Director of Embedded Software Platform

Job description

# About Brelle ## Energy for what moves us. The next generation of vehicles and aircraft won't be built with yesterday's manufacturing playbook. Brelle is building a new approach to manufacturing for an increasingly electrified world, bringing together advanced engineering, software, testing, and automated production to develop and build high-performance energy and powertrain systems. We're a California based, venture backed team working with some of the most demanding names in high performance mobility, including supercars and superbikes. Our work spans novel battery pack architecture, full-stack software, and automated manufacturing, with the goal of making machines lighter, safer, and more capable. We're building something ambitious, and we're still early. That means real ownership, difficult technical problems, and the opportunity to see your work move from an idea to something real. We value people who think beyond their job description, challenge conventional approaches, and follow through on what they take on. **Build something exceptional. Own your work. See it move.** # About the Role As **Director of Embedded Software Platform**, you'll lead the architecture and development of the embedded software foundations powering Brelle's next-generation energy and powertrain systems. You'll establish the technical direction for our embedded platform, spanning the software stack that connects hardware, enables system functionality, and supports reliable operation across products and customer programs. Depending on your background, this may include everything from low-level firmware, drivers, and real-time operating systems to platform architecture, software infrastructure, development frameworks, and integration across multiple electronic control units (ECUs). This is a hands-on technical leadership role. You'll make foundational architecture decisions, work closely with electrical and systems engineering, and build the team and engineering practices needed to take complex embedded systems from early development through production. You'll balance near-term product delivery with the long-term platform investments that enable reuse, reliability, and scale. We're looking for an experienced engineering leader who has built and shipped embedded software in demanding production environments, brings strong technical judgment, and knows how to build exceptional teams without losing touch with the engineering itself. ## *What You'll Do* **Embedded Platform Architecture & Technical Direction** - Own the technical direction and evolution of Brelle's embedded software platform, establishing the architecture and foundations needed to support current and future products. - Define software architecture across relevant layers of the embedded stack, including operating systems, drivers, middleware, hardware abstraction, communication interfaces, diagnostics, and application integration. - Establish clear software interfaces and architectural boundaries that enable reuse across ECUs, hardware configurations, and customer programs. - Evaluate architectural approaches, technologies, and tools, making thoughtful trade-offs across performance, reliability, maintainability, development speed, and hardware constraints. - Develop a platform roadmap that balances immediate product needs with long-term technical investments. - Identify opportunities to simplify the software stack, improve consistency, and accelerate development across programs. **Engineering Execution & Production Readiness** - Lead embedded software development from architecture and early hardware bring-up through system integration, validation, release, and production deployment. - Drive resolution of complex technical issues spanning firmware, hardware, communications, and system behavior. - Establish appropriate standards for code quality, testing, configuration management, version control, and software release. - Build or evolve the tools and infrastructure that support efficient development, including automated testing, build systems, continuous integration, and debugging workflows. - Ensure software is designed for reliability, diagnosability, and maintainability under real-world operating conditions. - Guide technical decisions around firmware updates, cybersecurity, functional safety, and software lifecycle management as required by product and customer needs. **Cross-Functional Systems Integration** - Partner closely with electrical, battery, systems, and vehicle engineering teams to define software requirements, hardware interfaces, and integration strategies. - Ensure embedded software architecture supports system-level requirements for performance, reliability, safety, and functionality. - Drive alignment on technical dependencies, interface definitions, and integration priorities across engineering disciplines. - Work directly with engineers to evaluate design trade-offs, debug difficult issues, and move solutions from prototype to production. - Balance platform standardization with the flexibility required to support different hardware configurations and customer programs. **Technical Leadership & Team Development** - Build and develop a high-performing embedded software team, hiring exceptional engineers and establishing clear technical ownership. - Set technical direction while empowering engineers to make decisions and own outcomes. - Establish effective engineering practices, including architecture reviews, code reviews, testing standards, and release processes, without adding unnecessary overhead. - Develop technical leaders and foster a culture of accountability, sound engineering judgment, and continuous improvement. - Align team priorities and resources with product milestones, platform development, and the company's broader engineering roadmap. ## *What We're Looking For* - 10+ years of experience in embedded software, firmware, systems software, or a closely related engineering discipline. - Significant experience designing, architecting, and shipping embedded software for complex, hardware-dependent products. - A track record of owning substantial technical scope, whether across an embedded software platform, multiple ECUs, or a sophisticated firmware stack. - Strong understanding of embedded software architecture and the interactions between software, electronics, and physical systems. - Strong foundation in C/C++ and the ability to engage deeply in technical design, implementation, and debugging discussions. - Experience with real-time operating systems, embedded Linux, or comparable embedded operating environments. - Experience with low-level software, drivers, middleware, hardware abstraction, communication protocols, or system integration. - Experience taking embedded systems through development, testing, validation, and production deployment. - Demonstrated ability to lead complex technical initiatives across multiple engineering disciplines. - Experience leading engineers, setting technical direction, and establishing engineering standards that improve software quality and execution. - Strong judgment in balancing architectural quality, technical debt, delivery commitments, and long-term platform needs. - Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience. # **Preferred Qualifications** - Experience in automotive, electric vehicles, motorsport, aerospace, robotics, or other demanding embedded systems environments. - Experience developing software platforms shared across multiple ECUs, hardware variants, vehicle programs, or products. - Experience with automotive communication and diagnostics, including CAN, CAN-FD, Ethernet, LIN, or UDS. - Experience building embedded software infrastructure, including build systems, automated testing, continuous integration, and release tooling. - Familiarity with vehicle electrical/electronic architectures, software-defined vehicles, or distributed control systems. - Familiarity with functional safety standards such as ISO 26262, automotive software development practices such as ASPICE, or embedded cybersecurity. - Experience with secure boot, firmware updates, or production software configuration and lifecycle management. - Experience building or scaling an embedded software organization in a fast-moving engineering environment. # **How We Work** At Brelle, we value people who take ownership, think beyond their immediate responsibilities, and care about the quality of what they build. Our operating principles reflect how we work: - **Big Picture:** Understand the broader problem and how your work contributes to the outcome. - **Team First:** Work across disciplines, share context, and help the team succeed. - **Lean In:** Take initiative, identify what needs to happen, and step in to make progress. - **Be Obsessed:** Care deeply about the details, the engineering, and the quality of the result. - **Follow Through:** Take responsibility for outcomes and see the work through to completion. We're looking for a leader who embodies these principles, builds trust through technical judgment and follow-through, and helps create an environment where strong engineers can do their best work. # **Compensation & Benefits** **Base Salary: $210,000 - $260,000** **Final compensation will be based on experience, qualifications, and the overall fit for the role.** Meaningful equity participation through Brelle's Employee Incentive Plan. - Medical, dental, and vision (HMO/PPO) - 401(k) - Flexible PTO - Team meals twice a week - Monthly team events **Brelle is an equal opportunity employer.**