Embedded Software Engineer

Our mission is to move humanity off of fossil fuel heating. 20% of US global warming emissions come from homes (that's more than cars). The largest driver of home emissions is burning fossil fuels for heat. To stop climate change, over 80M US homes need to transition from combustion to efficient, electric heat pumps over the coming decades.

We believe for this to happen the world needs fantastic products that are easy to purchase. Today's heat pumps lack great design, make limited use of software, and are difficult and stressful to adopt. We are building a next generation, beautifully designed, AI optimized home heating and cooling system that is 10x better than what is on the market today.

Role
Quilt is hiring an embedded software engineer to join a collaborative and talented software team delivering robust software for our heat pump products. We are looking for individuals with strong hands-on technical experience in C/C++ embedded development, a passion for electrification, and an appreciation for building user-focused products. The ideal candidate will have experience developing embedded software for hardware products, strong problem-solving skills, and excitement about working on the full embedded software stack—from drivers to cloud integration.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement embedded software in C/C++ for our heat pump system, ensuring performance, reliability, and maintainability
• Develop and integrate device drivers for new sensors and hardware components
• Build and maintain device-cloud communication systems, ensuring reliable data transmission and command handling
• Implement and improve OTA (over-the-air) update mechanisms for firmware deployment
• Contribute to bringing up new product variants and hardware revisions
• Support and enhance our existing embedded system, including bug fixes and feature development
• Work with APIs and services that connect embedded software with cloud services and mobile applications
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams including hardware engineers, cloud engineers, and product managers to deliver integrated solutions
• Debug complex embedded systems issues across hardware and software boundaries
• Participate in code reviews and contribute to technical design discussions
• Stay current with embedded systems best practices and emerging technologie

Minimum qualifications

• 3+ years of professional experience in embedded software development
• Strong proficiency in C and/or C++ for embedded systems
• Experience developing software for resource-constrained embedded devices
• Solid understanding of embedded systems fundamentals (memory management, interrupts, peripherals, etc.)

• Experience with at least one of the following:

• Device driver development

• IoT connectivity protocols (WiFi, Bluetooth Low Energy, Matter)
• Communication protocols (UART, SPI, I2C, Modbus or other industrial protocols)

• RTOS (especially FreeRTOS) or bare-metal embedded systems

• Strong debugging skills with embedded development tools (debuggers, logic analyzers, oscilloscopes)

• Excellent problem-solving abilities and attention to detail
• Strong communication and collaboration skills
• Self-motivated with ability to work independently and as part of a team
• Passion for electrification and home automation
• Strong mission alignment around climate and decarbonization

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with embedded Linux systems
• Experience shipping production embedded software for consumer hardware products
• Familiarity with Yocto Linux, BSP development, or custom Linux distributions
• Experience with NXP i.MX processors, ARM Cortex-A/M architectures, or dual-core heterogeneous systems
• Familiarity with Protocol Buffers and gRPC for device-to-cloud communication
• Experience with Bluetooth Low Energy for device commissioning and pairing
• Familiarity with Matter protocol or other smart home standards
• Knowledge of HVAC control systems
• Knowledge of industrial communication protocols (e.g. Modbus)
• Experience with cryptographic hardware (secure elements, TPM, or HSM)
• Experience with OTA update systems and strategies
• Experience with version control (Git) and CI/CD for embedded systems

Don't meet 100% of the requirements? That's okay, apply anyways If you're excited about this role and think you could bring something unique to the team, we encourage you to apply — even if your experience doesn't match perfectly. We'd love to hear from you.

Compensation & Benefits
This is a full-time, hybrid position working out of our Redwood City office.

The expected base annual salary range for this role is $150,000-$200,000, depending on experience. In addition to base salary, Quilt also offers meaningful equity and top-tier health benefits.

About Quilt
We are a growing team of ambitious people who truly care about the impact of their work. We are on a mission to accelerate a species-level human transition. For over a million years, we've been burning things to stay warm. It's time to move to a better way of living.

At Quilt, we're on a mission to make clean, efficient heating and cooling accessible to everyone — and we know that heat pumps can play a big role in creating healthier, more climate-resilient homes. But the reality is, climate change and outdated energy systems don't impact everyone equally. That's why we're building a diverse, inclusive team — because we believe the best solutions come from people with different lived experiences and perspectives. We welcome teammates of all races, ethnicities, genders, identities, abilities, and backgrounds, and we're committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels empowered to shape the future of climate tech.

Need accommodations during the hiring process? No problem — just let us know. We're here to support you. )