Senior Manager, Embedded Software and Controls

Atomic Machines is ushering in a new era in micromanufacturing with its Matter Compiler (MC) technology. The MC enables new classes of micromachines to be designed and built by offering manufacturing processes and a materials library that is inaccessible to semiconductor manufacturing methods. The MC promises to unlock MEMS manufacturing both for the many device classes that never could be made by semiconductor methods but also to open up entirely new classes. Furthermore, the MC is fully digital in the way 3D printing is digital, but where 3D printing produces parts of a single material using a single process, the MC is a multi-process, multi-material technology: bits and raw materials go in and complete, functional micromachines come out.  The Atomic Machines team has also created an exciting first device – one that was only made possible by the existence of the Matter Compiler – that we will be unveiling to the world soon. 

Our offices are in Emeryville and Santa Clara, California.

About This Role

We are seeking a well-rounded and hands-on Senior Manager of Embedded Software and Controls to manage and lead a growing software team at Atomic Machines. We are building complex systems with custom mechanical and electrical systems, which is reflected in the full vertical technology stack, including custom FPGAs, embedded software, real-time systems, high-performance IPC/middleware, adaptive planning, machine learning, computer vision and computational geometry. We emphasize modularity for reuse to speed up hardware and software builds with similar needs. 

We utilize an agile methodology for near-term planning and coordination within a companywide product development process for medium- and long-term planning and cross-team coordination. We organize our teams cross-functionally whenever possible/appropriate and rely heavily on well-constructed interfaces to align work. The ideal candidate is a motivational people manager who can contribute directly to portions of software development. This leader must be deeply technical, and excellent at leading teams from uncertain starting points with strong first principles thinking and analysis, through to definition and focused execution, ultimately delivering robust commercial products.  

• Cross-functional Coordination and Planning
• Engage with leaders of other engineering disciplines to gather requirements, exchange feedback, and proactively anticipate technical and resource risks.
• Collaborate with leadership and program management to determine clear project objectives and represent their team in broader program conversations.
• Initially manage projects by setting requirements, goals, and timelines, track team execution and monitor deadlines, resources, and dependencies.
• As the company grows, work with project managers to accurately represent and account for software work. 

• Software Technical Leadership
• Drive architectural clarity, design documentation, and code reviews. Refine these processes to build a team culture with high standards, rigorous engineering practices, and a focus on collaboration to achieve the team's goals.
• Productively engage in whiteboard brainstorming sessions, driving clarity and alignment on requirements and approaches, effectively influencing and driving alignment across disciplines.
• Ensure your team delivers quality engineering architecture and design along with fast, reliable, testable production code; advise engineers on system optimization and tradeoffs.
• Engage in software and embedded development tasks as needed with a “do whatever it takes” attitude.

• Engineering Team Management 
• Lead by example of a strong work ethic; communicate context richly to enable high-quality decision-making.
• Assign team members to cross-functional and platform engineering efforts.
• Hire exceptional engineers to grow the team as needed to support longer-term Atomic Machines strategy.
• Provide technical guidance and mentorship to team members in the development of the product as well as for personal career development; manage team member performance.
• Align team objectives and work with company objectives; ensure the team is working effectively within company processes.

• 7+ years of experience in software development with at least 3 years managing 5+ person teams directly in a fast-paced environment.
• Proven experience in shipping embedded software into production, ideally in robotics or a related field.
• Needs to be a HW product.  
• Demonstrated experience in control systems, ideally in real-time environments distributed across multiple processors.
• Autonomy: Ability to make remarkable progress in the face of ambiguity.
• Good clear communication, both verbally and in written documentation. 
• High amount of team collaboration - the ability to ask the right questions.
• Creativity and inventiveness, with a first-principles approach to learning unfamiliar areas.
• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in computer science, electrical engineering, or related engineering discipline, or equivalent work experience.

• Experience with FPGAs, including soft processors
• Expertise in FMEA