The Role:We're building powered wearable robots for everyday life - devices that sit at the intersection of motor control, real-time embedded systems, and edge compute. We're 22 people, all senior, all contributing directly to product. This role leads a small firmware team while staying hands-on with the systems that matter most.
You'll set the technical bar for how we build firmware at Skip, and develop the engineers around you while doing it.
What you'll own:- Leading and growing a small firmware engineering team, including hiring, mentorship, and technical direction
- End-to-end embedded C/C++ across our stack, including FreeRTOS, interrupt handling, JTAG/SWD debugging, and chip bring-up
- Data communication between peripherals and microcontrollers (ESP32, STM32 and their successors), including Wi-Fi and BLE
- Secure OTA pipelines and bootloader implementation
- AWS IoT Core infrastructure: mTLS, MQTT, fleet provisioning, IoT Jobs OTA
- Firmware for motor control across a range of actuators including BLDCs, custom PMSM and axial flux motors, cycloid gearboxes, and series elastic actuators (currently on c2000, evolving)
- Technical direction for chip selection, actuator firmware requirements, and future system architecture
- Adjacent product development including our Parkinson's device and future clinical and research platforms requiring edge compute
- Wearing prototypes several hours a week for on-body testing and data collection
- Bringing joy to the team, participating in embarrassing team events, and tolerating KZ's terrible music
What we're looking for:- 8+ years in firmware development, with at least 2 leading or mentoring a team
- Deep expertise in embedded C/C++ for high-performance, real-time applications including FreeRTOS
- Proven experience with ESP32, STM32, or comparable chipsets
- Strong background in AWS IoT Core, fleet management, and OTA systems
- Solid Linux, Python, and command-line fluency
- Experience with low-level hardware and OS internals at a kernel level
- Rigorous debugging instincts across JTAG, SWD, oscilloscopes, and logic analyzers
- The kind of technical credibility that makes people want to follow your lead, not just your title
- Ability to work from our Bay Area office 3 days a week
- Attention to detail, even in the middle of overly-long lists
- Sense of humour. Tolerant of Aussie and Canadian spelling.
Bonus points:- Experience with PMSM control on TI or STM chipsets
- Background in robotics, powered consumer electronics, drones, or anything that moves
- Familiarity with TFLite Micro or X-Cube-AI
- Startup experience and comfort using AI coding tools to punch above your weight
- Personal motivation to improve human movement
This is a full time hybrid position working at the Skip office in the Dogpatch neighborhood of San Francisco.
