Embedded Software Engineer

Stealth Mode Startup | Founded by Unicorn Founder | Consumer Hardware/AI About Us We're building the future of intelligent consumer devices. Our team combines deep AI expertise with hardware innovation to create products that feel magical. Founded by a proven unicorn founder, we're well-funded and moving intensely fast. The Role We're looking for a versatile engineer who can bridge AI/ML optimization with embedded systems development. You'll be responsible for making cutting-edge AI models run efficiently on resource-constrained hardware while building the software infrastructure that powers our device. What You'll Do AI/ML Optimization: - Quantize, optimize, and deploy neural networks for on-device inference - Fine-tune and adapt pre-trained models for specific use cases (ASR, intent detection, TTS) - Implement efficient inference engines and memory management for real-time AI workloads - Balance model performance vs. hardware constraints (latency, power, memory) Embedded Software Development: - Build real-time audio processing pipelines for continuous capture and streaming - Develop on-device speech recognition and natural language processing systems - Implement computer vision algorithms for room scanning and object recognition - Optimize software for HDMI stick form factor with strict power/thermal limits - Create robust device software that handles hardware failures gracefully System Integration: - Design hybrid on-device/cloud AI architecture with intelligent fallback mechanisms - Build efficient data pipelines between sensors, processing units, and cloud services - Implement secure, low-latency communication protocols - Work closely with hardware team on system architecture decisions What We're Looking For Required: - 2 years experience in AI/ML with focus on model optimization and deployment - 5 years in embedded systems programming (C/C++, real-time constraints) - Experience with model quantization, pruning, and edge AI frameworks (TensorFlow Lite, ONNX Runtime, etc.) - Proficiency in audio processing, ASR, or computer vision pipelines - Understanding of hardware constraints in consumer devices (power, memory, thermal) - Experience with Linux embedded systems and device drivers Bonus Points: - Previous work on smart speakers, IoT devices, or consumer electronics - Experience with on-device speech recognition - Knowledge of ARM processors, GPU acceleration, or dedicated AI chips - Background in real-time systems and low-latency audio processing - Experience with fine-tuning transformer models for edge deployment Why Join Us - Opportunity to shape the AI-powered future of consumer electronics - Work directly with a proven founder who has scaled companies to unicorn status - Competitive equity package with significant upside potential - Small team where your work will have massive impact - Access to cutting-edge AI models and compute resources - Flexible work environment with top-tier benefits Location San Francisco Bay Area (hybrid) or Remote (US timezones)