Senior Embedded Linux Systems Engineer

Sonos Inc; Seattle (WA); Hybrid; USD 165,000 - 206,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health Insurance

401(k) with match

Open Time Off policy

Sick time (80 hours)

Holidays (up to 12)

Disability, Life & AD&D Insurance

Voluntary benefits

Mental health benefits

Employee discount & Sonos Radio HD

Job summary

Sonos Inc. seeks an experienced embedded firmware engineer to design real-time system software for embedded audio platforms. You will lead board bring-up, develop Linux kernel drivers, and integrate BSPs and SDKs across ARM-based hardware.

The role emphasizes debugging, performance tuning, and close collaboration with silicon vendors. You’ll work with U-Boot boot flows, FreeRTOS for microcontrollers, and Yocto/OpenEmbedded to streamline builds, ensuring robust, scalable software in

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science or related field.
• At least 8+ years of professional experience developing firmware/system software for embedded systems.
• Proficiency in C/C++ (Python a plus).
• Experience with embedded Linux, kernel internals, and device driver development.
• Experience bringing up and debugging systems using U-Boot and common boot flows.
• Experience with toolchain and debug tooling (gcc, binutils, gdb).
• Experience designing firmware using FreeRTOS for microcontrollers.
• Strong debugging with JTAG, logic analyzers, and oscilloscopes.
• Strong understanding of Linux execution contexts, SMP, and concurrency.
• Familiarity with interfaces: DDR, NAND, PCIe, Ethernet, USB, SPI, I2C, UART, I2S, TCP/IP, Wi‑Fi, Bluetooth/BLE.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement real-time system software architectures for embedded audio systems using SMP and AMP approaches.
• Bring up, debug, and maintain bootloader (U-Boot) and embedded Linux on new hardware.
• Lead early board bring-up and debug of PCBs with ARM SoCs, WiSoCs, BT SoCs, and microcontrollers.
• Develop and maintain Linux kernel drivers across subsystems and peripherals.
• Integrate vendor SDKs, BSPs, and OS modules into build and release processes.
• Develop HAL libraries enabling clean interfaces between hardware and user space.
• Identify platform gaps and propose improvements for faster prototyping.
• Contribute to BSP validation and system-level debugging across HW/SW boundaries.
• Define, execute, and document unit and integration tests for system software.
• Collaborate with silicon vendors to coordinate support and resolve platform issues.

Skills

C/C++

Embedded Linux

Kernel internals

Device driver development

U-Boot

GCC / Debugging

Yocto Project/OpenEmbedded

Concurrency & SMP

JTAG debugging

FreeRTOS

Education

Bachelor’s in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science

Tools

GCC

Binutils

GDB

Yocto Project/OpenEmbedded

Job description

Sonos Inc. seeks an experienced embedded firmware engineer to design real-time system software for embedded audio platforms. You will lead board bring-up, develop Linux kernel drivers, and integrate BSPs and SDKs across ARM-based hardware.

The role emphasizes debugging, performance tuning, and close collaboration with silicon vendors. You’ll work with U-Boot boot flows, FreeRTOS for microcontrollers, and Yocto/OpenEmbedded to streamline builds, ensuring robust, scalable software in