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Sofar Ocean is seeking a Senior Firmware Engineer to lead embedded firmware design and implementation across its hardware product portfolio, including Spotter, Smart Mooring, next-generation platforms, and Bristlemouth—an open-source hardware connectivity stack. You will work in small, collaborative multidisciplinary teams, debugging complex issues and shipping cohesive, elegant products that improve ocean and planetary health.
Key responsibilities include designing and implementing efficient FreeRTOS firmware in C/C++ with automated unit and integration tests; breaking down complex efforts into parallelizable work streams; developing host-side test, analysis, and automation tools in Python; participating in code reviews and technical discussions; writing clear specifications and documentation; collaborating with electrical and mechanical engineers on system design, integration, testing, and debugging; advocating for high-leverage features in product prioritization; and executing frequent releases for proprietary and open-source firmware with comprehensive testing, documentation, and community communication.
You should have 5+ years of professional embedded firmware/software experience with prior tech lead experience on a firmware team. Required skills include fluency in embedded C and C++, comfort with Python, hands-on FreeRTOS experience, breadth across multiple embedded platforms, and understanding of common hardware peripherals and interfaces. Strong systems thinking, software architecture knowledge, and excellent communication skills are essential.
Bonus qualifications include experience with radio telemetry, IPv6 networking, ARM Cortex-M0/M4/M33 cores, IoT/robotics/drones/automotive products, and passion for ocean conservation. The role is based at Sofar's Pier 28 office in San Francisco with a hybrid arrangement requiring at least 3 days per week onsite, reporting to the Senior Engineering Manager.
