Sr Manager Device Software, Connected Products

Responsibilities

• Directly manage, mentor, and develop a team of embedded software engineers; conduct regular 1:1s, performance reviews, and career development planning
• Maintain honest, timely feedback with each direct report; invest most heavily in developing top performers and hold clear accountability across the team
• Know each engineer's motivations, strengths, and career aspirations; build an environment where people can grow toward what they're naturally excellent at
• Build knowledge redundancy across the team; eliminate single points of failure through deliberate documentation and cross-training
• Define and own embedded software architecture across both Linux-based and RTOS-based firmware disciplines; guide technical direction and ensure critical decisions are well-documented
• Lead new hardware bring-up efforts and platform convergence initiatives; maintain the firmware-cloud interface contract in collaboration with backend and platform teams
• Own CI/CD pipeline health, release processes, and OTA fleet management for production device populations
• Drive adoption of development best practices, code review standards, and AI-assisted development tooling
• Own the firmware technical roadmap and delivery commitments; balance new feature development against platform stability and intentional technical debt reduction
• Partner with Product Management to assess and prioritize firmware feature requests across multiple product lines
• Coordinate with Hardware Engineering on new product bring-up and establish clear HW↔FW interface processes
• Coordinate with Data Science on algorithm and model integration into embedded firmware
• Collaborate with QA on firmware testing strategies, manufacturing test plans, and production readiness criteria
• Work with compliance teams to support radio, safety, and cybersecurity certification processes for connected devices
• Coordinate with contract manufacturers on firmware document control, ECO processes, and OTA deployment to production fleets
• Manage team capacity planning and work allocation across concurrent product programs
• BS in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or equivalent relevant experience
• 7+ years of industry experience in a technical role
• 2+ years People management experience: performance management, career development, and building a high-functioning team
• Proven track record leading and developing embedded software or firmware engineering teams
• Deep understanding of embedded Linux (Yocto/buildroot or equivalent); able to guide architecture, evaluate trade-offs, and support engineers across the full development lifecycle
• Strong working knowledge of RTOS concepts and architectures (FreeRTOS, Zephyr, or equivalent): task scheduling, memory management, inter-task communication, synchronization primitives
• Experience with Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) as used in IoT embedded software
• Experience with OTA update systems and production device fleet management
• Understanding of firmware document control and configuration management in hardware product organizations
• Strong system design and architecture skills; comfort making and communicating technical decisions under uncertainty
• Excellent cross-functional communication skills; able to represent the firmware team clearly to product, hardware, data science, compliance, and manufacturing stakeholders

Requirements

• Experience with IoT or connected consumer electronics at scale
• Hands-on experience with OTA and fleet observability platforms (Mender, Memfault, or equivalent)
• Proficiency in embedded debugging tools and techniques
• Understanding of communication protocols: BLE, Wi-Fi, SPI, I2C, UART, Zigbee, Z-Wave
• Experience with ARM Cortex-M, RISC-V, or similar microcontroller architectures
• Knowledge of power management techniques for battery-operated devices
• Track record managing compliance processes for radio, safety, and cybersecurity certifications (FCC, CE-RED, IC, UKCA, ANATEL)
• Experience managing mixed teams of FTEs and contractors
• Background working across both embedded Linux and RTOS-based firmware disciplines simultaneously
• Track record of successful product launches in consumer electronics or IoT hardware

Benefits

Additional Information

Fortune Brands are hiring for a Senior Manager of Device Software, Connected Products to provide technical leadership and people management for our embedded software team. You will drive architectural decisions, maintain engineering quality standards, and develop a team of firmware engineers working across both embedded Linux and RTOS-based product lines . This is a hands-on leadership role requiring deep technical credibility combined with strong people management skills.

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Company Intel

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