Firmware Engineering Management

Ichor•Sparks, NV

11d

About The Position

The Firmware Engineering Manager is responsible for leading firmware development activities for flow control products and supporting electronic devices used in engineering test stands. This role is responsible for managing firmware engineers, establishing development standards and processes, overseeing firmware project execution, and ensuring firmware quality and maintainability throughout the product lifecycle. The Firmware Engineering Manager provides technical leadership for embedded firmware development while managing employee performance, workload prioritization, customer interactions, firmware feature planning, and product support activities. This role may also contribute directly to firmware development activities when needed.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, or a related technical discipline, or equivalent relevant experience.
8+ years of firmware, embedded software, or embedded controls development experience.
2+ years of engineering leadership or management experience.
Strong experience developing embedded firmware using C and C++.
Experience with microcontroller-based embedded systems and real-time control applications.
Experience with standard microcontroller peripherals and communication interfaces including UART, SPI, I2C, GPIO, ADC, PWM, CAN, Ethernet, EtherCAT, or similar technologies.
Understanding of embedded system architecture, resource-constrained systems, and firmware design principles.
Ability to read and understand electronic schematics and hardware/firmware interfaces.
Familiarity with debugging tools, source control systems, issue tracking systems, testing methodologies, and firmware development workflows.
Strong problem-solving, communication, project management, and customer-facing skills.
Ability to balance technical contributions with people management responsibilities.

Responsibilities

Lead and manage a team of firmware engineers responsible for embedded product development.
Assign work, establish priorities, monitor progress, and ensure timely completion of firmware deliverables.
Manage employee performance, coaching, career development, hiring, and staffing activities.
Define and maintain firmware development workflows, coding standards, documentation requirements, and development best practices.
Establish and oversee firmware quality processes including code reviews, design reviews, testing, defect management, release control, and configuration management.
Provide technical leadership for firmware architecture, design decisions, implementation approaches, and long-term platform sustainability.
Collaborate with Systems Engineering, Product Management, Electronics Engineering, Manufacturing, and customers to define firmware requirements, acceptance criteria, and implementation priorities.
Develop firmware project estimates, resource plans, execution schedules, and development priorities.
Identify technical and project risks and implement mitigation plans.
Manage the firmware feature backlog, prioritization, and roadmap planning in alignment with product objectives.
Communicate firmware project status, technical issues, risks, and priorities across the organization.
Engage with customers regarding firmware functionality, feature requests, troubleshooting, and technical discussions.
Oversee implementation and maintenance of embedded communication protocols and device interfaces.
Ensure firmware verification plans, test coverage, and validation activities are appropriately defined and executed.
Support product development through requirements definition, implementation, verification, validation, release, and transition to manufacturing.
Support manufacturing, field service, and sustaining engineering teams with firmware-related issues, diagnostics, and product improvements.
Drive resolution of firmware-related field issues, root cause investigations, corrective actions, and product reliability improvements.
Manage firmware technical debt, maintainability improvements, and platform evolution.
Ensure firmware development practices support product reliability, robustness, maintainability, and security requirements.
Contribute directly to firmware development, testing, debugging, and troubleshooting activities as required.