Director, Connected Lifecycle Engineering

SharkNinja•Needham, MA

6d•$210,000 - $240,000•Onsite

About The Position

SharkNinja is a global product design and technology company. At SharkNinja, we’re building an AI-native culture. We’re not waiting for the future; we’re creating it. Our people are expected to experiment boldly, adopt new tools, and continuously raise what’s possible to create meaningful impact for our consumers. If you believe the best way to do your job hasn’t been invented yet, you’ll fit right in. This role owns the firmware for every connected SharkNinja product, including the wireless link, on-device display, and companion app experience. The Director will set the architecture that every connected program is built and gated against, and own the delivery of that firmware globally, whether it's written by their team or by an ODM/JDM partner. This is a dual-mandate role encompassing both architecture and delivery.

Requirements

12+ years in embedded software and firmware engineering, with significant depth in wireless connectivity and/or connected-device architecture.
5+ years leading engineering organizations, including direct people leadership of senior engineers and managers.
Experience architecting Bluetooth/BLE, Wi-Fi, Zigbee, or Matter connectivity stacks and taking products through certification.
Experience integrating embedded firmware with mobile companion apps and cloud services.
Experience defining architecture executed by ODM/JDM partners, and enforcing standards against outsourced development.
Experience establishing CI/CD, static analysis, and automated test infrastructure for connected embedded programs.
Experience shipping production connected firmware in consumer electronics, home appliances, robotics, IoT, or comparable high-volume industries.
Expertise in wireless connectivity at protocol and stack level: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth/BLE, Matter, Thread, Zigbee.
Expertise in device provisioning, pairing, and companion app integration: BLE GATT, Wi-Fi onboarding, cloud device registration and authentication.
Expertise in display technologies and embedded graphics/UI frameworks.
Expertise in device security for connected products: secure pairing, network security, credential provisioning, cloud authentication.
Expertise in OTA software update architecture.
Expertise in wireless certification and regulatory processes: Bluetooth SIG, Wi-Fi Alliance, Matter, FCC/CE.
Familiarity with RTOS, build systems and toolchains (gcc, CMake, headless builds), Git-based source control, static analysis.
Familiarity with test automation frameworks, RF and interoperability test infrastructure, hardware-in-the-loop validation.
Experience with hardware-software integration and product bring-up.
Bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related discipline required.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree preferred.

Responsibilities

Define the connectivity stack standards, pairing and provisioning protocols, display and embedded UI frameworks, and the app- and cloud-integration interfaces that gate every connected firmware program.
Own global connected-device firmware, including wireless connectivity, connected-device security, over-the-air updating, on-device displays, and differentiated connected experiences.
Operate as a peer to the Embedded Firmware director, and partner with the Embedded Firmware director in Asia on connected features executed from that region.
Define architecture, interface definitions, and integration standards for wireless connectivity, display/UI, and companion app and cloud integration across all product categories, globally.
Establish architectural standards for Bluetooth/BLE, Wi-Fi, Zigbee, Thread, and Matter stacks, and for display and embedded graphics/UI frameworks.
Define portfolio-wide device provisioning, pairing, and companion-app integration protocols, including BLE GATT profiles, Wi-Fi onboarding, and cloud device registration and authentication.
Make technical decisions on wireless silicon, display hardware, and connectivity modules, in partnership with Hardware Engineering.
Implement a reuse-first strategy, leveraging proven connectivity and UI components, vendor SDKs, and reference designs, reserving in-house development for differentiated experiences, security, and IP.
Translate connected architecture intent into clear requirements for development partners.
Establish and enforce engineering standards for connectivity and display/UI subsystems for both internal developers and third-party suppliers.
Define the technical requirements embedded in supplier agreements for connected subsystems, including the pre-MP reproducibility deliverable.
Conduct design reviews and gating checkpoints for connectivity, display, and app-integration deliverables.
Define connected product behavior at design time with Systems Engineering and NPD.
Develop and execute the certification strategy and process for wireless standards (Bluetooth SIG, Wi-Fi Alliance, Matter, regional RF regulatory compliance).
Ensure architecture accounts for certification requirements at design time.
Provide technical escalation for interoperability failures.
Deliver connected firmware developed internally, meeting schedule, quality, and scope commitments.
Lead the Connected Firmware organization through the Manager, Connected Firmware Delivery, building capability, capacity, and technical bench strength.
Ensure clean integration of connected firmware with hardware, cloud services, mobile applications, and user interfaces.
Partner with other company firmware leaders on shared platform work and non-connected standards.
Oversee the test automation framework for connectivity and display subsystems.
Define build and integration requirements for connected firmware repositories.
Build and lead a senior technical team spanning connected architecture and delivery, with experience directing ODM and JDM partners.
Develop technical leadership talent and strengthen architect and engineering career paths.
Serve as a senior technical voice in partner capability assessment and consolidation decisions.
Partner closely with Cloud, Mobile App, and UX/UI teams on connected feature architecture.
Communicate technical direction, delivery status, and risk to Firmware and EE executive leadership.