Lead Embedded Firmware Engineer - Contract (1099)

About Very
(Remote – United States)

Very is a fully distributed technology firm led by expert problem-solvers who create efficient, scalable solutions that move commercial, industrial, and consumer products from pilot to production in record time.

We believe that real innovation happens in the grind — working shoulder to shoulder with clients who are building the future. Our team thrives on that energy. When we’re not helping clients deliver business-critical outcomes, we’re refining our craft and celebrating what it means to do hard things well.

We’ve built a collaborative, tight-knit culture that thrives in both remote and in-person settings. We’ve won numerous workplace awards over the years, including Great Place to Work certification and recognition from Parity.org as a Best Company for Women to Advance.

Our clients include well-known brands like Vizio, Peloton, Clear, iHeart Radio, and Fellowes — all determined to leverage connected devices and AI to drive meaningful impact. Our job is simple: help them win.

About This Role

We are seeking a senior firmware engineer with 10+ years of professional embedded development experience who has deep expertise building production embedded systems on modern wireless MCU platforms such as Espressif ESP32 or Nordic nRF-series devices. This role requires end-to-end ownership of the device firmware stack, from schematic review and board bring-up through production firmware, OTA, and certification.

What You’ll Be Working On

We dedicate each engineer to a single project in order to promote focus and minimize context switching. You will be developing production-grade firmware for connected devices from bring-up through production deployment and ongoing maintenance.

You will own firmware development across the full device lifecycle, including schematic review, board bring-up, driver integration, OTA updates, and certification readiness.

You will also participate in hardware debugging and validation using tools such as JTAG/SWD, logic analyzers, and protocol sniffers to diagnose low-level issues across firmware, hardware, and network layers.

You’ll collaborate closely with hardware engineers and cross-functional teams to deliver production-ready devices.

This role involves debugging complex, real-world interoperability issues across Matter ecosystems (Apple Home, Google Home, Alexa), requiring deep protocol-level understanding and hands-on problem solving.

Must-Haves
Experience

• 10+ years professional embedded/firmware engineering in C/C++
• Significant experience with either:
  • Espressif ESP32 platforms using ESP-IDF, or
  • Nordic nRF-series platforms using nRF Connect SDK
    including RTOS-based development, OTA update mechanisms, low-level driver integration (I2C, SPI, UART, ADC, GPIO), and production firmware deployment.
• Direct, demonstrable experience developing connected-device firmware on modern wireless platforms such as ESP32 or Nordic nRF-series devices, including Bluetooth Low Energy, Wi-Fi, Thread, Zigbee, Matter, or related connectivity technologies.
• Hands-on experience with wireless communication stacks such as BLE, Wi-Fi, Thread (802.15.4), Zigbee, or Matter at the firmware level.
• Experience debugging protocol-level communication issues, wireless connectivity problems, device provisioning flows, and interoperability challenges in connected-device ecosystems.
• Familiarity with embedded security concepts such as secure boot, flash encryption, key management, device attestation, and secure firmware updates.
• Comfortable reading technical specifications and translating them into production-quality firmware implementations.

Location and Residency

• Must reside in the continental US.
• Must be authorized to work without sponsorship on a permanent basis

Strong Signals

• Experience with Matter protocol implementation
• Contributions to open-source Matter, ESP-IDF, or nRF Connect SDK project
• Experience taking a Matter device through CSA certification
• Background in adjacent protocols — Zigbee, Z-Wave, BLE Mesh — demonstrating breadth across the connected device landscape
• History of working in a consultancy or product development firm where they've shipped across multiple product lines, not just one internal product
• Comfort with hardware debug toolchains — JTAG/SWD, logic analyzers, protocol sniffers
• Experience standing up CI/CD for firmware builds and automated test harnesses

Skills

In addition to experience, these are the critical skills we look for in all technical roles, and how they should be demonstrated at the Lead level.

• Can debug complex firmware and hardware interactions under real-time constraints
• Are comfortable working with incomplete specifications and ambiguous device behavior
• Take ownership of problems end-to-end, from root cause analysis through production resolution
• Communicate clearly with both technical and non-technical stakeholders in a client-facing environment

This Role Is Likely NOT a Fit If

• Your ESP32 or Nordic experience is primarily limited to hobby, maker, or prototype projects rather than production firmware development.
• Your experience with wireless embedded systems is limited to hobby projects or proof-of-concept work.
• You don’t have experience with real-time debugging or protocol-level troubleshooting
• You have only worked on a single long-lived product with no exposure to bring-up or new platform work

Compensation
USD $100 per hour (may be negotiable based on experience)

Contract & Scope

• 1099 contract engagement
• Expected commitment: 30–40 hours per week

Why Work for Very

We do not promise an easy ride — we promise meaningful work.

We work hard because our clients’ success depends on it, and we take pride in delivering when others can’t. We collaborate closely, move fast, and stay grounded in results. We take joy in the process — in the problem-solving, the iteration, and the shared wins that come from doing the hard things well.

If you’re looking for a place where every project matters, where the standards are high, and where you’ll grow by pushing yourself and others — welcome to Very.

Interviewing for a new company is a serious time commitment for all parties involved. Please take the time to read this and thoughtfully consider if we would be a good fit for one another. No agencies. Seriously. #LI-Remote