Embedded Engineering Manager - Connectivity

Milwaukee Tool•Brookfield, MT

2d•Onsite

About The Position

The Engineering Manager, Embedded Firmware & Electrical Engineering (IoT Connectivity) leads a team of embedded firmware, electrical, and connectivity engineers designing and delivering connected products. The role owns device connectivity architecture and strategy, roadmap planning, resource allocation, scope management, technical reviews, design decisions, process improvement, and change management. It is based at Milwaukee Tool headquarters in Brookfield, Wisconsin, and works closely with marketing, project management, cloud and mobile software, mechanical engineering, and global manufacturing operations. The manager leads connected-product development from concept and requirements through architecture, schematic and PCB design, firmware development, validation, and transition to global manufacturing. The position guides connectivity, firmware strategy, wireless performance, security, compliance, device-to-cloud interfaces, testing, and shared technology architecture. It also builds and develops the team, plans projects and resources, mentors engineers, monitors industry developments, and communicates business risks and opportunities to senior leadership.

Requirements

Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field.
At least 7 years of embedded systems experience, including hands-on design and delivery of connected/IoT devices from concept to production.
At least 3 years of team leadership experience managing embedded firmware and/or electrical engineers.
Demonstrated experience taking multiple embedded IoT products through development, certification, manufacturing launch, and field support.
Expertise in C/C++ embedded programming and related development tools and processes, especially microcontroller peripherals, low-power design, and RTOS and/or embedded Linux.
Deep knowledge of wireless connectivity technologies and stacks; BLE is required. Knowledge of RF fundamentals, antenna design, and regulatory certification is required.
Experience with IoT device-to-cloud architectures, including provisioning, OTA firmware updates, device management, and protocols such as MQTT or CoAP over TLS.
Working knowledge of embedded security best practices, including secure boot, encryption, key management, and threat modeling.
Understanding of digital circuits and firmware/electronics interaction, with ability to realize component-level design.
Practical knowledge of analog/digital system trade-offs and design, especially signal integrity, noise analysis, power management, and margin considerations.
Familiarity with schematic capture, PCB layout software, SPICE, and industry best practices.
Experience with debug and test equipment such as oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, RF spectrum analyzers, and protocol sniffers.
Excellent problem-solving skills; ability to exercise independent judgment and work under pressure in a dynamic environment.
Strong leadership and communication skills, including ability to influence technical and non-technical stakeholders; self-motivated, organized, process-oriented, and strong work ethic.
Ability to travel 10% of the time, domestically and internationally.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree preferred.
Experience with Wi-Fi, cellular, Thread/Matter, LoRa, or mesh wireless technologies.
Experience with Agile/hybrid development practices, CI/CD, and automated testing for embedded systems.

Responsibilities

Build, manage, and motivate a team of embedded firmware and electrical engineers delivering connected products.
Own device connectivity architecture across BLE, Wi-Fi, cellular, and other wireless protocols, spanning hardware, firmware, and cloud/mobile interfaces.
Lead end-to-end embedded IoT device design, from concept, requirements, and architecture through schematic/PCB design, firmware development, validation, and transition to global manufacturing.
Define IoT firmware strategy, including RTOS/Linux platforms, bootloaders, secure boot, OTA updates, device provisioning, and fleet-management capabilities.
Drive device security and compliance, including secure key storage, encrypted communication, vulnerability management, and regulatory certification.
Partner with cloud, mobile app, and data teams to define device-to-cloud protocols, APIs, telemetry, and diagnostics.
Own RF and wireless performance, including antenna design or selection, coexistence, range, throughput, and power-consumption trade-offs.
Align product teams and commercial managers on connected-product strategy and development roadmaps.
Work with marketing, product teams, and platform engineering to capture customer needs and translate them into connectivity features and user experiences.
Grow the team by recruiting, developing, and retaining embedded and connectivity talent while increasing project capacity and maintaining performance.
Create and manage project roadmaps and resource plans, align scope, and drive schedule urgency and accountability for key project metrics.
Champion firmware and hardware development processes, including CI/CD, automated and hardware-in-the-loop testing, code review, requirements traceability, and release management.
Mentor and coach the team in task management, root cause analysis, firmware design, circuit/PCB design, simulation, and PCBA manufacturing.
Lead test-plan, procedure, and test-case development for embedded systems and connectivity subsystems, including interoperability, field, and certification testing.
Lead technology investigations, develop system requirements, and define future architectures and reusability strategies, including shared connectivity stacks and building blocks.
Monitor competitive products, emerging wireless/IoT standards, and business conditions to shape the product roadmap.
Frame and escalate business risks and opportunities to senior leadership.
Identify innovations and strategic opportunities, including edge intelligence and machine learning, while considering financial impact and competitiveness.