Senior Embedded/Firmware Engineer (freelance)

intent

6h • $135 - $180 • Remote

About The Position

We are seeking a Senior Embedded/Firmware Engineer with expertise in ESP32 or STM32 projects. This is a freelance, time & material position with the potential for a permanent contract and full benefits after a successful three-month trial period. Intent has been designing and co-creating connected devices since 2008, working with clients like Oura and BOSE. We are a fully remote, AI-native company of over 60 people. Firmware is critical to our products, involving challenges like BLE stacks, power budgets, sensor pipelines, and OTA updates, especially in demanding conditions.

Requirements

• 4+ years of professional firmware development
• Strong C/C++ for embedded systems
• Hands-on ESP32 experience, including ESP-IDF and ESP-ADF
• STM32 experience in production projects
• Solid Bluetooth knowledge: BLE, Bluetooth Mesh, and comfort across the stack layers
• Toolchain fluency: CMake, GCC, Python-based tooling
• Familiarity with IoT protocols like MQTT and WebSockets
• A feel for the connected device landscape: IoT, home automation, wearables, automotive
• English at B2+, written and spoken
• Self-reliance, ownership, and clear communication

Nice To Haves

• Rapid hardware prototyping on Arduino, Raspberry Pi, BeagleBone, Nucleo
• Working knowledge of LoRa, Zigbee, Thread, Wi-Fi, and other networking standards
• Fleet deployment and management with AWS IoT Core, GCP Cloud IoT, Azure IoT, or similar
• Cryptography in embedded contexts
• Audio paths: encoding, decoding, mixers
• Machine learning on embedded targets
• Rust in firmware
• FreeRTOS, Zephyr, or other embedded operating systems
• Genuine curiosity about the devices you build

Responsibilities

• Plan, develop, and ship firmware for connected devices: wearables, audio, health-tech hardware
• Gather and analyze requirements from clients, then turn them into something that actually works on real silicon
• Consult clients and internal teams on stacks, tools, and trade-offs
• Work side by side with mobile, backend, and QA to ensure device and companion app communication over BLE
• Test firmware releases and write documentation
• Estimate own work and flag risks
• Push for better practices: code reviews, patterns, knowledge-sharing
• Use AI tools as part of the daily workflow
• Take ownership of work and communicate clearly about issues

Benefits

• 135-180 PLN/h net B2B, depending on experience
• Truly flexible hours
• Fully remote
• Access to internal knowledge-sharing: tech talks, experiments, side projects
• Potential for permanent contract with fixed monthly salary, 26 days paid leave, 10 sick days, Saltus medical care, and a training budget (after 3 months trial)
• Pet-friendly office in Warsaw and coworking space in Gdansk (optional)

What This Job Offers

• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed