Embedded Software Engineering Lead

LineVision•Boston, MA

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

We are seeking an Embedded Software Engineering Lead to lead embedded software development for LineVision's remote sensor platform, a ruggedized edge device combining optical sensing and on-device camera image processing deployed on transmission lines around the world. You will be the technical anchor on a small firmware team: writing production code, mentoring engineers, and owning the systems that keep a growing fleet operating reliably in the field. If you want to build hardware that ships, survives, and scales, join us at LineVision, Built In Boston Best Places to Work!

Requirements

7+ years of production embedded software experience, with demonstrated delivery of firmware into shipping hardware products that operate in the field (not only prototype or lab environments).
Hands-on experience with Yocto embedded Linux and FreeRTOS as core development tools.
Proven experience building or maintaining OTA update infrastructure for deployed IoT/edge device fleets.
Strong proficiency in C/C++ and Python; comfort debugging across hardware/software boundaries using JTAG, GDB, oscilloscopes, and logic analyzers.
Experience leading or mentoring engineers in a small team setting, with a track record of raising team output quality.
Critical Thinking: Analyze embedded systems problems independently, propose solutions that hold up in production, and navigate trade-offs across power, connectivity, thermal, and compute constraints with intellectual curiosity.
Taking Ownership: Own embedded software delivery end-to-end -- from first commit through field deployment -- and communicate progress proactively to team and cross-functional partners.
Empowering Others: Mentor junior firmware engineers through code review, technical guidance, and shared standards; recognize others' contributions and create space for the team to grow.
Follow Through - Execution: Deliver quality firmware on schedule, hold the team accountable to production readiness standards, and follow through on commitments to cross-functional partners.

Nice To Haves

Deep experience with power-managed sleep/wake architectures, where a multi-processor device must duty-cycle aggressively to survive on solar, and where firmware reliability directly determines field uptime.
Familiarity with multi-band, multi-carrier cellular connectivity (LTE/LTE-M) and remote device management for distributed field fleets operating over encrypted tunnels.
Track record of supporting manufacturing test development and production validation alongside firmware delivery.
Prior experience at a hardware-focused startup where engineers owned the full arc from design to deployment to sustained field support.

Responsibilities

Develop and maintain embedded firmware across the full stack of the remote sensing platform: a Yocto embedded Linux build on an NXP iMX8 compute module, plus a companion FreeRTOS microcontroller that manages power, solar charging, sleep/wake cycles, and cellular data transfer.
Own code quality, test coverage, and production readiness across both the Yocto and FreeRTOS systems.
Lead a small team of embedded engineers as a player-coach: writing code alongside the team, conducting code reviews, and setting technical standards for the group.
Own the over-the-air update pipeline and fleet management tooling, delivering reliable firmware updates to devices that wake on a constrained duty cycle over private cellular networks.
Own the kernel and board-level driver layer (U-Boot, MIPI camera, HID, and custom peripheral interfaces over UART), and drive integration of the optical sensing and image processing payload, working with hardware and data teams on the compute, power, and thermal trade-offs that govern a solar-powered device.
Serve as the embedded systems point of contact for cross-functional partners in Hardware, Quality, Field Operations, and DevOps.
Build hands-on familiarity with the platform architecture, codebase, and Yocto build system; understand the production fleet topology and OTA infrastructure.
Identify and resolve at least one active reliability or field issue, working directly with Field Operations to diagnose and ship a fix.
Stand up a device health telemetry pipeline and a regular review cadence, capturing the fleet signals (power and charge state, connectivity, wake-cycle behavior, OTA outcomes, error rates) that form the foundation for a fleet health dashboard and, longer term, predictive and preventative maintenance.
Own delivery of a defined firmware milestone tied to the RS-1 product roadmap, taking it from design through production release.
Establish or improve at least one team practice - code review standards, testing methodology, or documentation - that raises the bar for the whole team.
Deliver a working fleet health dashboard on top of that telemetry, giving the team and Field Operations a live view of device state and early warning on units trending toward failure.
Lead the team through a full firmware release cycle: from feature development to manufacturing test support to OTA fleet rollout.
Build a measurable improvement in fleet reliability metrics (reduced field incidents, faster root cause resolution, or improved OTA success rates).