Embedded Firmware Manager, Wearable Tech

WHOOP; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 215,000; Full time

Job summary

WHOOP is hiring an Embedded Engineering Manager to build and lead a new firmware team for a next-generation wearable in Boston. The role focuses on on-device firmware, architecture decisions, and delivering production-grade software from prototype to launch.

You will mentor embedded engineers, partner with Product, Design, Hardware, and Quality, and set testing and release practices for power- and memory-constrained hardware.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in embedded firmware with mentoring/leadership.
• Shipping firmware for consumer electronics from prototype to production.
• Hands-on RTOS experience (Zephyr/FreeRTOS) on microcontrollers.
• Optimize firmware for performance, memory, and power.
• Plan and deliver in ambiguous early-stage hardware programs.
• Strong communication to Product, Design, and leadership.
• Commitment to using AI tools while maintaining quality.

Responsibilities

• Build, manage, and mentor a team of embedded engineers through hiring, onboarding, feedback, performance management, and career development.
• Direct the work of contract engineers alongside full-time staff, holding both to the same design and code quality bar.
• Lead the team's delivery of the member's on-device experience firmware, from prototype through production release.
• Partner with the program's technical lead and senior engineers on architecture for responsive, power-efficient firmware on resource-constrained multi-core hardware.
• Serve as a player-coach who reviews code and shapes designs, contributing directly when the team needs it.
• Own the team's planning and delivery cadence, keeping scope, dependencies, and risk visible to partners and leadership.
• Partner with Product and Design to turn member experience goals into firmware requirements that fit the hardware's memory, compute, and power budgets.
• Set engineering practices for testing, hardware-in-the-loop validation, release readiness, and field diagnostics.
• Foster a culture of high standards, direct feedback, accountability, psychological safety, and continuous learning.

Skills

Embedded firmware development

Team leadership

RTOS experience

C/C++ proficiency

Communication skills

AI tools usage

Tools

Zephyr RTOS

FreeRTOS

Job description

WHOOP is hiring an Embedded Engineering Manager to build and lead a new firmware team for a next-generation wearable in Boston. The role focuses on on-device firmware, architecture decisions, and delivering production-grade software from prototype to launch.

You will mentor embedded engineers, partner with Product, Design, Hardware, and Quality, and set testing and release practices for power- and memory-constrained hardware.