Firmware Architect

Whisker•Auburn Hills, MI

13d•Onsite

About The Position

Whisker is redefining what it means to live with cats—designing intelligent systems that remove friction, elevate the everyday, and celebrate the quiet brilliance of feline companionship. Today, Litter-Robot leads the category. Tomorrow, an entire ecosystem that expands what’s possible for cats and the people who love them. We believe the future is feline. And we’re imagining that future today. We work onsite 4+ days a week, with our team based in Auburn Hills, Michigan, and Juneau, Wisconsin. Our team of 700+ passionate pet people thrives on collaboration, innovation, and the occasional office cameo from a four-legged friend. What You’ll Do: The Firmware Architect will lead in designing and developing complex firmware systems and will be instrumental in shaping robust architectures, ensuring scalability, security, performance, and efficiency. Additionally, the Firmware Architect will be crucial in providing technical leadership and guidance to our dynamic firmware engineering team.

Requirements

Bachelor’s, Master’s degree, or Ph.D. in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Firmware Engineering, or a related field and / or equivalent years of experience
15+ years of professional experience in firmware engineering
5+ years of proven experience as a firmware architect, demonstrating successful design, release, and delivery of complex, scalable firmware systems
5+ years of experience with low-level firmware development for embedded systems
In-depth understanding of embedded firmware design principles, patterns, and best practices
Expertise in C and C++ programming languages, particularly for firmware development
Experience supporting medium to large-scale IoT product deployments, including secure and reliable firmware updates
Proficiency with debugging tools
Experience with integrating firmware with hardware peripherals, communication protocols
Familiarity with cloud-connected device ecosystems and secure IoT firmware practices
Excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to address technical challenges in a dynamic environment
Strong leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills
Proficient in using architecture modeling and design tools
Ability to communicate complex technical concepts effectively to both technical and non-technical stakeholders
Project management skills with a track record of successfully driving projects to completion
Familiarity with agile development methodologies
A passion for staying updated on industry trends and continuously improving technical expertise
Maintains confidentiality of proprietary information
Ability to maintain a professional atmosphere in a fast-paced environment with numerous interactions and interruptions
A high degree of initiative, self-motivation, and ability to motivate others
Ability to establish and maintain cooperative working relationships with Team Members and colleagues
Comfortable with office pets (cats, dogs). requirements for the role

Nice To Haves

Experience with CloudWatch, AppSync, Relational Databases, Kinesis Stream, CloudTrail, API Gateway, Cognito or VPC

Responsibilities

Leads the end-to-end design and architecture of scalable, high-performance firmware systems that align with Whisker’s business objectives
Actively participates in firmware development and provides hands-on technical expertise, setting a standard for coding practices within the team
Collaborates closely with cross-functional teams, including hardware engineers and product managers, analyzing and translating business requirements into technical firmware solutions
Provides technical leadership and mentorship to development teams, ensuring best practices and architectural principles are implemented
Evaluates and recommends emerging technologies and firmware development tools that contribute to the growth and success of our IoT devices and technology ecosystem
Ensures the firmware architecture's integrity, security, and reliability throughout the development lifecycle
Takes ownership of the full development lifecycle, from conceptualization to implementation, ensuring the delivery of high-quality firmware products
Conducts regular code reviews and provides constructive feedback to ensure code quality
Drives robust protocols and frameworks to safeguard device firmware, connectivity, and infrastructure against evolving threats
Designs, develops, and leads the implementation of robust, scalable firmware solutions for IoT devices across multiple platforms
Will perform additional duties as required