Embedded Engineering Manager

Whoop•Boston, MA

4d•$150,000 - $215,000•Onsite

About The Position

WHOOP is hiring an Embedded Engineering Manager to build and lead a new embedded team developing firmware for a next-generation wearable. The team owns the on-device firmware that shapes how members interact with the device, view their data, and experience it in daily use. The role leads firmware development from early prototypes through new product introduction and into production. This position combines technical leadership with people management. The manager will lead a growing team of full-time and contract firmware engineers, participate in architecture decisions with the program’s technical leads, review code, and own the team’s delivery schedule. It is a player-coach role: the manager is not the primary developer but stays close enough to the code to contribute when useful. The role collaborates with Product, Design, Hardware, Quality, and firmware teams responsible for sensors, connectivity, and power. The role is based in WHOOP’s Boston, Massachusetts office. The successful candidate must be prepared to relocate if necessary to work from that office. WHOOP offers a base salary range of $150,000–$215,000, along with benefits and an equity package.

Requirements

At least 5 years of embedded firmware development in C or C++, including experience as an engineering manager or team lead responsible for mentorship, feedback, and career development.
Experience shipping firmware in a consumer electronics product, from early hardware bring-up through production.
Hands-on experience with an RTOS such as Zephyr, FreeRTOS, or similar on microcontrollers or embedded SoCs.
Experience optimizing firmware for performance, memory, and power on constrained hardware.
Ability to plan and deliver in ambiguous environments, including early-stage hardware programs where requirements are still forming.
Strong communication skills, including the ability to explain technical tradeoffs to Product, Design, and leadership.
Commitment to embracing and leveraging AI tools in day-to-day tasks and ensuring AI-assisted work meets the same quality bar as personal contributions.
Must be prepared to relocate if necessary to work from WHOOP’s Boston, Massachusetts office.

Responsibilities

Build, manage, and mentor a team of embedded engineers through hiring, onboarding, feedback, performance management, and career development.
Direct the work of contract engineers alongside full-time staff, maintaining the same design and code quality standards for both.
Lead delivery of the member’s on-device experience firmware, from prototype through production release.
Partner with the program’s technical lead and senior engineers on architecture for responsive, power-efficient firmware on resource-constrained multi-core hardware.
Review code, shape designs, and contribute directly when the team needs it.
Own team planning and delivery cadence, keeping scope, dependencies, and risks visible to partners and leadership.
Partner with Product and Design to translate member experience goals into firmware requirements that fit hardware memory, compute, and power budgets.
Set engineering practices for testing, hardware-in-the-loop validation, release readiness, and field diagnostics.
Foster a culture of high standards, direct feedback, accountability, psychological safety, and continuous learning.