Staff Sensor Lead, Emerging Technologies

Socket.dev; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 217,000 - 255,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary and equity packages

Health, dental, vision insurance

Oura Ring and employee discounts

Paid time off (PT), holidays, and sick

Parental leave

Job summary

ŌURA is seeking a Staff Sensor Lead, Emerging Technologies in San Francisco to drive architecture, specification, development and validation of optical, temp, motion and inertial sensing systems for next‑gen wearable products.

You will partner with hardware, firmware, algorithm and product teams to design robust sensing pipelines, influence the sensor roadmap, and help shape the platform strategy. This role reports to the Director, Hardware Sensing at our SF office.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in motion sensing, inertial measurement systems, or similar roles.
• Experience with optical, temperature, accelerometers, gyroscopes, MEMS sensors, and low-power embedded sensor interfaces.
• Strong sensor characterization, signal quality analysis, and cross-functional collaboration skills.

Responsibilities

• Prototype, incubate, define and evolve motion/inertial sensor architectures for wearable platforms.
• Translate sensing requirements into robust hardware specifications.
• Lead integration of sensors into hardware with calibration, noise management and power efficiency.
• Design and execute sensor characterization and validation tests from prototype to production.
• Collaborate with firmware, algorithm and systems teams to feed motion data into processing stacks.
• Contribute to sensor roadmap discussions based on performance feedback and tech advances.
• Develop and maintain test methodologies, metrics and automation for sensor evaluation.
• Analyze sensor data to diagnose edge cases and bottlenecks; define corrective actions.
• Engage with sensor vendors and manufacturers to assess options and optimize integration.
• Produce technical documentation and present findings to engineering leadership.

Skills

Motion sensing

Inertial measurement systems

Sensor design

Embedded systems

Data integrity practices

Collaborative teamwork

Job description

Our mission at Oura is to empower every person to own their inner potential. Our award-winning products help our global community gain a deeper knowledge of their readiness, activity, and sleep quality by using their Oura Ring and its connected app. We've helped millions of people understand and improve their health by providing daily insights and practical steps to inspire healthy lifestyles.

Empowering the world starts with living our values and empowering our team. As a quickly growing company focused on helping people live healthier and happier lives, we ensure that our team members have what they need to do their best work — both in and out of the office.

Staff Sensor Lead, Emerging Technologies

As a Staff Sensor Lead, Emerging Technologies at ŌURA, you will drive architecture, specification, development, and characterization of optical, temp, motion and inertial sensing systems for next-generation wearable products. You will partner closely with hardware, firmware, algorithm, and product teams to design robust motion sensing pipelines that unlock high-fidelity metrics, improve activity and gesture detection, and enhance user experiences.

This role blends deep technical execution with cross-functional influence, impacting ŌURA's sensor roadmap, performance outcomes, and long-term platform strategy. You will be reporting into the Director, Hardware Sensing and reporting out of our San Francisco office.

What you will do:

Sensor Architecture & Design

• Prototype, Incubate, define and evolve motion and inertial sensor architectures (optical, accelerometers, gyroscopes, IMUs, temp sensor etc.) for novel new low-power wearable platforms.
• Translate sensing requirements into robust hardware specifications aligned with product goals.

Development & Integration

• Lead integration of all sensors from optical, temp, motion and related sensors into ŌURA’s new hardware, ensuring calibration, noise management, power efficiency, and high-quality signal acquisition.
• Design and execute sensor characterization and validation tests from prototype through production.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Collaborate with firmware, algorithm, and systems teams to ensure accurate motion data feeds into Oura’s signal processing and machine learning stacks.
• Contribute to product planning and sensor roadmap discussions based on performance feedback and technology advances.

Testing & Validation

• Develop and maintain rigorous test methodologies, metrics, and automation frameworks for motion sensor performance evaluation.
• Analyze sensor data to diagnose edge cases and performance bottlenecks and define corrective actions.

Supplier & Partner Coordination

• Engage with sensor vendors, partners, and manufacturers to assess technology options, secure components, and optimize integration into mass-production workflows.

Documentation & Communication

• Produce clear technical documentation of sensor designs, trade studies, test plans, and performance metrics.
• Present findings and recommendations to engineering leadership and cross-disciplinary stakeholders.

We would love to consider you for this role if you have:

• 10+ years of experience in motion sensing, inertial measurement systems, or similar sensor design and integration roles.
• Experience with optical, temperature, microphone, accelerometers, gyroscopes, MEMS sensors, and low-power embedded sensor interfaces. Strong background in sensor characterization, signal quality analysis, embedded systems, and data integrity practices. Excellent analytical problem-solving and written/verbal communication skills.
• Collaborative mindset with experience working across hardware, firmware, and analytics teams.

Benefits

What we offer:

• Competitive salary and equity packages
• Health, dental, vision insurance, and mental health resources
• An Oura Ring of your own plus employee discounts for friends & family
• 20 days of paid time off plus 13 paid holidays plus 8 days of flexible wellness time off
• Paid sick leave and parental leave
• Region 1 (San Francisco, CA): $216,750 - $255,0000

Oura takes a market-based approach to pay, which may vary depending on your location. US locations are categorized into tiers based on a cost of labor index for that geographic area. While most offers will be closer to the starting range, successful candidates' pay will be determined based on job-related skills, experience, qualifications, work location, internal peer equity, and market conditions. These ranges may be modified in the future.

Oura is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Individuals seeking employment at Oura are considered without regard to age, ancestry, color, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, mental or physical disability, national origin, protected family care or medical leave status, race, religion (including beliefs and practices or the absence thereof), sexual orientation, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. We will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any of these characteristics.

We will work to ensure individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment.