Staff Firmware Engineer, IOT

About ALSO.

We’re ALSO, an electric mobility company originally conceived as a part of Rivian. We’re a passionate team of builders, dreamers, doers and innovators, focused on creating entirely new (not to mention, innovative and delightful) vertically integrated, small EVs designed to meet the global mobility challenges of today and tomorrow. Our mission is to inspire everyone to ride ALSO—replacing many local car, truck and SUV miles with ones on vehicles that are more affordable, more enjoyable and 10-50x more efficient.

As a Staff Firmware Engineer at ALSO, you'll own wireless bring-up, IoT features, and over-the-air updates while partnering across hardware, cloud, and mobile teams to build end-to-end connected systems. You'll write mission-critical firmware, optimize for low-power operation, and implement security protocols that keep ALSO's devices safe and reliable. You'll also help shape how the team works — building CI/CD pipelines, championing automation, and collaborating with QA to ship robust, well-tested code.

What You Will Do

• Firmware development of critical hardware validation, wireless bring-up, and IOT-related features, such as over-the-air updates and telemetry upload, interfacing with existing cloud infrastructure where appropriate

• Partner with HW, UX, cloud, mobile, and other firmware teams to architect end-to-end IOT systems

• Design and implement features, as well as related tests, to deliver mission critical, robust code

• Optimize firmware for low-power operation, extending the battery life of IoT devices and supporting energy-efficient designs. Profile power consumption and identify opportunities for optimization on the submodule as well as system level.

• Implement robust security measures within firmware to safeguard devices against potential threats, ensuring data integrity, authentication, and encryption protocols are in place.

• Develop a robust CI/CD pipeline and advocate for best practices to help grow a high performance team with highly automated tools and testing

• Collaborate with QA teams and leverage metrics to monitor for and debug issues

• Engage effectively with third party firms by delivering clear specifications and requirements and managing execution

What You Will Bring

• B.S. or M.S. in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field

• 6+ years of experience in firmware development, focused on wireless communications on common silicon, especially Nordic.

• Expert in C programming, ideally familiar with C++, Python, and bash scripting

• Past experience working with wireless technologies (BLE, LTE, GPS, NFC, UWB)

• Proficiency with real time operating system concepts including direct experience with Zephyr RTOS and/or FreeRTOS.

• Hands on experience debugging in real world environments with wireless diagnostics tooling such as wireshark

• Knowledge of basic communication protocol principles - messaging, network, security, compression

• Specific experience working with IOT data protocols (e.g. MQTT, HTTP), OTA, wireless regulatory compliance, and cloud APIs a big plus

• Highly collaborative mindset and strong communication skills

The salary for this position ranges from $210,000 - $240,000 depending on experience, location, and qualifications.

This role will be based out of Palo Alto, CA. Interested candidates must be willing to come into the office 3-5 days a week.

• Robust health coverage — excellent health, dental, and vision insurance covered up to 100% by ALSO, with FSA & HSA options

• One Medical membership and dedicated insurance advocates

• Rich fertility and family-building benefits with Progyny

• Flexible time off

• 401(k) match

Why ALSO.

We’re passionate about helping the world find a better way to get there—wherever it is you’re headed.

We’re located in the heart of Silicon Valley and have brought together a world-class team from some of the biggest brands in the technology, automotive, cycling, outdoor recreation and retail spaces. 

Together we’re working hands-on to imagine, design and build an entirely new solution to a global set of transportation challenges.