll lead firmware technical decisions and collaborate closely with hardware engineers, contract manufacturers, client stakeholders, and cross-functional teams to deliver production-ready devices.

This role involves debugging complex, real-world interoperability issues across connected-device ecosystems, requiring deep protocol-level understanding and hands-on problem solving.

Responsibilities

• Own firmware architecture and technical direction, making key design decisions and tradeoffs
• Serve as the primary firmware point of contact for the client, translating product requirements into technical plans and estimates
• Plan and prioritize firmware work, identifying risks and dependencies early
• Lead code reviews and set firmware coding, testing, and release standards
• Mentor and guide other engineers on the team
• Design, develop, and maintain production firmware for ESP32-based connected devices using ESP-IDF
• Bring up new hardware and integrate drivers for sensors, actuators, LEDs, and other peripherals
• Implement BLE provisioning, Wi-Fi connectivity, and secure cloud communication with AWS IoT Core over MQTT
• Build and maintain reliable OTA update mechanisms, including rollback and staged rollouts
• Debug and resolve issues across firmware, hardware, wireless, and cloud layers, from development through production
• Partner with hardware engineers and contract manufacturers on factory flashing, device provisioning, and production readiness
• Support certification (e.g., FCC) and hardware build phases (EVT/DVT/PVT)
• Collaborate with mobile and backend teams on device data models, telemetry, and device-to-cloud interfaces
• Establish standards for firmware CI/CD, test tooling, and technical documentation

Requirements
Experience

• 8+ years professional embedded/firmware engineering in C/C++
• 2+ years in a technical lead role, owning firmware architecture decisions, leading code reviews, and mentoring other engineers.
• Experience working directly with clients or stakeholders to scope, estimate, and plan firmware work.
• Significant experience with Espressif ESP32 platforms using ESP-IDF, including RTOS-based development, OTA update mechanisms, low-level driver integration (I2C, SPI, UART, ADC, GPIO), and production firmware deployment.
• Direct, demonstrable experience developing connected-device firmware on modern wireless platforms such as ESP32, including Bluetooth Low Energy, Wi-Fi, and related connectivity technologies.
• Hands-on experience with wireless communication stacks such as BLE and Wi-Fi at the firmware level.
• Experience debugging protocol-level communication issues, wireless connectivity problems, device provisioning flows, and interoperability challenges in connected-device ecosystems.
• Experience connecting devices to cloud IoT platforms such as AWS IoT Core using MQTT over TLS, including certificate-based authentication and device state synchronization.
• Experience integrating sensors, actuators, and peripherals such as RFID readers, accelerometers, motion sensors, LEDs, and pumps.
• Comfortable reading technical specifications and translating them into production-quality firmware implementations.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience leading firmware for a connected product from concept through mass production
• Contributions to open-source ESP-IDF or nRF Connect SDK project
• Background in adjacent protocols — Thread, Zigbee, Z-Wave, BLE Mesh — demonstrating breadth across the connected device landscape
• History of working in a consultancy or product development firm where they've shipped across multiple product lines, not just one internal product
• Comfort with hardware debug toolchains — JTAG/SWD, logic analyzers, protocol sniffers
• Experience standing up CI/CD for firmware builds and automated test harnesses
• Experience with Nordic nRF-series platforms using nRF Connect SDK
• Familiarity with embedded security concepts such as secure boot, flash encryption, key management, device attestation, and secure firmware updates
• Experience designing OTA update strategies with rollback and staged rollouts
• Experience working with contract manufacturers on factory flashing, device provisioning, and production readiness
• Experience supporting hardware through EVT/DVT/PVT builds and FCC certification
• Familiarity with Protocol Buffers or similar serialization formats for device messaging
• Python scripting for test tooling and device automation

• Client Obsessed: Acts as the client’s trusted technical voice and keeps them confident in delivery.
• Communicates Clearly: Turns complex technical tradeoffs into clear recommendations for any audience.
• Thrives in the Grind: Leads from the front on hard problems and sets the bar for detail.
• Learns Relentlessly: Grows fast and helps the team grow through mentoring and shared lessons.
• Brings Structure: Sets the plans, standards and priorities that keep the team on track.

Compensation & Benefits

Base Compensation:  $175,000 USD, commensurate with experience.
Variable Compensation:  Up to 10% annual performance bonus

**Note: To qualify for this role, you must reside within the continental US and have proper work authorization. We do not sponsor work visas. 

Perks & Benefits:

• 401(k) match
• 200/month cell phone + internet stipend
• $600/year home office stipend
• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance
• Paid parental leave (95th percentile in the U.S.)
• Professional development stipend
• Loaned MacBook Pro
• Annual team retreat