Staff Device Software (Firmware) Engineer

Our Mission  

SPAN develops products that accelerate the rapid adoption of renewable energy in the home. The flagship SPAN Smart Panel is the first true evolution for the traditional home electric panel, harnessing enhanced technology for metering, monitoring, and control. An expanded product suite of intelligent, integrated solutions radically lowers the cost and complexity of energy upgrades–including solar, batteries and EVs–empowering homeowners to be active, resilient and informed players in the energy market. 

The Team and Role

SPAN’s Device Software team is responsible for all of the software that is physically embodied in our hardware products. Our first product - the SPAN Panel - contains a complex network of microcontrollers and a single board computer that must work together to react quickly to changing conditions with impeccable reliability in order to perform its job. We look for friendly, excellent engineers who enjoy working with their peers to solve complex problems and prioritize trusting that the people we hire are capable of great things when well supported. Engineers work directly with the broader software, product, and hardware teams to ensure the right things get built at the right time.

As a firmware engineer on the Device Software team you will define and implement new features directly related to SPAN’s hardware products focusing on the lowest level - the microcontroller. This includes everything from bootloaders on systems without an OS up through applications in C and C++ inside an RTOS. Hardware products are central to SPAN’s business and writing firmware for even our smallest microcontrollers means working on something that directly impacts the user experience. You will own large user-facing features from conception through implementation on future hardware products, working independently to bring them to completion.

Representative Projects

• Designing an OTA system that encompasses a variety of communication interfaces, processor types, and products, while achieving both secure goals for hardware-backed encryption and verification and high reliability

• Working with other engineers on the Device Software team to identify the right places in the product to track and retain state, keeping in mind tradeoffs in bus speeds and flash wear lifetimes

• Coordinating with the Controls and Modeling teams to define the performance envelope of a new system, then providing them support and API specs so they can build an accurate simulation environment to develop inside

About You

We are seeking a Firmware/Embedded Linux engineer with:

• 5 or more years of experience writing software for a hardware device (on a microcontroller, and/or in Linux, etc) in C++

• Strong fundamentals in modern software design with tools like Object-Oriented design, coupled with awareness of concerns like manual memory management

• Experience working with standard electrical communication interfaces like UART, I2C, USB, etc

• Excellent interpersonal communication and collaboration skills

• Track record of taking ownership over projects and willingness to help others with theirs, from design and code review through to mentorship of new employees

We do not expect any engineer to have all skills, but we do want you to be excited to learn and grow. Every Device Software Engineer is free to roam up and down our device software stack, so any combination of the following skills is welcome but not required.

• Experience with the STM32 microcontroller family

• Experience with functional safety and processes and standards like UL 60730, ISO 26262, IEC 61508, and UL 1998

• Experience writing higher level system or application software such as diagnostic command line tools or the application side of a communication interface

• Wireless technologies like WiFi, Bluetooth and Zigbee

• Hands-on experience with electronics lab equipment

• Clean energy hardware in a multidisciplinary environment.

The U.S. base salary range for this position is $147,000 - $210,000 plus benefits, equity and variable compensation for Sales-related roles. This range represents SPAN’s good faith estimate of competitively-priced salary for the role based on national, real-time industry data from companies of a similar growth stage. This range reflects minimum and maximum new hire salaries for the role in San Francisco county. Within the range, individual pay is determined by location and individual factors including relevant skills, experience and education or training. This range correlates to the relative level of the candidate we believe we need for the role and may require an adjustment for candidates of a different level. 

Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for the location this role is based during the hiring process. 

 Life at SPAN

SPAN embraces diversity and equal opportunity in a serious way. We are committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. 

Headquartered in San Francisco’s vibrant SoMa neighborhood, we are an eclectic group of creative thinkers who value open communication, teamwork, and a ‘make it happen’ approach to addressing complex challenges. 

We’re hiring talented individuals who are driven by success and are passionate about shaping the future of renewable energy. If that sounds like you, we’d love for you to consider joining the rapidly growing team at SPAN.

The Perks:

⚡ Competitive compensation + equity grants at a well-funded, venture-backed company

⚡ Comprehensive benefits (including medical; dental, vision, life and disability insurance)

⚡ Comfortable, sunny office space located near BART and Caltrain public transit

⚡ Strong focus on teambuilding and company culture (events, meet-ups, clubs)

⚡ Flexible hours and unlimited PTO

Interested in joining our team? Submit an application today and we’ll be in touch with next steps!