Engineering Manager, Device Validation

WHO IS FLOCK?

Every community deserves to be safe, it’s a fundamental right. Our mission is simple - to build technology that reduces crime and protects privacy. Flock partners with cities, businesses, schools, and neighborhoods to help protect where people live, work, and play. Last year, Flock technology supported over 1 million criminal investigations. We've also helped solve approximately 20% of reported crimes in areas where we're deployed, and have played a role in locating more than 10,000 missing people.

We are a high-performance team united by urgency, ownership, and a shared commitment to meaningful impact. The work is fast-paced and the expectations are high. We push beyond perceived limits, support each other, and hold ourselves accountable to delivering results that matter.

With over $1B in funding and an $8.3B valuation, we are scaling with intention and investing in the people who will help us build what others said could not be done. At Flock, you will find the opportunity to grow quickly, take on real responsibility, and contribute to something bigger than yourself.

THE OPPORTUNITY

Flock Safety is looking for an Engineering Manager to join our Device Software Engineering team. As Flock continues to rapidly expand its suite of public safety technology, this role fills a critical need: leading the architecture and execution of our hardware validation software suite across our entire product line and peripheral components. By bridging the gap between hardware, low-level Linux OS, and cloud teams, you will solve key integration challenges, design automated test frameworks, and build a dedicated validation lab at our Atlanta HQ. Your leadership will directly ensure our mission-critical electronics perform flawlessly in the field to help eliminate crime.

THE SKILLSET

• Education: BSEE, BSCE, or equivalent practical experience.

• Low-Level Programming: Deep proficiency in low-level C programming for hardware and peripheral testing.

• Automation & Scripting: Strong experience in high-level scripting (Python, Ruby, Bash, etc.) for writing shared libraries, test automation, and validation tools.

• Embedded Linux OS: Experience configuring and building Linux OS distributions (Ubuntu, Debian, Yocto) and working within Linux kernel/driver environments.

• Hardware & Circuitry Aptitude: Solid understanding of schematics and electronic circuitry with hands-on PCB/electronic system bring-up, debugging, and functional verification.

• Digital Communication Protocols: Strong to expert knowledge of common digital communication protocols (SPI, I2C, UART) in Linux kernel environments.

• Lab Equipment Mastery: Strong to expert knowledge in using testing and validation lab equipment (Oscilloscopes, Multimeters, Function Generators, E-loads, Thermal Chambers, Spectrum Analyzers, etc.).

• Test Data Management: Experience using RDMS (e.g., PostgreSQL, MySQL) to create test data stores for high- and low-level analysis.

• Cross-Functional Leadership: Strong experience working cross-functionally with hardware, software, and cloud teams during full product development lifecycles.

• Startup Mindset: Motivated, results-driven leader with strong communication skills, a demonstrable sense of ownership, and comfort working in a fast-paced environment.

Nice to Haves:

• Linux Kernel/Driver development experience.

• Experience with modern battery technologies and power management validation.

Feeling uneasy that you haven’t ticked every box? That’s okay; we’ve felt that way too. Studies have shown women and minorities are less likely to apply unless they meet all qualifications. We encourage you to break the status quo and apply to roles that would make you excited to come to work every day.

90 DAYS AT FLOCK

We prescribe to 90 day plans and believe that good days lead to good weeks, which lead to good months. This serves as a preview of the 90 day plan you will receive if you were to be hired in this role at Flock.

• The First 30 Days:

  • Get acquainted with the company, the team, the mission, and the product/customer experience.

  • Conduct a comprehensive review of current product validation processes and lab setup.

  • Observe the Flock Culture as it applies to your team and your day-to-day experience.

  • Contribute immediately and incrementally to an initial high-level testing framework concept.

• The First 60 Days:

  • Completely understand the high-level electrical architecture of the existing Flock ecosystem and recognize its role in our highly vertical customer offering.

  • Become involved in ongoing product design efforts—join project standups and related channels to observe Flock’s design methodology.

  • Make tangible progress with ongoing product design and validation efforts, as well as lab infrastructure planning.

• 90 Days & Beyond:

  • Become a true and independent leader within the team, having full ownership of a design workstream and impacting decision-making and cross-functional implementation/productization plans.

  • Demonstrate full proficiency with all Flock development tools and awareness of all Flock development processes.

  • Become highly available and communicative as a technical leader to your immediate team and cross-functional stakeholders.

  • Assume full ownership and responsibility of outcomes to the business—your impact at Flock will strongly influence the health of the business, positive outcomes to customers, and real-time reduction in societal crime.

SALARY & EQUITY

In this role, you’ll receive a starting salary between $170,000 and $220,000 as well as Flock Stock Options. Base salary is determined by job-related experience, education/training, as well as market indicators. Your recruiter will discuss this in-depth with you during our first chat.

LOCATION

Due to the hands-on requirements of this position—including direct access to physical hardware, prototype electronics, and setting up our validation lab—this role requires candidates to either be local to Atlanta or willing to relocate to Atlanta to work partially on-site in a hybrid capacity at our Mableton facility.

THE PERKS

🌴 Flexible PTO: We offer non-accrual PTO, plus 11 company holidays.

⚕️ Fully-paid health benefits plan for employees: including Medical, Dental, and Vision and an HSA match.

👪 Family Leave: All employees receive 12 weeks of 100% paid parental leave. Birthing parents are eligible for an additional 6-8 weeks of physical recovery time.

🍼 Fertility & Family Benefits: We have partnered with Maven, a complete digital health benefit for starting and raising a family. Flock will provide a $50,000-lifetime maximum benefit related to eligible adoption, surrogacy, or fertility expenses.

🧠 Spring Health: Spring Health offers a variety of mental health benefits, including therapy, coaching, medication management, and digital tools, all tailored to each individual's needs.

💖 Caregiver Support: We have partnered with Cariloop to provide our employees with caregiver support.

💸 Carta Tax Advisor: Employees receive 1:1 sessions with Equity Tax Advisors who can address individual grants, model tax scenarios, and answer general questions.

💚 ERGs: We want all employees to thrive and feel like they belong at Flock. We offer four ERGs today - Women of Flock, Flock Proud, LEOs and Melanin Motion. If you are interested in talking to a representative from one of these, please let your recruiter know.

💻 WFH Stipend: $150 per month to cover the costs of working from home.

📚 Productivity Stipend: $300 per year to use on Audible, Calm, Masterclass, Duolingo and so much more.

🏠 Home Office Stipend: A one-time $750 to help you create your dream office.

Flock is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diverse backgrounds and thoughts and welcome everyone to apply for employment with us. We are committed to fostering an environment that is inclusive, transparent, and collaborative. Mutual respect is central to how Flock operates, and we believe the best solutions come from diverse perspectives, experiences, and skills. We embrace our differences and know that we are stronger working together.

If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please email us at recruiting@flocksafety.com. This information will be treated as confidential and used only to determine an appropriate accommodation for the interview process.

At Flock, we compensate our employees fairly for their work. Base salary is determined by job-related experience, education/training, as well as market indicators. The range above is representative of base salary only and does not include equity, sales bonus plans (when applicable) and benefits. This range may be modified in the future. This job posting may span more than one career level.

Flock is aware of fraudulent individuals and agencies falsely claiming to represent our company. All legitimate communication from Flock will come from an email address ending in @flocksafety.com http://flocksafety.com. We do not make job offers through messaging apps, social platforms, or unauthorized third parties, and we will never request payment or sensitive personal information during the hiring process. If you encounter suspicious outreach related to a Flock role, please report it to recruiting@flocksafety.com