Staff Firmware Engineer, AI Native, Edge ML

About the Position

We are seeking a Staff Firmware Engineer, AI Native, Edge ML to join our remote team in the USA or Canada. This role is pivotal in building on-device ML platforms for our devices.

About Life360

Life360’s mission is to keep people close to the ones they love. Our category-leading mobile app, Tile tracking devices, and Pet GPS tracker empower members to protect the people, pets, and things they care about most with a range of services, including location sharing, safe driver reports, and crash detection with emergency dispatch. Life360 serves approximately 102.4 million monthly active users (MAU), as of June 30, 2026, across more than 180 countries.

Responsibilities

• Build and Own the On-Device ML Platform

  • Design and build the reusable on-device inference framework any Life360 device can adopt - the runtime, the model integration path, and the sampling and preprocessing pipeline - and make the platform-level calls (runtime and model format, memory/flash budgeting, OTA model updates).
  • Own it end to end: you architect it, implement it, and debug it when it misbehaves on a device in the field.

• Do the Core Firmware Engineering

  • Integrate inference into resource-constrained RTOS firmware (Zephyr / FreeRTOS) without compromising stability, scheduling, or power, and own the low-level plumbing - drivers, DMA data paths, SPI/I²C, and the middleware that feeds the pipeline.
  • Debug on real hardware (oscilloscope, logic analyzer, JTAG) and drive cross-layer issues to root cause across the firmware/hardware boundary.
  • Carry regular firmware work when ML demand is light - a full share of features, bug fixes, field issues, and on-call/triage.

• Develop and Ship Models on Device

  • Get models running within firmware constraints - from Data Science or built and trained yourself, increasingly with AI-assisted tooling - handling quantization, operator support, and the latency/memory tradeoffs.
  • Own the whole loop, from training output to validated on-device behavior. You don't take a model over the wall and hope.

• Optimize for Extreme Constraints

  • Squeeze inference into tight power, memory, and latency envelopes, and own the tradeoffs between model accuracy, power draw, and footprint - validated in the real world, not just on the bench.

• Set Direction, Work AI-Natively, and Level Up the Team

  • Drive alignment across firmware, app/cloud, data science, hardware, and ops on how on-device intelligence gets built here, and raise the team's embedded-ML fluency through code review, design docs, and pairing.
  • Use AI tooling as a genuine development partner across firmware and ML, and help define what AI-native looks like for embedded work.

Requirements

• Foundation

  • 10+ years of firmware engineering, taking complex consumer hardware from prototype through mass production, with a demonstrated track record of shipping at scale.
  • Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field.

• Firmware Engineering - the core bar

  • Deep C/C++ for embedded systems and real fluency in RTOS internals (Zephyr, FreeRTOS, or equivalent).
  • Strong low-level hardware skills - SPI/I²C/UART, DMA, interrupts, driver development from the datasheet up - plus hands-on debugging (scope, logic analyzer, JTAG) and power/memory discipline.

• Edge ML

  • Demonstrated experience deploying ML models on microcontroller-class hardware in a shipping product - not a course project or one-off PoC.
  • Hands-on with embedded inference frameworks (TFLite Micro, CMSIS-NN, ExecuTorch, or equivalent) and model optimization (quantization, pruning); able to develop and train models yourself, not only deploy someone else's.
  • Solid grounding in the sensor data and signal-processing pipelines that feed a model (IMU and similar).

• AI-Native and Communication

  • You use AI coding tools (Claude Code or equivalent) as a genuine development partner and review their output as critically as any PR.
  • Strong written communication and a habit of documenting decisions and working across firmware, hardware, and data science.

Nice to Have

• Security and compliance for connected devices - secure boot, key provisioning, signed and rollback-safe OTA, and RF/regulatory certification (FCC/CE).
• Hands-on experience with cellular, BLE, GPS/GNSS, or audio subsystems on battery-powered wearables or trackers.
• New-board bring-up - powering up unproven hardware, verifying power rails and peripherals, and getting first firmware running on a fresh board.
• Hardware schematic evaluation - reading and reviewing schematics, partnering with EE on design reviews, and catching issues before a board spin.
• Factory and manufacturing support - manufacturing test development, production-line bring-up and debug, and supporting yield and quality at the contract manufacturer.

We Offer

• Competitive salary range: $143,000 to $261,500 USD for US candidates and $207,000 to $242,500 CAD for Canadian candidates.
• Comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, vision, life and disability insurance plans.
• 401(k) plan with company matching program in the US and RRSP with DPSP plan for Canadian employees.
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for mental wellness.
• Flexible PTO and 12 company-wide days off throughout the year.
• Winter and Summer Weeklong Synchronized Company Shutdowns.
• Learning & Development programs.
• Equipment, tools, and reimbursement support for a productive remote environment.
• Free Life360 Platinum Membership for your preferred circle.
• Free Tile Products.

About the Company

Life360 delivers peace of mind and enhances everyday family life with seamless coordination for all the moments that matter, big and small. By continuing to innovate and deliver for our customers, we have become a household name and the must-have mobile-based membership for families (and those friends who are basically family).

Life360 has more than 500 (and growing!) remote-first employees. For more information, please visit life360.com.

Life360 is a Remote First company, which means a remote work environment will be the primary experience for all employees. All positions, unless otherwise specified, can be performed remotely (within the US and Canada) regardless of any specified location above.

Life360 Values

Our company's mission-driven culture is guided by our shared values to create a trusted work environment where you can bring your authentic self to work and make a positive difference.

• Be a Good Person - We have a team of high integrity people you can trust.
• Be Direct With Respect - We communicate directly, even when it's hard.
• Members Before Metrics - We focus on building an exceptional experience for families.
• High Intensity, High Impact - We do whatever it takes to get the job done.

Our Commitment to Diversity

We believe that different ideas, perspectives, and backgrounds create a stronger and more creative work environment that delivers better results. Together, we continue to build an inclusive culture that encourages, supports, and celebrates the diverse voices of our employees. It fuels our innovation and connects us closer to our customers and the communities we serve. We strive to create a workplace that reflects the communities we serve and where everyone feels empowered to bring their authentic best selves to work.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at Life360. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability status, or any legally protected status.

We encourage people of all backgrounds to apply. We believe that a diversity of perspectives and experiences create a foundation for the best ideas. Come join us in building something meaningful. Even if you don't meet 100% of the below qualifications, you should still seriously consider applying!

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