Firmware Engineer (Principal / Staff Level)

Talentedge; Greater London; On-site; GBP 69,000 - 115,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Job summary

Talentedge is seeking a Principal / Staff level Firmware Engineer in London to lead design and development of production firmware for a pioneering wearable product. This role sits at the heart of a small firmware team, collaborating closely with hardware, software, and ML engineers to bring a new platform to life.

You’ll own architectural decisions and drive real-time embedded solutions without legacy constraints, shaping the product roadmap and technical direction for a category‑defining

Qualifications

• Strong commercial experience with embedded C/C++ and real‑time firmware.
• Proven track record shipping production firmware.
• Experience with RTOS such as Zephyr or FreeRTOS.
• Ownership mentality and ability to navigate ambiguity.
• Strong engineering judgement and high-quality coding discipline.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop production‑quality embedded firmware for wearable hardware.
• Contribute to firmware architecture from concept through release.
• Collaborate with hardware, software, and ML engineers.
• Ship reliable, maintainable, scalable embedded systems.

Skills

Embedded C/C++

Real-time signal processing

Production firmware

RTOS (Zephyr/FreeRTOS)

Ownership mindset

Engineering judgement

Tools

Zephyr

FreeRTOS

Job description

Principal / Staff level Firmware Engineer

London (Primarily office-based) - open to great candidates looking to relocate to London.

Up to £115k + meaningful equity

This is a really special role for an experienced Firmware Engineer. This is a chance to build the firmware behind a product the world hasn't seen yet...

Our client are building a consumer wearable that doesn't exist yet. Not a better version of something already on the market - a genuinely new platform. The firmware isn't just supporting the product. The firmware is the product.

The prototypes work. The data is real. Manufacturing has begun.

Behind the product is an outstanding and experienced founding team, supported by an exceptional investors and advisors. The team includes people from Meta, Google and Dyson, all working with a modern embedded stack and embracing AI-assisted software development, with humans firmly in the loop.

Phew most importantly, this is a rare opportunity to work without years of technical debt or legacy constraints. Instead, you'll help define the architecture and engineering foundations that everything else will be built upon. The decisions made today will shape not just one product, but an entire smart wearables platform.

At 9 people currently, nothing sits between your decisions and what ships.

The Opportunity

You’ll join the small firmware team at the centre of the product, tackling the deepest technical challenges and helping guide architecture from advanced prototypes through to production. This is a hands‑on engineering role with genuine ownership, working alongside hardware, software and machine learning to solve difficult real‑world problems.

What You’ll Be Doing:

• Designing and developing production‑quality embedded firmware
• Contributing to firmware architecture from concept through release
• Working closely with hardware, software and ML engineers
• Shipping reliable, maintainable and scalable embedded systems
• Helping shape technical direction through sound engineering judgement
• Solving complex challenges across embedded systems and real‑time signal processing

We’re Looking For:

• Strong commercial experience with Embedded C/C++
• Experience with real‑time signal processing
• A track record of shipping production firmware
• RTOS experience (Zephyr, FreeRTOS or similar)
• An ownership mentality and the confidence to work through ambiguity
• Strong engineering judgement and a passion for building things properly

Nice to Have:

• DSP experience
• Qualcomm Audio or NXP platforms
• Bluetooth Low Energy

The Culture:

• Engineers take ownership rather than wait for permission
• Care deeply about engineering quality
• Move quickly while making thoughtful technical decisions
• Continuously improve how they work
• Embrace modern AI-assisted software development while keeping engineering judgement at the centre.

Why Join?

• Very competitive salary plus genuinely meaningful equity
• The chance to build a category‑defining consumer product from the ground up
• Modern technology, a clean architecture and no legacy baggage
• Exceptional technical ownership from day one
• Work alongside world‑class engineers from companies including Meta, Google and Dyson