Embedded Systems Engineer Jobs in Birmingham, AL

We are looking for a Senior Firmware Engineer to own the full firmware lifecycle for our core consumer electronics products - from early-stage development through mass production. This is a high-impact role that sits at the intersection of deep technical engineering, ODM/JDM partnership management, and product delivery. You will serve as the primary firmware authority between our internal teams and external development partners, ensuring our firmware meets our quality bar, reflects our product vision, and is ready for the hands of consumers at scale.

Development & Architecture

Lead firmware design and development for core consumer electronics products, including bring-up, driver development, and application-layer firmware for Linux based operating systems.

Define firmware architecture with a focus on scalability, reliability, and performance across product generations.

Develop and maintain firmware for microcontrollers and embedded processors in partnership with ODM/JDM.

Own firmware architecture end to end.

Lifecycle Ownership - Development to Production 

Own the full firmware release process, from feature development and integration through Prototype, EVT, DVT, PVT, and mass production handoff (responsible for feature complete, performance complete, and stability complete).

Define and maintain firmware versioning, release branching strategies, and build reproducibility standards.

Identify and resolve firmware issues that surface during Prototype/EVT/DVT/PVT builds and ensures that software development lines up to phases, driving root cause analysis and corrective actions to closure.

Validation & Quality

Partner with QA and test engineering teams to develop comprehensive firmware validation plans, including unit tests, integration tests, and hardware-in-the-loop testing.

Champion CI/CD practices for firmware, including automated build pipelines, regression testing, and static analysis tooling.

Establish and enforce firmware quality gates prior to each program milestone.

Support field failure analysis and drive firmware fixes for issues identified postlaunch.

ODM/JDM Partnership & Oversight 

Serve as the primary firmware liaison between internal teams and ODM/JDM partners, providing clear technical direction, requirements, and acceptance criteria.

Review and provide feedback on firmware deliverables from ODM/JDM partners, ensuring alignment with internal architecture standards, coding guidelines, and product requirements.

Define firmware ownership boundaries between internal and ODM/JDM teams; maintain accountability for final firmware quality regardless of where code originates.

Drive firmware readiness reviews at each build milestone (Prototype/EVT/DVT/PVT), holding ODM/JDM partners to schedule and quality commitments.

Facilitate knowledge transfer and ensure adequate internal documentation and source control ownership of all ODM/JDM-developed firmware assets.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

Work closely with hardware engineers during board bring-up, schematic review, and signal integrity troubleshooting - both internally and alongside ODM/JDM hardware teams.

Partner with product management and technical lead to translate product requirements into firmware specifications that can be clearly communicated to external partners.

Coordinate with mobile/cloud/app teams on communication protocols and systemlevel integration (BLE, Wi-Fi, USB, etc.).

7+ years of firmware/embedded software engineering experience, with at least 2 years on consumer electronics products.

Solid understanding of RTOS concepts as well as embedded Linux on low powered systems.

Experience with common communication protocols: UART, SPI, I2C, USB, BLE, WiFi, and LTE as well as imaging and compression algorithms.

Proven track record of shipping firmware through full product lifecycle, including factory and mass production phases.

Experience working with or managing ODM/JDM firmware development partners, including requirements handoff, code reviews, and milestone-based acceptance testing.

Ability to evaluate third-party firmware quality and provide structured, actionable technical feedback.

Strong communication skills with the ability to work effectively across time zones and cultural contexts with external engineering teams.

Experience with OTA (over-the-air) firmware update systems and secure boot/firmware signing.

Familiarity with FCC/CE/UL certification processes as they relate to firmware.

Exposure to low-power optimization techniques for battery-powered consumer devices.

Experience with Python or similar scripting for test automation and tooling.

Background in audio, wearables, smart home, or similar consumer electronics categories.

Experience collaborating with ODM/JDM partners based in Taiwan, China, or other Asia-Pacific regions, including comfort with async communication workflows and occasional international travel to partner sites during key build milestones.