Senior Embedded/Firmware Engineer (with Linux)

If you're an Embedded / Firmware Engineer who is just as comfortable on a Linux board as on a microcontroller, and you know that a boot hang or a flaky BLE connection is rarely "just a software bug," we'd love to talk. We're looking for a freelancer with a strong embedded foundation: C/C++, hardware-aware debugging, and real embedded Linux experience (Yocto or Buildroot, U-Boot, kernel, device tree, drivers). The role is not tied to one platform: depending on the project, you might work on a Cortex-A SoC, a Raspberry Pi-class board, or a Cortex-M microcontroller next to it. You'd join us on a freelance, time & material basis: you're paid for the hours you actually work on real client projects. We're ready to start right away. The first three months are about getting to know each other, and if it works, we'd love to bring you into our core team with a fixed salary and the full benefits package. Not a promise, a real possibility we actively root for. About intent We've been designing and co-creating connected devices since 2008. Wearables, smart audio, health-tech hardware, and IoT products for clients like Oura, BOSE, Neurable, and McIntosh. We're a 60+ person, fully remote team that works at the intersection of physical and digital products. At intent, firmware is not treated as an isolated layer. It sits right in the middle of hardware, mobile, cloud, QA, and product decisions. That means you'll work with people who care about what actually happens on the device, not just what the ticket said should happen. Who this role is NOT for If you only want to be handed a perfectly written spec, disappear for two weeks, and return with a pull request, we're probably not your people. Embedded work at intent means dealing with real-world constraints: imperfect hardware, changing client needs, boards that boot on the bench and not in the enclosure, radios that behave differently in the lab than in the field, power trade-offs, vendor BSPs, datasheets, errata, and edge cases that don't always show up on day one. We're looking for someone who asks "why?" before jumping into implementation, who can read a schematic and question it, and who understands that "it works on my desk" is not the same as "it works in the product." Requirements • 4+ years of professional experience in embedded or firmware development. • Strong hands-on experience with C / C++ for embedded systems. • Hands-on experience with embedded Linux build systems such as Yocto Project or Buildroot. • Good understanding of the Linux kernel, device drivers, and the device tree. • CI/CD experience for embedded projects (e.g., GitHub Actions, Jenkins, GitLab CI). • Experience with bootloaders, particularly U-Boot. • Experience with embedded constraints: timing, memory, peripherals, boot time, and power consumption. • Ability to debug firmware and hardware-adjacent problems using practical tools: JTAG/SWD, serial logs, logic analyzers, and oscilloscopes. • Comfort reading schematics, datasheets, technical documentation, and errata. • Familiarity with common embedded interfaces such as UART, SPI, I2C, GPIO, or similar. • Proficiency with Bash and/or Python for automation and testing. • Solid Git skills and comfort collaborating on GitHub: pull requests, code reviews, shared repos. • Good command of written and spoken English, minimum B2. • Ownership, self-reliance, and responsibility for assigned work. • Clear communication, with engineers, PMs, QA, and clients. • A problem-solving mindset over line-counting. Nice to have • Experience with different platforms (even exotic ones). • Embedded Linux toolchains, drivers, and user-space apps. • Experience with microcontrollers (ARM Cortex-M) and RTOS such as FreeRTOS or Zephyr. • Bluetooth / BLE beyond the basics: GATT