Firmware Engineer

Job Description

Job Description

AssetWatch serves global manufacturers by powering manufacturing uptime through the delivery of an unparalleled condition monitoring experience, with a passion to care about the assets our customers care for every day. We are a devoted and capable team that includes world-renowned engineers and distinguished business leaders united by a common goal – To build the future of predictive maintenance. As we enter the next phase of rapid growth, we are seeking people to help lead the journey.

About AssetWatch

AssetWatch helps industrial teams monitor the health of critical equipment through connected hardware, sensing, analytics, and condition monitoring workflows. Our hardware products include battery-powered vibration sensors, edge hubs, wireless communication systems, wired networking interfaces, and factory/test infrastructure that must operate reliably and securely in demanding industrial environments.

We are hiring a Firmware Engineer to help design, build, test, release, and sustain the firmware that powers our connected hardware platform.

About the Role

As a Firmware Engineer at AssetWatch, you will work on production firmware for industrial IoT devices, including vibration sensors, BLE-enabled devices, edge hubs, diagnostics, firmware updates, wired and wireless networking, Wi-Fi communication, cybersecurity-sensitive firmware protocols, and manufacturing/test workflows. You will collaborate closely with hardware engineering, test engineering, backend/cloud teams, product, support, cybersecurity stakeholders, and manufacturing partners to deliver reliable and secure connected products from prototype through production ramp and field support.

This role is ideal for someone who enjoys hands-on embedded development, real hardware debugging, wireless and wired communication, production-quality release discipline, secure firmware design, and cross-functional problem solving.

What You Will Do

· Develop and maintain embedded firmware for AssetWatch sensors, hubs, BLE modules, and related hardware systems.

· Design, implement, and debug firmware features for sensor communication, diagnostics, scheduling, data collection, configuration, and firmware updates.

· Work with BLE communication paths between hubs and battery-powered sensors, including scanning, connection handling, command/response flows, diagnostics, and update behavior.

· Develop and debug firmware features involving Wi-Fi communication, wired Ethernet, cellular connectivity, TCP/IP networking, MQTT communication, device diagnostics, and edge-to-cloud data paths.

· Support wired and wireless networking behavior across hubs and connected devices, including connectivity state, provisioning, configuration, reconnection behavior, signal quality, network diagnostics, and failure recovery.

· Implement and review firmware cybersecurity features and protocols, including secure communication, device identity, authentication, authorization, encrypted transport, credential handling, signed firmware, secure update flows, and protection of device interfaces.

· Support embedded Linux or edge-device services that interact with firmware, hardware, MQTT interfaces, diagnostics, logs, backend/cloud systems, and network interfaces.

· Build and maintain production firmware release workflows, including versioning, changelogs, pull requests, build pipelines, packages, OTA/FOTA artifacts, and security review checkpoints.

· Collaborate with hardware and test engineering on bring-up, regression testing, validation, fixture development, failure analysis, and production readiness.

· Support hardware qualification phases such as prototype, EVT, DVT, PVT, and production ramp.

· Investigate field issues involving sensors, hubs, wireless communication, wired networking, power behavior, firmware updates, diagnostics, security, or manufacturing/test failures.

· Write clear technical documentation, including firmware specifications, process procedures, release notes, test plans, interface references, security notes, and troubleshooting guides.

· Participate in design reviews, code reviews, sprint planning, Jira workflows, and cross-functional technical discussions.

What You Will Bring

Required Qualifications

· Experienced in using AI tools to accelerate FW production and quality

· Strong experience developing production embedded firmware in C or C++.

· Hands-on experience debugging firmware on real hardware using tools such as J-Link, oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, power profilers, serial logs, packet captures, network logs, or equivalent lab/debug equipment.

· Experience with Git-based development workflows, pull requests, code review, branching, and release discipline.

· Understanding of embedded communication protocols, device state machines, diagnostics, logging, and fault handling.

· BLE experience, especially GATT, central/peripheral roles, scanning, connection lifecycle, pairing/bonding, encryption, authorization, Nordic/nRF, or NUS-style command interfaces.

· Wi-Fi experience, especially 802.11 behavior, WPA2/WPA3, provisioning, connection management, roaming, signal quality, reconnection behavior, and wireless diagnostics.

· Wired networking experience, especially Ethernet interfaces, link detection, IP configuration, routing, DNS, DHCP, firewalls, VPN behavior, and network troubleshooting on embedded Linux or edge devices.

· Experience securing connected firmware systems using TLS/mTLS, certificates, secure provisioning, device identity, signed firmware, secure boot, encrypted OTA/FOTA, key management, or secure storage.

· Experience with network-connected devices using protocols or technologies such as Ethernet, Wi-Fi, cellular, TCP/IP, UDP, DNS, DHCP, TLS, MQTT, VPNs, or similar device communication paths.

· Experience with firmware cybersecurity principles and secure communication protocols, including authentication, authorization, encryption, secure credential handling, secure firmware update concepts, and protection of device communication interfaces.

· Experience working with wireless, sensor, IoT, embedded Linux, RTOS, or similar connected-device systems.

· Ability to collaborate across firmware, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, test engineering, backend/cloud, cybersecurity, product, support, and manufacturing teams.

· Strong written communication skills and a willingness to maintain clear technical documentation.

· Practical problem-solving mindset for ambiguous hardware, firmware, networking, cybersecurity, and field reliability issues.

Preferred Qualifications

· Experience with low-power battery-powered devices, sleep states, current measurement, power optimization, and field reliability.

· Experience with embedded Linux, Debian packaging, system services, shell scripting, Makefile/CMake, systemd, networking tools, or device-side daemons.

· Experience with MQTT, JSON payloads, diagnostics, sensor schedules, edge-to-cloud communication, or industrial IoT systems.

· Experience with OTA/FOTA firmware updates, rollback strategy, release validation, production deployment risk management, and cybersecurity review of update mechanisms.

· Experience with CI/CD pipelines, semantic versioning, changelogs, release branches, package repositories, build automation, and software bill of materials or vulnerability tracking.

· Experience supporting EVT/DVT/PVT, manufacturing test, end-of-line testing, fixture automation, IQA, CM coordination, or production ramp.

· Experience with vibration sensors, condition monitoring, industrial equipment, or other ruggedized field hardware.

How We Work

AssetWatch firmware engineers work closely with hardware, test, product, backend, support, cybersecurity, and manufacturing teams. We value engineers who can move from code to bench testing to field diagnostics to documentation without losing the thread.

Because AssetWatch devices operate as connected industrial IoT systems, firmware quality includes communication reliability and security. Engineers are expected to think beyond local device behavior and consider Wi-Fi, Ethernet, cellular, BLE, MQTT, cloud communication, provisioning, credentials, firmware updates, and network diagnostics as part of the product system. We value engineers who can debug a device from the sensor and hub all the way through the network and backend interface while maintaining a security-first mindset.

Our team emphasizes:

· Practical engineering judgment.

· Clear ownership from design through validation and release.

· Lightweight but disciplined Jira planning and issue tracking.

· Pull request reviews and controlled release workflows.

· Changelogs, version control, and repeatable builds.

· Testability, manufacturability, field reliability, and firmware security.

· Documentation that helps other engineers, test teams, support teams, cybersecurity partners, and manufacturing partners move faster.

What Success Looks Like

In the First 30 Days

· Set up the development environment, tools, repositories, hardware, and test equipment.

· Build and run relevant firmware projects.

· Review key Hub, Sensor, BLE, MQTT, networking, firmware release, and regression testing documentation.

· Review wired and wireless networking flows for hubs and sensors, including Wi-Fi, Ethernet, cellular, MQTT, diagnostics, provisioning, and firmware update paths.

· Review existing BLE and firmware security documentation, including pairing, bonding, encryption, authorization, provisioning, and current security gaps.

· Understand the current hardware portfolio, firmware architecture, test flows, and release process.

· Pair with firmware, hardware, test, backend/cloud, cybersecurity, and support engineers on active work.

In the First 60 Days

· Complete scoped firmware bug fixes, test improvements, or documentation updates.

· Participate in code reviews, design discussions, and regression testing.

· Debug at least one real hardware/firmware/networking issue using logs, test equipment, network tools, and source code.

· Debug or improve a networking, connectivity, diagnostic, or secure communication behavior with support from the team.

· Contribute to a release, validation activity, FOTA/OTA workflow, manufacturing/test support effort, or firmware security review.

· Update a changelog, release note, technical spec, security note, or test procedure.

In the First 90 Days

· Own a firmware feature, production issue, validation improvement, or release contribution from planning through implementation and test.

· Own or contribute meaningfully to a firmware deliverable involving network reliability, secure communication, device identity, OTA/FOTA security, BLE security, Wi- Fi/Ethernet/cellular diagnostics, or secure provisioning.

· Demonstrate strong collaboration with hardware, test engineering, product, backend/cloud, cybersecurity, support, or manufacturing stakeholders.

· Improve a firmware process, test, diagnostic, document, security checklist, or release workflow that helps the team move faster or reduce risk.

Working Style

The right candidate is hands-on, curious, structured, and comfortable with real-world ambiguity. You should enjoy debugging issues that cross firmware, hardware, wireless communication, wired networking, cybersecurity, manufacturing, cloud interfaces, and field behavior. You do not need to know every part of our stack on day one, but you should be excited to learn quickly and contribute to production hardware that customers rely on.

The base salary range for this full-time position is posted below, plus equity and benefits. Variable pay, bonuses, and other cash compensation will be discussed throughout the interview process.

The salary range was determined by role, level, and location. Individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range applicable to your location during the hiring process.

AssetWatch Salary Range (US)

$150,000—$170,000 USD

What We Offer:
AssetWatch is a remote-first company that puts people at the center of everything we do. We want our team members to thrive - that's why we offer a range of benefits and perks designed to support your well-being, growth, and work-life balance.

• Competitive compensation package including stock options
• Flexible work schedule
• Comprehensive benefits including retirement plan match
• Opportunity to make a real impact every day
• Work with a dynamic and growing team
• Unlimited PTO

We have a distributed team that works remotely across locations in the United States and Ontario, Canada. Collaboration within core working hours is required.