Sr Manager Device Software, Connected Products

Fortune Brands are hiring for a Senior Manager of Device Software Connected Products to provide technical leadership and people management for our embedded software team. You will drive architectural decisions maintain engineering quality standards and develop a team of firmware engineers working across both embedded Linux and RTOS-based product lines. This is a hands-on leadership role requiring deep technical credibility combined with strong people management skills.

Key Responsibilities

• Directly manage mentor and develop a team of embedded software engineers; conduct regular 1:1s performance reviews and career development planning
• Maintain honest timely feedback with each direct report; invest most heavily in developing top performers and hold clear accountability across the team
• Know each engineers motivations strengths and career aspirations; build an environment where people can grow toward what theyre naturally excellent at
• Build knowledge redundancy across the team; eliminate single points of failure through deliberate documentation and cross-training
• Define and own embedded software architecture across both Linux-based and RTOS-based firmware disciplines; guide technical direction and ensure critical decisions are well-documented
• Lead new hardware bring-up efforts and platform convergence initiatives; maintain the firmware-cloud interface contract in collaboration with backend and platform teams
• Own CI/CD pipeline health release processes and OTA fleet management for production device populations
• Drive adoption of development best practices code review standards and AI-assisted development tooling
• Own the firmware technical roadmap and delivery commitments; balance new feature development against platform stability and intentional technical debt reduction
• Partner with Product Management to assess and prioritize firmware feature requests across multiple product lines
• Coordinate with Hardware Engineering on new product bring-up and establish clear HWFW interface processes
• Coordinate with Data Science on algorithm and model integration into embedded firmware
• Collaborate with QA on firmware testing strategies manufacturing test plans and production readiness criteria
• Work with compliance teams to support radio safety and cybersecurity certification processes for connected devices
• Coordinate with contract manufacturers on firmware document control ECO processes and OTA deployment to production fleets
• Manage team capacity planning and work allocation across concurrent product programs

Qualifications :

• BS in Computer Science Computer Engineering Electrical Engineering or equivalent relevant experience
• 7 years of industry experience in a technical role 
• 2 years People management experience: performance management career development and building a high-functioning team
• Proven track record leading and developing embedded software or firmware engineering teams
• Deep understanding of embedded Linux (Yocto/buildroot or equivalent); able to guide architecture evaluate trade-offs and support engineers across the full development lifecycle
• Strong working knowledge of RTOS concepts and architectures (FreeRTOS Zephyr or equivalent): task scheduling memory management inter-task communication synchronization primitives
• Experience with Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) as used in IoT embedded software
• Experience with OTA update systems and production device fleet management
• Understanding of firmware document control and configuration management in hardware product organizations
• Strong system design and architecture skills; comfort making and communicating technical decisions under uncertainty
• Excellent cross-functional communication skills; able to represent the firmware team clearly to product hardware data science compliance and manufacturing stakeholders

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with IoT or connected consumer electronics at scale
• Hands-on experience with OTA and fleet observability platforms (Mender Memfault or equivalent)
• Proficiency in embedded debugging tools and techniques
• Understanding of communication protocols: BLE Wi-Fi SPI I2C UART Zigbee Z-Wave
• Experience with ARM Cortex-M RISC-V or similar microcontroller architectures
• Knowledge of power management techniques for battery-operated devices
• Track record managing compliance processes for radio safety and cybersecurity certifications (FCC CE-RED IC UKCA ANATEL)
• Experience managing mixed teams of FTEs and contractors
• Background working across both embedded Linux and RTOS-based firmware disciplines simultaneously
• Track record of successful product launches in consumer electronics or IoT hardware

Additional Information :

Fortune Brands believes in fair and equitable pay. A reasonable estimate of the base salary range for this role is Hiring Pay Range: $140000 USD - $220000 USD. Please note that actual salaries may vary within the range or be above or below the range based on factors including but not limited to education training experience professional achievement business need and addition to base salary employees will participate in either an annual bonus plan based on company and individual performance or a role-based sales incentive plan.

At Fortune Brands we support the overall health and wellness of our associates by offering comprehensive competitive benefits that prioritize all aspects of wellbeing and provide flexibility for our teammates unique needs. This includes robust health plans a market-leading 401(k) program with a company contribution product discounts flexible time off benefits adoption benefits and more. We offer numerous ERGs (Employee Resource Groups) to foster a sense of belonging for all associates.

Fortune Brands is built on industry-leading brands and innovation within the high-growth categories of water outdoors and security. The Company makes innovative products for residential and commercial environments with a growing focus on digital solutions and products that add luxury contribute to safety and enhance sustainability. To learn more visit our website at .

Equal Employment Opportunity

Fortune Brands is an equal opportunity employer. Fortune Brands evaluates qualified applicants without regard to race color religion sex gender identity or expression national origin ancestry age disability/handicap status marital status protected veteran status sexual orientation genetic history or information or any other legally protected characteristic.

Reasonable Accommodations

Fortune Brands is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. If because of a medical condition or disability you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or interview process please contact us at and let us know the nature of your request along with your contact information.

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Remote Work :

No

Employment Type :

Full-time