# Senior Firmware Engineer, Bluetooth

**Company:** [Eightsleep](https://hotfix.jobs/companies/eightsleep)
**Location:** San Francisco, CA
**Role:** Embedded Engineering
**Salary:** $140k – $180k/yr
**Experience:** 5+ years
**Skills:** Bluetooth Low Energy, Ble, Embedded C/C++, Gatt/Gap/Smp/L2Cap, Nordic Nrf Sdk, Zephyr Rtos, Ota Dfu, Power Optimization, Python, Rf Debugging, Hardware Bring-Up
**Posted:** 2026-05-15

> Own and scale the Bluetooth Low Energy stack for next-generation sleep hardware, focusing on reliable, power-efficient connectivity and OTA updates. Requires 5+ years embedded experience with deep BLE protocol and Nordic stack expertise.

## Job Description

## How you'll contribute
- Own the BLE Stack: Architect, implement, and maintain the Bluetooth connectivity layer across our Pod ecosystem. Define GATT services, characteristics, and connection strategies that deliver reliable, secure, and power-efficient communication.
- Optimize for Always-On Devices: Drive radio-on time, advertising intervals, connection parameters, and PHY selection while maintaining low-latency sync of biometric data.
- Ensure Bulletproof Interoperability: Deliver a connectivity experience that "just works" across the long tail of iOS and Android devices, OS versions, and real-world RF environments. Use sniffers, protocol analyzers, and on-device telemetry to root-cause cross-stack issues with mobile and Pod gateway teams.
- Ship and Sustain OTA at Scale: Design and harden the secure OTA DFU pipeline so we can confidently push firmware to a global fleet of devices with low friction and zero bricks.
- Bring Up New Silicon: Partner with hardware teams on board bring-up, antenna tuning, regulatory certification (FCC/CE/Bluetooth SIG qualification), and silicon-vendor stack integration for our Nordic-based platform.
- Global Collaboration: Work closely with our manufacturing partners in China to develop RF and BLE production tests, ensuring we ship high-quality, fully-validated devices on time.

## What you need to succeed
- Proven BLE Expertise: 5+ years of embedded software engineering, with at least 3 years shipping production BLE firmware.
- Deep Protocol Knowledge: Strong working knowledge of the Bluetooth stack end-to-end — GAP, GATT, SMP, L2CAP, link layer behavior, advertising and scanning, connection events, pairing/bonding, and BLE security (LE Secure Connections, key management).
- Silicon Vendor Stacks: Hands-on experience with at least one vendor BLE stack and SDK (Nordic SoftDevice / nRF Connect SDK / Zephyr, Apple/Broadcom, TI, or similar).
- Embedded Fundamentals: Fluency in C/C++ on resource-constrained microcontrollers; proficiency with Python or NodeJS for host-side tooling. Skilled at peripheral drivers and bus protocols (UART, I2C, SPI), DMA, and low-power design.
- Power Discipline: Demonstrated ability to hit ultra-low-power targets: measuring and optimizing radio duty cycle, sleep current, and connection parameters against real battery-life budgets.
- Shipping at Scale: Have launched and maintained large fleets of wireless devices, including monitoring connectivity telemetry, sync reliability, and OTA firmware updates in the field.
- Hardware Acumen: Ability to read data sheets, schematics, and antenna matching networks for hardware bring-up and RF debugging. Fluent with logic analyzers, oscilloscopes, and BLE protocol sniffers (Ellisys, Frontline, nRF Sniffer, or equivalent).

## What sets you apart
- Track record shipping secure OTA DFU (signed images, dual-bank update, rollback) on a constrained device.
- Experience with multi-link / multi-role BLE topologies.
- Bluetooth SIG qualification and regulatory certification experience (FCC/IC/CE/MIC).
- Bare-metal and cooperative-scheduler design in environments without a traditional RTOS.
- Expertise in automated BLE testing, RF chamber test setup, and connectivity observability/telemetry.
- Deep understanding of embedded security practices: secure boot, key provisioning, encrypted firmware, and threat modeling for wireless attack surfaces.

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