Lead Device Software Engineer

Sauron; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 210,000 - 250,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity and comprehensive benefits

Job summary

Sauron is seeking a Lead Device Software Engineer in San Francisco, California. In this senior role, you will develop and maintain embedded Linux platforms, working collaboratively with various teams to ensure a cohesive security system. The ideal candidate has over 8 years of experience in device software development, particularly for consumer products, including extensive knowledge of C/C++, and best practices in software lifecycle management. The base salary ranges from $210,000 to $250,000 per year, along with equity and benefits.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in device software development for hardware products.
• Experience with embedded Linux systems.
• Proficiency in C/C++ for Linux and embedded systems.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain embedded Linux platforms from scratch.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to define software architectures.
• Drive software features from design through to production rollout.

Skills

Device software development

C/C++ programming

Embedded Linux

Multi-threaded code

Software lifecycle best practices

Tools

Yocto

AOSP

FreeRTOS

Job description

Who We Are

Sauron protects your family and home, bringing the innovations of autonomous robots and self‑driving cars to residential security. Our team is led by veteran operators and engineers, alumni of Sonos, PayPal, Tesla, Apple, and Google. Sauron has raised a $27 M seed round led by A* and Atomic with participation from other leading venture capital firms.

The Role

Sauron is creating a new modality for homeowners to interact with their properties and security systems—anchored by a high‑fidelity 3D model of the home in a beautiful iPad and iPhone app, and powered by intelligent devices at the edge. We’re looking for a highly technical, thoughtful, and collaborative Lead Device Software Engineer to build the platform that connects on‑prem devices, edge compute, and cloud services into a cohesive, safe, and reliable system. This is a senior, hands‑on position.

What You Will Do

• Develop from scratch and maintain embedded Linux platforms, from BSP to application level.
• Work with electrical, mechanical, perception/ML, backend, and mobile teams to define architectures for new on‑device software.
• Build and maintain embedded software that interfaces with sensors, cameras, and motors.
• Drive features end‑to‑end through the full software lifecycle: design, implementation, validation, and production rollout.
• Build and improve embedded build systems, CI/CD, and automated test environments; plan and execute test procedures across unit, HIL, and on‑device validation.
• Root‑cause and resolve issues using remote fleet diagnostics, telemetry, and local hardware test platforms; define logging and observability standards.

Who You Are

• 8+ years of professional experience developing device software for hardware products with experience shipping multiple consumer products end to end.
• Experience with Linux on embedded/constrained systems, such as Yocto or AOSP.
• Experience writing C/C++ for Linux, FreeRTOS, and bare‑metal systems.
• Demonstrated ability to write multi‑threaded, highly reliable code.
• Strong grasp of software lifecycle best practices: code reviews, version control, unit/integration testing, CI, and on‑hardware validation.
• Understanding of the manufacturing process, including device testing, validation, calibration and fusing.

Nice to Have

• Ideally been a past team lead or manager.
• Experience building custom embedded Linux distributions with Yocto.
• Experience with ARM Trustzone and OP‑TEE.
• Experience with FreeRTOS.
• Background contributing to or growing high‑performance software teams.

We Value

• The Power of "We": Align, then Accelerate.
• We celebrate as a team and troubleshoot as a team.
• The goal is the mission, not the credit.
• High Challenge, Low Ego: Respect the person, debate the idea.
• Be ruthless with problems, but kind to people.
• Raise the bar, lower the shield.
• Speak up: Silence is a setback.
• Your perspective is a requirement, not a suggestion.
• Speak the hard truths early so we can fix them fast.
• Integrity in Motion: Own the outcome, not just the task.
• Do what you say you’ll do.
• If it breaks, fix it. If it works, make it better.
• Humanity at the Core: Relationships over transactions.
• Earn trust through empathy and consistency.
• Anticipate needs before they become requests.

Compensation

The base pay range for this role is $210,000 – $250,000 per year. Equity and benefits are also offered.

Sauron is an Equal Opportunity Employer and considers applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, orientation, national origin, age, disability, genetics or any other basis forbidden under federal, state, or local law.

Please review our CCPA policies.

We are focused on building a diverse and inclusive workforce and encourage anyone interested to apply even if they do not meet 100% of the listed qualifications.