Firmware Manager

Job Summary

We are seeking an experienced Firmware Manager to lead the embedded firmware engineering function for a portfolio of consumer electronics and connected products. The role requires a strong technical leader with extensive experience in firmware architecture, product development, program execution, and engineering team management within a Global Capability Center (GCC) or product engineering organization.

The individual will be responsible for managing a team of 8-15 people while driving the development of scalable, reliable, and secure embedded solutions across multiple product lines. This role requires close collaboration with global product management, hardware engineering, software engineering, QA, cloud, and manufacturing teams to deliver innovative consumer products.

Key Responsibilities

Technical Leadership

• Define firmware technology roadmap aligned with product and business objectives.
• Drive architecture decisions, design reviews, coding standards, and engineering best practices.
• Guide teams in developing high-quality embedded firmware solutions for connected consumer products.
• Ensure firmware designs meet performance, reliability, security, scalability, and power consumption requirements.
• Provide technical oversight for complex debugging, root cause analysis, and system-level problem resolution.

Product Development & Delivery

• Lead end-to-end firmware development from requirements to product release.
• Manage multiple firmware programs simultaneously while ensuring quality, cost, and schedule commitments.
• Drive adoption of Agile methodologies and engineering excellence practices.
• Collaborate with global stakeholders to align priorities and delivery timelines.
• Ensure timely execution of product roadmaps and release plans.

Team Management

• Lead and mentor a team of 8-15 firmware engineers, technical leads, and senior developers.
• Foster a culture of innovation, accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Conduct performance reviews, career development planning, succession planning, and talent management activities.
• Support hiring, onboarding, and capability development initiatives.
• Build strong engineering practices and knowledge-sharing culture.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner closely with Hardware, Mechanical, Cloud, Mobile App, QA, DevOps, Security, Manufacturing, and Product Management teams.
• Work with global engineering centers and business stakeholders across multiple geographies.
• Participate in customer reviews, technical discussions, and executive leadership updates.

Process & Quality

• Establish and monitor engineering metrics, quality goals, and delivery KPIs.
• Drive CI/CD implementation for embedded development and testing.
• Ensure compliance with product quality, cybersecurity, and regulatory requirements.
• Identify technical risks and drive mitigation plans.

Required Technical Expertise

• Strong experience in Embedded C and C++.
• Deep understanding of RTOS-based firmware development (FreeRTOS, Zephyr, ThreadX, QNX or similar).
• Experience with ARM Cortex-M/A processors and embedded microcontrollers.
• Expertise in communication protocols:
  • UART
  • SPI
  • I2C
  • CAN
  • USB
  • Ethernet
  • BLE
  • Wi-Fi
  • MQTT
  • TCP/IP
• Experience with firmware architecture, device drivers, middleware, bootloaders, and connectivity stacks.
• Strong understanding of hardware schematics, board bring-up, and debugging.
• Experience with JTAG debuggers, oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and firmware validation tools.
• Knowledge of CI/CD, Git, Jenkins, Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions, or similar platforms.
• Familiarity with secure firmware development and IoT product ecosystems.

Leadership Competencies

• Strategic thinking and technology vision
• People leadership and team building
• Stakeholder management
• Program and delivery management
• Decision making under ambiguity
• Conflict resolution and influence management
• Customer-centric mindset
• Continuous improvement orientation

Success Metrics

• On-time delivery of firmware releases
• Product quality and field defect reduction
• Team engagement and retention
• Engineering productivity improvements
• Innovation and technology adoption
• Cross-functional stakeholder satisfaction
• Compliance with quality and security standards