Staff Embedded Firmware Engineer (Contractor)

About Arlo:

At Arlo, we’re passionate about creating innovative and reliable solutions that help people protect what matters most to them. Our team is dedicated to delivering products that exceed our customers’ expectations, while always pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in the world of protection technology. We believe that everyone deserves to feel safe and secure, whether they’re at home or away, and we’re committed to providing our customers with the peace of mind they need to live their lives without worry. Arlo’s deep expertise in AI- and CV-powered analytics, cloud services, user experience, product design, and innovative wireless and RF connectivity enables the delivery of a seamless, smart security experience for Arlo users that is easy to set up and interact with every day.

Arlo is seeking a highly experienced Staff Embedded Firmware Engineer to lead the development of next-generation IoT and video streaming products. In this technical leadership role, you will drive the architecture, design, and implementation of high-performance embedded firmware for connected devices, collaborating across hardware, cloud, mobile, and manufacturing teams to deliver innovative products with exceptional quality and reliability.
The ideal candidate has deep expertise in embedded systems, video streaming technologies, and real‑time software development, along with a proven track record of leading complex firmware projects from concept to production.

Responsibilities

• Lead the architecture, design, development, and delivery of embedded firmware for next‑generation IoT and video streaming products.
• Drive product development efforts to ensure timely delivery of high‑quality, reliable firmware solutions.
• Collaborate closely with cross‑functional teams, including Hardware, Cloud, Mobile, QA, and external ODM partners, to ensure seamless end‑to‑end system integration.
• Design, develop, debug, and integrate embedded software components, including device drivers, communication protocols, RTOS, and platform firmware.
• Evaluate and integrate new SoCs, chipsets, image sensors, wireless modules, and other hardware components into future product platforms.
• Analyze board schematics, component datasheets, and hardware designs to optimize system performance and reliability.
• Troubleshoot complex system‑level issues across hardware, firmware, networking, and cloud interactions.
• Drive firmware optimization for performance, memory footprint, power consumption, and boot time.
• Provide technical leadership through design reviews, code reviews, mentoring, and hiring of firmware engineers.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related field; Master’s degree is a plus, or equivalent industry experience.
• 10+ years of experience in embedded firmware development, with significant experience in video streaming and network‑connected devices.
• Expert‑level programming skills in Embedded C and C++.
• Strong experience developing software on RTOS and Embedded Linux platforms.
• Deep understanding of real‑time multimedia systems, including video/audio processing, compression, and streaming technologies (H.264/H.265).
• Extensive experience with multithreaded and multitasking embedded software development.
• Strong expertise in device driver architecture, development, and debugging.
• Proven experience optimizing embedded software for performance, memory usage, and system efficiency.
• Excellent debugging and root‑cause analysis skills in complex embedded environments.
• Strong knowledge of networking protocols, including TCP, UDP, RTP, RTSP, SIP and WebRTC.
• Experience with wireless communication technologies, including Wi‑Fi, BLE, and LTE.
• Familiarity with IoT communication architectures and cloud‑connected devices.
• Hands‑on experience using hardware debugging tools such as oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, signal generators, and protocol analyzers.
• Proficiency with source control systems such as Git.
• Excellent communication, collaboration, and technical leadership skills, with experience mentoring engineers and leading technical initiatives.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience developing firmware for consumer IoT or smart home devices.
• Experience with industry protocols such as Zigbee, Z‑Wave, Thread, and Matter.
• Knowledge of Linux memory management, file systems, memory protection, and kernel internals.
• Experience optimizing bootloaders such as U‑Boot.
• Proficiency with scripting languages such as Python, Perl, or Lua.

The pay range for this position reflects the minimum and maximum target for new hire salaries at commencement of employment and is expected to be between (for US candidates)$180,000 - 200,000/year or (for Canada candidates) CAD 140,000 - 170,000/year, plus performance bonus and equity. However, base pay offered may vary depending on multiple factors, including location, role, job‑related knowledge, skills, relevant education and experience. The total compensation package for this position may also include other elements, including bonus, equity, and a full range of benefits. Details of all benefits will be provided if an employee receives an offer of employment.

We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate based on Indigenous identity, race, colour, ancestry, place of origin, political belief, religion, marital status, family status, physical or mental disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or age, or any other legally protected status in all hiring and employment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any of these factors.