Firmware Engineer

Fortell is building breakthrough AI-powered hearing technology that redefines how people experience sound and connect with the world. Powered by custom silicon and advances in hearing science, our hearing aids help people hear, and live, with greater clarity and confidence.

We move fast, build with intention, and never lose sight of the people we’re building for. We’re bringing together exceptional minds in technology, science, design, and care–and we’re just getting started. If you want to help shape a new era of hearing technology, we’d love to meet you.

We're seeking a Firmware Engineer to join our team in New York City. This is a hands-on role where you'll be the primary firmware presence in our NYC office, serving as a critical technical touchpoint while collaborating with our distributed firmware team. You'll need to be comfortable working independently, solving complex problems, and interfacing with multiple technical teams.

Core Responsibilities

NYC Firmware Point of Contact for Beta

• Issue Resolution: Serve as the primary point of contact for triaging and root-causing firmware issues reported from the field. This may involve collaborating with other disciplines to fully understand the problem.
• Stakeholder Collaboration: Work directly with audiologists and operations teams to gain a comprehensive understanding of field-reported issues.
• Solution Development: Propose and develop effective fixes for identified firmware issues.
  
  

Design & Implementation of Hearing Aid Subsystems

• Independently design and implement hearing aid subsystems (e.g., logging systems) from needs identification to production, with guidance and mentorship.
• Example: Develop a design and bring into production a logging system for Bluetooth packets based on identified needs.
• Collaborate with system consumers to ensure their needs are thoroughly understood and addressed.
  

Planning & Communication

• Communicate effectively with distributed team members across time zones
• Balance multiple priorities in a fast-paced startup environment
  
  

Additional Possible Responsibilities

System Architecture & Integration

• Collaborate with silicon design teams to influence next-generation hardware architecture
• Ensure firmware requirements are properly reflected in custom silicon development
• Work with DSP teams to implement and optimize signal processing pipelines
• Interface with ML teams on RISC-V ML accelerator integration and optimization
  
  

What We're Looking For

Must Haves

• Strong C Programming Skills: Proven ability to read, write, and debug embedded C code.
• Independent Problem Solving: Demonstrated ability to root cause complex issues without immediate team support
• Communication Protocol Experience: Hands-on experience with SPI, I2C, UART implementations
• RTOS Knowledge: Understanding of concurrency, threading, and real-time constraints (FreeRTOS experience preferred)
• Systems Thinking: Ability to understand and debug issues across hardware/firmware boundaries
• Good Technical Communicator: Has experience communicating with non technical folks, understanding their concerns, what they’re experiencing, and translating that into what could be happening. Ability to communicate asynchronously, so that the distributed team can understand.
• Self-Direction: Ability to identify priorities independently.
  
  

Nice to Haves

• Silicon Development Experience: Background in working with custom silicon or ASIC development teams
• DSP Knowledge: Understanding of digital signal processing concepts and signal pipelines
• ML/AI Hardware Experience: Familiarity with ML accelerators or RISC-V architecture
• Manufacturing Support: Experience with firmware for manufacturing test and production
• Signal Processing Systems: Background in real-time signal processing or sensor data pipelines
• Power Optimization: Experience with ultra-low power firmware design
• Medical Device Experience: Familiarity with regulated device development. Preferably not all experience is medical devices.
• Experience with our tools: Bazel
  
  

Work Environment

• Location: On-site in New York City (required)
• Team Structure: You'll be the primary firmware engineer in the NYC office, working closely with local beta program and hardware teams
• Collaboration: Regular interaction with distributed firmware team members and cross-functional teams
• Pace: Fast-moving startup environment with high impact and visibility