About Very

(Remote – Canada)

Very is a fully distributed technology firm led by expert problem-solvers who create efficient, scalable solutions that move commercial, industrial, and consumer products from pilot to production in record time.

We believe that real innovation happens in the grind — working shoulder to shoulder with clients who are building the future. Our team thrives on that energy. When we’re not helping clients deliver business-critical outcomes, we’re refining our craft and celebrating what it means to do hard things well.

We’ve built a collaborative, tight-knit culture that thrives in both remote and in-person settings. We’ve won numerous workplace awards over the years, including Great Place to Work certification and recognition from Parity.org as a Best Company for Women to Advance.

Our clients include well-known brands like Vizio, Peloton, Clear, iHeart Radio, and Fellowes — all determined to leverage connected devices and AI to drive meaningful impact. Our job is simple: help them win.

About This Role

As a Lead Embedded Hardware Engineer at Very, you will work closely with our Software, Hardware, and Product Design teams to deliver full-service solutions for our clients. We specialize in end-to-end hardware and software systems that solve real business problems, with electrical design and system reliability at the core of our work.

The ideal candidate brings deep technical expertise in electrical system architecture, schematic design, and board-level development, along with a strong understanding of how electrical decisions impact manufacturability, reliability, and product performance. You will be expected to communicate effectively across disciplines, clearly presenting design decisions, tradeoffs, and risks to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Successful candidates will have experience translating business and product requirements into robust electrical designs, collaborating in interdisciplinary teams, and supporting designs from early concept through production and scale.

This role focuses on embedded electronics and PCB development for connected devices, not large-scale electrical infrastructure such as substations, building electrical systems, or industrial power distribution.

What You’ll Be Working On

In this role, you can expect to work with the following technologies:

• Embedded microcontrollers such as ARM Cortex platforms or ESP32
• Embedded hardware interfaces and digital communication protocols (e.g., I2C, SPI, UART)
• Wireless communication hardware (Bluetooth, WiFi, cellular, subGig)
• AC and DC power, as well as battery power (including low power design for batteries
• Familiarity with embedded firmware environments (Bare Metal C, RTOS, or embedded Linux) is helpful but not required. (you will not be expected to ship firmware in this role)

Additionally, Very leverages the following tools for hardware engineering:

 - Altium

 - PCB mill

 - Electrical diagnostic tools (oscilloscopes, DMMs, logic analyzers, etc)

Responsibilities

• Personally bringing up, debugging, and validating hardware prototypes
• Designing custom PCBAs from concept through production
• Performing thorough electrical validation and troubleshooting
• Using oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and other diagnostic tools to debug and validate hardware designs
• Ensuring designs are production-ready before handoff to manufacturing
• Architecting the electrical sub-system on new IoT products
• Interacting with contract manufacturers to get your designs into mass production
• You will own hardware designs end-to-end, from early architecture through prototype validation and production readiness.

Requirements

Experience

• 5+ years of experience

Technical Skills

Required:

• Expert-level proficiency in electrical schematic capture (preferably Altium)
• Proven ability to perform complex PCB layout, including high-speed signal integrity and power delivery network (PDN) analysis
• Deep experience with embedded systems design, including microcontroller selection and peripheral integration
• Hands-on experience with hardware bring-up, debugging, and validation using standard lab equipment (oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzers, etc.)
• Strong understanding of Design for Manufacturing (DFM) and Design for Test (DFT) principles
• Experience with power supply design (AC/DC, DC/DC conversion) and low-power battery-operated designs
• Knowledge of common wireless communication protocols (BLE, Wi-Fi, cellular) and RF design considerations (matching networks, antenna integration)
• Experience ensuring products meet regulatory compliance standards (e.g., FCC, CE, UL)

Nice-to-have/Additional Technical Skills

• Working knowledge of signal processing and sensor interfacing techniques
• Experience designing products for hazardous or harsh environments
• Background in optimizing products for extreme low power consumption (e.g., energy harvesting, deep sleep modes)
• Knowledge of cloud platforms (AWS IoT, Azure IoT, Google Cloud) and how electrical design impacts device-to-cloud communication
• Experience with embedded security considerations (secure boot, encryption, anti-tamper)
• Prior experience working in a regulated industry (e.g., Medical, Automotive, Industrial Control)

Education

BS or higher in Electrical Engineering or closely related field

Location:

• This position is open to only to candidates who reside in Canada and are legally authorized to work in Canada on a permanent basis. (We do not offer visa sponsorship of work permit support)
• At this time, we are unable to consider applicants who reside in the province of Québec.

Skills:

In addition to experience, these are the critical skills we look for in all technical roles, and how they should be demonstrated at the Lead level.

• Communicates Effectively: Demonstrates expert level communication skills. Can comfortably present information to clients that is clear and concise (verbal and written).  Can negotiate for positive outcomes with clients on projects that are any size, and any level of difficulty. Leans into complex conversations and effectively addresses escalated situations resulting in team/client alignment.
• Independently resets the tone of the team or environment.  Redirects the team and client when needed on complex projects.  Negotiates positive outcomes by incorporating ideas and opinions from internal and external resources.  Thoughtfully considers all outcomes before jumping to change.  Is decisive, direct and respectful when communicating alternate solutions and ideas to influence for buy-in or change.
• Teaches best practices and grows the capabilities of others.
• Estimates are highly accurate across a wide array of technical domains. They use their knowledge to help their team provide accurate estimates about work across an entire project.  
• Demonstrates mastery of working within an agile framework; Knows how to break down technical work into tickets, sprints, and epics without assistance.

This Role Is Likely NOT a Fit If

• You prefer working on large-scale electrical infrastructure (e.g., substations, building systems) over embedded electronics and PCB development for connected devices.
• You are an independent contractor or part of an agency.
• You are looking for a role that is solely focused on software development with no expectation of hardware-level debugging or collaboration.