Skip Wearable Robotics EngineerSkip is on a mission to make life joyful through powered movement. Movement is a powerful way to build physical, mental and social health. Yet it is elusive for 2 billion people due to age, injury, or disability.
We are building products that will restore mobility for millions and enable a new frontier of joyful movement experiences. We want to build a future where a grandparent can easily outrun their grandkids and no one is left behind at the trailhead.Skip is a 22-person early-stage start-up that spun out of Google X in 2023. With deep cross-disciplinary expertise and key partnerships we are uniquely positioned to launch the first commercially successful wearable robotic device, the MO/GO, develop a platform to launch future Movewear products and transform millions of lives in the coming years.We're building powered wearable robots for everyday life — devices that sit at the intersection of motor control, real-time embedded systems, and edge compute.
We're 22 people, all senior, all contributing directly to product. This role leads a small firmware team while staying hands-on with the systems that matter most.You'll set the technical bar for how we build firmware at Skip, and develop the engineers around you while doing it.What You'll OwnLeading and growing a small firmware engineering team, including hiring, mentorship, and technical directionEnd-to-end embedded C/C++ across our stack, including FreeRTOS, interrupt handling, JTAG/SWD debugging, and chip bring-upData communication between peripherals and microcontrollers (ESP32, STM32 and their successors), including Wi-Fi and BLESecure OTA pipelines and bootloader implementationAWS IoT Core infrastructure: mTLS, MQTT, fleet provisioning, IoT Jobs OTAFirmware for motor control across a range of actuators including BLDCs, custom PMSM and axial flux motors, cycloid gearboxes, and series elastic actuators (currently on c2000, evolving)Technical direction for chip selection, actuator firmware requirements, and future system architectureAdjacent product development including our Parkinson's device and future clinical and research platforms requiring edge computeWearing prototypes several hours a week for on-body testing and data collectionBringing joy to the team, participating in embarrassing team events, and tolerating KZ's terrible musicWhat We're Looking For8+ years in firmware development, with at least 2 leading or mentoring a teamDeep expertise in embedded C/C++ for high-performance, real-time applications including FreeRTOSProven experience with ESP32, STM32, or comparable chipsetsStrong background in AWS IoT Core, fleet management, and OTA systemsSolid Linux, Python, and command-line fluencyExperience with low-level hardware and OS internals at a kernel levelRigorous debugging instincts across JTAG, SWD, oscilloscopes, and logic analyzersThe kind of technical credibility that makes people want to follow your lead, not just your titleAbility to work from our Bay Area office 3 days a weekAttention to detail, even in the middle of overly-long listsSense of humour. Tolerant of Aussie and Canadian spelling.Bonus PointsExperience with PMSM control on TI or STM chipsetsBackground in robotics, powered consumer electronics, drones, or anything that movesFamiliarity with TFLite Micro or X-Cube-AIStartup experience and comfort using AI coding tools to punch above your weightPersonal motivation to improve human movementThis is a full time hybrid position working at the Skip office in the Dogpatch neighborhood of San Francisco.Skip is an equal opportunity employer.
Our hiring decisions are based on need and competence to satisfy said need. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, marital status, veteran status, disability status, or any other legally protected status.Any and all offers of employment extended by Skip are conditional on candidates' ability to provide satisfactory proof of eligibility to maintain full-time employment in the United States.