Director, Software & Firmware Engineering

Form Energy; Berkeley (CA); On-site; USD 230,000 - 294,000; Full time

Job summary

Form Energy is seeking a Director of Software & Firmware Engineering to lead the organization responsible for software and firmware powering our energy storage products. Reporting to the Senior Director, this role unites product software, firmware, lifecycle apps, and operations into a cohesive engineering function with strong technical discipline.

Relocation assistance is available. Lead a broad team spanning embedded software, firmware, and fleet operations to deliver secure, scalable

Qualifications

• 15+ years in software, firmware, embedded systems, or product systems engineering.
• Experience leading managers and multidisciplinary engineering organizations.
• Strong depth in embedded software, OS, middleware, and networking.
• Experience establishing requirements, architecture, governance, verification across teams.
• Proven ability to recruit and retain engineering leaders with clear ownership.
• Ability to translate priorities into staffing, investments, and delivery decisions.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop engineering managers and senior technical leaders.
• Set integrated engineering strategy across requirements, architecture, platforms.
• Drive a requirements-first and tooling-first approach to software development.
• Build reusable software and firmware platforms across OS, middleware, networking.
• Oversee firmware delivery, integration, and release readiness.
• Ensure fleet observability, OTA delivery, and long-term reliability.
• Partner with product, hardware, manufacturing, and quality teams.
• Develop staffing plans and prioritization across product needs.

Skills

Software leadership

Embedded systems

Systems engineering

Architecture

People management

Job description

Are you ready to build America’s energy future? Form Energy is an American manufacturing and energy technology company. We’re revolutionizing energy storage with cost-effective, multi-day technology designed to keep the electric grid secure and reliable, even during extended periods of stress. By strengthening the electric system and reimagining what’s possible, we’re giving clean energy a whole new form!

In recent years, Form Energy has earned a number of accolades, including being named by TIME as a “Best Invention”, MIT Technology Review as a “Top Climate Tech Company To Watch”, and Fast Company as “One of the Next Big Things In Tech”. We are making rapid progress on our mission of delivering energy storage for a better world, and our team is growing just as rapidly to meet demand. We have signed contracts with leading electric utilities across the United States and production of our iron-air batteries is underway at our first high-volume manufacturing facility in West Virginia.

Working for Form Energy is more than just a job, it’s a chance to be part of something extraordinary. And now - right as we significantly scale up battery manufacturing - might be the most exciting moment in the company’s history to join. We are assembling a team of highly talented and driven individuals across the country. Driven by our core values of humanity, excellence, and creativity, our team is determined to deliver on our mission and transform the energy landscape for the better.

Feeling energized to make a meaningful impact on the world? Then keep reading - you’ve come to the right place.

Role Description

Form Energy is seeking a Director of Software & Firmware Engineering to lead the organization responsible for the software and firmware that operate our energy storage products. Reporting to the Senior Director of Software Engineering & Test Engineering, this leader will oversee embedded software and firmware, the applications used to commission and service our products, and the engineering support required throughout development and the deployed lifecycle. You will bring together product software, firmware, lifecycle applications, and operational support into a cohesive engineering organization with clear ownership and strong technical discipline. This is an opportunity to shape the architecture, teams, and operating model behind a complex, software-enabled energy product with meaningful impact on the electric grid.

Relocation assistance is available.

What You'll Do

• Lead and develop engineering managers, senior technical leaders, individual contributors, and contractors across embedded software, firmware, systems engineering, manufacturing software, and fleet operations.
• Establish an integrated engineering strategy across requirements, architecture, reusable product platforms, firmware delivery, deployment, and operational support.
• Drive a requirements-first and tooling-first approach to software development, safety, security, compliance, and technical evidence.
• Build reusable software and firmware platforms spanning operating systems, middleware, networking, device runtime, simulation, build systems, release tooling, deployment interfaces, and secure OTA delivery mechanisms.
• Lead the organization responsible for product firmware delivery, integration, debugging, release readiness, system bring-up, rapid prototyping, fixtures, and supporting engineering tools.
• Oversee the production rollout and operation of deployed software, including fleet observability, production SRE, OTA execution, commissioning and service applications, incident response, and long-term fleet reliability.
• Ensure commissioning, service, field, product, and test organizations receive effective software and firmware support throughout the product lifecycle.
• Develop integrated staffing and execution plans, identify technical and organizational risks early, and drive clear prioritization decisions across competing product needs.
• Partner closely with Product Management, hardware, controls, manufacturing, field operations, regulatory teams, Engineering Automation, and Product Quality.
• Build a strong engineering culture centered on accountability, technical rigor, rapid learning, maintainability, modularity, reuse, and long-term fleet operability.

What You'll Bring

• 15+ years of experience in software, firmware, embedded systems, or product systems engineering, including significant experience leading managers and multidisciplinary engineering organizations.
• Demonstrated success delivering complex software-enabled physical products through architecture, implementation, integration, verification, production, deployment, and field operation.
• Strong technical depth in embedded software and firmware, operating systems, middleware, networking, distributed systems, and hardware/software interfaces.
• Experience establishing requirements, systems architecture, technical governance, verification strategy, and engineering processes across multiple teams.
• Proven ability to recruit, develop, and retain strong engineering managers and technical leaders while building clear organizational ownership and accountability.
• Demonstrated ability to translate product priorities into staffing, investment, sequencing, and delivery decisions, make difficult tradeoffs, and communicate technical and organizational risks to executive and cross-functional audiences.

Humanity is a cornerstone of Form Energy’s culture, and we make sure our compensation and benefits reflect that. Form Energy offers competitive salaries, stock options, and a holistic benefits package to ensure all employees have what they need to thrive while working here.

When it comes to you and your family’s health, we cover 100% of medical, dental, and vision premiums for full-time employees - and 80% of healthcare premiums for dependents. This starts from day one. We also offer at least 12 weeks of paid leave for new parents (up to 20 weeks for birthing parents), and generous vacation policies to give employees time to recharge when needed.

To build America’s energy future, we need everyone at the table. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer, and encourage candidates from all backgrounds to apply to our open jobs.

If you may require reasonable accommodations to participate in our interview process, please contact [e-mail]. Requests for accommodations will be treated with discretion.

Form Energy is committed to maintaining the privacy of our applicants. Please be aware that we will never solicit sensitive personal information such as Social Security numbers or bank account details during the recruiting or hiring process.

Compensation Range: $229,950 - $293,835