Firmware Engineer

About This Role

This Lead Engineer role drives embedded development for advanced motor control and robotic subsystems, focusing on designing, prototyping, and productization of high-performance electromechanical systems for next-generation smart pet products. The role operates at the forefront of innovation within the company.

Responsibilities

• Architect and implement technical solutions on embedded systems to support IoT smart pet products
• Work closely with the AWS cloud engineering team on solutions for data management
• Manage code release process for the embedded team
• Conduct code reviews across multiple teams
• Conduct integration and system-level testing
• Program, solve, and debug with detailed knowledge in machine control and multi-threaded / multi-core programming environments, software applications, and device layering programs
• Provide information by collecting, analyzing, and summarizing development issues
• Document and demonstrate solutions by developing documentation, flowcharts, layouts, diagrams, charts, code comments and clear code
• Stay up to date with state-of-the-art development tools, programming techniques, and computing equipment by participating in educational opportunities, reading professional publications, maintaining personal networks and participating in professional organizations
• Perform additional responsibilities when required

Requirements

• BS in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering or a related field
• 5+ years of experience with low-level firmware development for embedded systems
• In-depth understanding of embedded firmware design principles, patterns and best practices
• Expertise in C and C++ for firmware development
• Solid understanding of C/C++, Bare Metal, FreeRTOS (or similar)
• Solid understanding of Microcontroller and sensor HW selection
• Solid understanding of low-level and device driver development
• Solid understanding of PWM, UART, I2C, SPI, SDIO, MIPI, USB, BLE, and WiFi
• Solid understanding of AWS IoT Device SDK (or similar) and MQTT protocol
• Experience with Embedded Linux (Yocto or similar)
• Experience with system integration with electronic subsystems and sensors
• Experience with Test Driven Development methodology
• Experience with version control tools such as Github, etc.
• Experience with power supplies, meters, oscilloscopes, signal generators, etc.
• Experience with ST and Espressif MCUs and their respective development ecosystems
• Experience supporting medium to large-scale IoT product deployments, including secure and reliable firmware OTA updates
• Maintain confidentiality of proprietary information
• Applied knowledge of control theory, including PID loop tuning, motor control (stepper/BLDC), and closed-loop systems
• Experience with rapid prototyping platforms, SBCs, and robotics systems (e.g., Arduino, Raspberry Pi, VEX)
• Ability to maintain a professional atmosphere in a fast-paced environment with numerous interactions and interruptions
• A high degree of initiative, self-motivation, and ability to motivate others
• Ability to establish and maintain cooperative working relationships with colleagues
• Comfortable with office pets (cats, dogs)

Nice to have:

• Experience with Bootloader development
• Basic understanding of mechanical systems
• Experience conceptualizing, developing, and deploying Machine Learning (ML) and Computer Vision (CV) models from scratch
• Proficiency in Python and standard Data Science methodologies
• Hands-on experience with deep learning frameworks and CV platforms (e.g., TensorFlow, Keras, PyTorch, YOLO, and Roboflow)

Benefits

• Premium Medical/Dental/Vision insurance
• Paid parental leave
• Whisker Parents Program
• 1 day "pawternity" leave for new pet adoption
• Pet Insurance Discount
• 401K match
• Flexible spending accounts
• Company-paid short-term disability and life insurance
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Generous paid time off
• 14 Paid Holidays
• Top of the line equipment
• Pet-friendly office
• Whisker products and swag
• Continuing education Support
• On-site gym with Peloton
• Referral program

Important Details

• Schedule: Onsite 4+ days a week

About the Company

Whisker designs intelligent systems for cats, with Litter-Robot as its leading product. The company aims to create an entire ecosystem that expands what is possible for cats and their owners. Its team of 700+ employees is based in Auburn Hills, Michigan, and Juneau, Wisconsin.