DevOps Lead, Embedded Firmware

ASSA ABLOY • New Haven, CT

24d • Onsite

About The Position

At ASSA ABLOY, our mission is to make securely accessing the things in your life noticeably easier, without being noticeable. The Americas Firmware Engineering group builds the Centrios IoT smart lock platform — a multi-hardware, multi-protocol connected device ecosystem spanning nRF52840 + STM32 targets, BLE, Zigbee, DPS, and OTA firmware delivery. We are seeking a DevOps Lead who owns the full firmware lifecycle from commit to production artifact. This is not a generalist cloud DevOps role — it requires deep embedded systems knowledge, protocol-level test engineering, and hands-on hardware validation capability. This onsite role will be based New Haven, CT reporting to the Director of Firmware and Hardware.

Requirements

• 10+ years in DevOps/infrastructure engineering, with at least 5 years in embedded systems or firmware CI/CD.
• Demonstrated team leadership: QA, SDET, or embedded automation engineers (3+ direct reports).
• Expert-level GitLab CI/CD: pipeline design, runner fleet management, conditional execution, artifact handling.
• Robot Framework: authoring, keyword architecture, CI integration, Robocop linting.
• Python 3.10+: test automation libraries, CLI tools (Typer/Rich), protocol parsers, CI scripting.
• Hardware-in-the-Loop: operation and expansion of HiL (Hardware in Loop) test infrastructure with real device hardware.
• Embedded protocol knowledge: BLE, Zigbee (IEEE 802.15.4 / ZCL), or UART at integration test level.
• Firmware build systems: Make-based (ABS/MBS) or Bazel — understanding of cross-compilation targets.
• OTA firmware update pipelines and firmware signing.
• SAFe or equivalent large-scale Agile program coordination.

Nice To Haves

• nRF52840 or STM32 target familiarity: flashing (nrfjprog, OpenOCD), debugging, SWD/JTAG.
• Custom test fixture hardware design with ESP32, RP2040, or equivalent microcontrollers.
• EDHOC/OSCORE embedded cryptographic protocol experience.
• AI/LLM tooling: Claude Code agent authoring, MCP server development, prompt engineering.
• Multi-cloud infrastructure as code: AWS, GCP, Azure, CloudFlare — Terraform.
• Docker-based CI toolchain image management.
• Zigbee coordinator stack: zigpy-znp, Z-Stack 3.x.0, CC2652P hardware.
• Renode or Wokwi embedded simulation CI integration.

Responsibilities

• Own the full firmware lifecycle from commit to production artifact.
• Own the GitLab CI/CD pipeline for all firmware product variants.
• Own the HiL server fleet and physical test fixture infrastructure.
• Own the production firmware signing, OTA packaging, and release artifact pipeline.
• Own the Robot Framework test suite architecture and standards.
• Own the AI/agent tooling layer for CI debugging and test generation.
• Lead Software Development Engineers in Test (SDET) and embedded automation teams across multiple SAFe program increments.
• Define KPIs, career ladders, and onboarding paths for firmware QA and Software Development in Test (SDET) roles.
• Collaborate with Firmware Architects, Product Owners, and System Architects to align test strategy with release goals.
• Drive improvements in quality metrics, traceability, and feedback loop speed.
• Build and maintain domain-specific Claude Code agent skills for CI debugging, test authoring, and embedded firmware analysis.
• Develop MCP servers that expose CI/CD data (pipeline status, build logs, JSONL events) to AI agents.
• Integrate AI tooling into team workflow without replacing engineer judgment — agents as accelerators, not oracles.
• Own and improve our CI/CD pipelines for embedded firmware, ensuring fast, reliable builds and releases.
• Maintain the infrastructure that supports automated testing, build execution, and artifact delivery.
• Support and expand our HiL testing environment used to validate firmware across multiple device families.
• Develop lightweight test fixtures and automation tools that help validate hardware behavior.
• Build and maintain automated test suites covering BLE, Zigbee, OTA, and system‑level functionality.
• Establish testing standards, improve test reliability, and contribute to overall product quality.
• Manage the firmware release workflow, including signing, packaging, and delivering builds across environments.
• Improve release traceability, versioning, and documentation.
• Create internal tools and lightweight AI‑assisted workflows that help engineers debug, test, and ship faster.
• Integrate automation and intelligence into everyday engineering processes to accelerate development.

Benefits

• Annual Bonus.
• Continuous professional development opportunities and an environment that fosters internal growth and mobility.
• Competitive compensation and benefits package which includes multiple healthcare options, tuition reimbursement, and matching 401k.
• Generous holiday schedule and paid time off to refresh and recharge.
• Employee pricing on our products and discount programs for travel, entertainment, and more!

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed