Principal Embedded Software Engineer

Hayward Holdings, Inc.; North Kingstown (RI); On-site; USD 140,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Hayward Holdings Inc. seeks a senior embedded firmware architect to lead design and development of complex firmware for residential and commercial pool equipment.

You will guide architecture decisions, oversee cross-functional teams, and drive hardware/software integration across multiple platforms. The role requires 10+ years in embedded firmware, strong C/C++, ARM Cortex-M expertise, RTOS knowledge, and hands-on debugging across hardware and software.

Qualifications

• BS or MS in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field.
• 10+ years of embedded firmware development experience in a product development environment.
• 3+ years leading firmware architecture or technical development efforts across teams.
• Expert-level development in C/C++ for embedded systems.
• Experience developing firmware on ARM Cortex-M microcontrollers or similar embedded platforms.
• Strong understanding of real-time embedded systems and RTOS concepts.
• Experience implementing and debugging embedded communication protocols, including UART, SPI, I2C, CAN and RS-485.
• Experience with hardware bring-up, board-level debugging, and hardware/software integration.
• Proficiency using embedded debugging tools such as JTAG/SWD debuggers, oscilloscopes, and logic analyzers.
• Experience designing robust embedded systems, including fault detection and recovery, watchdog strategies, logging and diagnostics, firmware update mechanisms and bootloaders.
• Experience with configuration management systems (Git or equivalent) and engineering change control processes.
• Knowledge of safety standards, EMC requirements, and regulatory compliance for embedded products.
• Preferred: firmware for connected or IoT-enabled products, BLE/Wi‑Fi, static analysis, CI/CD pipelines, multi-product firmware platforms.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical guidance and mentorship.
• Serve as the technical lead and architect for critical firmware and embedded software subsystems.
• Design and develop complex embedded firmware systems, ensuring scalability, reliability, and maintainability.
• Drive firmware architecture decisions, including task scheduling, communication frameworks, hardware abstraction layers, and fault management strategies.
• Hands-on firmware development including low-level hardware integration, debugging, and performance optimization.
• Lead system bring-up and hardware/software integration for new embedded platforms.
• Coordinate firmware activities across cross-functional teams including hardware engineering, reliability engineering, product testing, compliance, and manufacturing.
• Work with Engineering Services to ensure products meet reliability, regulatory, and compliance requirements.
• Collaborate with manufacturing engineering and external suppliers to ensure successful production deployment.
• Communicate development progress, technical risks, and mitigation plans through concise status reporting.

Skills

C/C++ embedded

Firmware architecture

RTOS concepts

UART/SPI/I2C/CAN

JTAG debugging

Git

Cross-functional leadership

Hardware bring-up

Education

BS in Computer Engineering

MS in Computer Science

Tools

Oscilloscope

Logic analyzer

CI/CD tooling

JTAG/SWD

Job description

Hayward Holdings Inc. (NYSE “HAYW”) is the largest manufacturer of residential swimming pool equipment in the world, with a significant presence in the commercial pool market that is continuously growing. Hayward designs, manufactures, and markets a full line of residential and commercial pool and spa equipment including pumps, filters, heating, cleaners, salt chlorinators, automation, lighting, safety, flow control and energy solutions at our company owned facilities. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Hayward also has facilities in Tennessee, Arizona, and Rhode Island as well as Canada, Spain, France, Australia, and China.

Responsibilities:

• • Provide technical guidance and mentorship
• Serve as the technical lead and architect for critical firmware and embedded software
• subsystems
• Design and develop complex embedded firmware systems, ensuring scalability, reliability, and maintainability
• Drive firmware architecture decisions, including task scheduling, communication frameworks, hardware abstraction layers, and fault management strategies
• Participate in hands‑on firmware development including low‑level hardware integration, debugging, and performance optimization
• Lead system bring‑up and hardware/software integration for new embedded platforms
• Coordinate firmware activities across cross‑functional teams including hardware engineering, reliability engineering, product testing, compliance, and manufacturing
• Work with Engineering Services to ensure products meet reliability, regulatory, and compliance requirements
• Collaborate with manufacturing engineering and external suppliers to ensure successful production deployment
• Communicate development progress, technical risks, and mitigation plans through concise status reporting

Qualifications:

• BS or MS in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field
• 10+ years of embedded firmware development experience in a product development environment
• 3+ years leading firmware architecture or technical development efforts across teams
• Expert‑level development in C/C++ for embedded systems
• Experience developing firmware on ARM Cortex‑M microcontrollers or similar embedded platforms
• Strong understanding of real‑time embedded systems and RTOS concepts
• Experience implementing and debugging embedded communication protocols, including UART, SPI, I2C, CAN and RS‑485
• Experience with hardware bring‑up, board‑level debugging, and hardware/software integration
• Proficiency using embedded debugging tools such as JTAG/SWD debuggers, oscilloscopes, and logic analyzers
• Experience designing robust embedded systems, including fault detection and recovery, watchdog strategies, logging and diagnostics, firmware update mechanisms and bootloaders
• Experience with configuration management systems (Git or equivalent) and engineering change control processes
• Knowledge of safety standards, EMC requirements, and regulatory compliance for embedded products
• Experience working with manufacturing engineering and production teams to transition products to high‑volume manufacturing Preferred Qualifications:
• Experience developing firmware for connected or IoT‑enabled products
• Familiarity with wireless protocols such as BLE or Wi‑Fi
• Experience with static analysis tools and coding standards
• Experience with automated testing and firmware CI/CD pipelines
• Experience designing firmware platforms used across multiple product lines At Hayward, we are committed to quality, innovation, and sustainability—delivering solutions that inspire happiness and well‑being. If you’re passionate about solving complex problems and driving product excellence, we invite you to join our team! #LI-LS1