Embedded Engineering Manager - Connectivity

Job Description:

INNOVATE WITHOUT BOUNDARIES! At Milwaukee Tool we firmly believe that our People and our Culture are the secrets to our success - so we give you unlimited access to everything you need to create disruptive new technologies and solutions on our engineering teams. Our Engineering Team is responsible for giving life to the batteries, motors, and electronics that power solutions changing the lives of our users. Every developmental phase of these critical components happens in-house under the watch of this team. We continue to invest in electrical and firmware engineering resources to design and develop leadership in electronic and connected-device capabilities; something unique within the industry. And we’re pushing the limits in firmware engineering, wireless connectivity, power electronics, embedded systems, machine learning, and the use of artificial intelligence.

Behind our doors you’ll be empowered every day to own it, drive it, and do what it takes to design and develop the biggest breakthroughs in the industry. Meanwhile, you’ll have the support and resources of the fastest-growing brand in the construction industry to make it happen. Year after year, our team continues to make significant breakthroughs in the industry and we’re just getting started. To learn more about our story click HERE.

The Engineering Manager, Embedded Firmware & Electrical Engineering (IoT Connectivity) will lead a team of embedded firmware, electrical, and connectivity engineers focused on designing and delivering new connected products. You will be responsible for the device connectivity architecture and strategy, strategic roadmap planning, resource allocation and scope management, oversight of technical reviews and design decisions, and process improvement and change management. This includes working in a team environment with marketing, project management, cloud and mobile software, mechanical engineering, and global manufacturing operations. This position will sit at our Headquarters in Brookfield, Wisconsin.

You’ll be DISRUPTIVE through these duties and responsibilities:

• Build, manage, and motivate a world-class team of embedded firmware and electrical engineers to deliver new-to-world connected products.

• Own the connectivity architecture for Milwaukee Tool devices, including BLE, Wi-Fi, cellular (LTE-M/NB-IoT), and other wireless protocols, spanning hardware, firmware, and cloud/mobile interfaces.

• Lead the end-to-end design of embedded IoT devices, from concept, requirements, and architecture through schematic/PCB design, firmware development, validation, and transition to global manufacturing.

• Define IoT firmware strategy, including RTOS/Linux platforms, bootloaders, secure boot, over-the-air (OTA) updates, device provisioning, and fleet-management capabilities.

• Drive device security and compliance practices, including secure key storage, encrypted communication, vulnerability management, and regulatory certification (FCC, IC, CE/RED, Bluetooth SIG, and carrier).

• Partner with cloud, mobile app, and data teams to define device-to-cloud protocols (e.g., MQTT, CoAP, HTTPS), APIs, telemetry, and diagnostics that deliver reliable end-user experiences.

• Own RF and wireless performance, including antenna design/selection, coexistence, range, throughput, and power-consumption trade-offs in battery-powered and harsh jobsite environments.

• Organize and align across product teams and commercial managers to develop a robust connected-product strategy and development roadmap.

• Drive communication with marketing, product teams, and platform engineering to capture the voice of the customer and translate it into connectivity features and user experiences.

• Grow the team to increase project capacity while maintaining exemplary performance; recruit, develop, and retain top embedded and connectivity talent.

• Create and manage robust project roadmaps and resource plans with converged scope; drive urgency in schedules and accountability for key project metrics.

• Champion firmware and hardware development processes (CI/CD, automated and hardware-in-the-loop testing, code review, requirements traceability, and release management) suited to connected products.

• Mentor and coach the team in engineering best practices including task management, root cause analysis, firmware design, circuit/PCB design, simulation, and PCBA manufacturing.

• Lead the development of test plans, procedures, and test cases for embedded systems and connectivity subsystems, including interoperability, field, and certification testing.

• Lead technology investigations, develop system requirements, and define future architectures and reusability strategies, including common connectivity stacks and shared building blocks across products and platforms.

• Maintain strong awareness of competitive offerings, emerging wireless/IoT standards, and the business climate to shape a best-in-class roadmap.

• Quickly, effectively, and candidly frame up and escalate business risks and opportunities to senior leadership.

• Identify new innovations and strategic opportunities, including edge intelligence/ML, while considering financial impact and competitiveness.

What TOOLS you’ll bring with you:

• Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field (Master’s preferred).

• 7+ years of highly successful embedded systems experience, including hands-on design and delivery of connected/IoT devices from concept to production.

• 3+ years of team leadership experience managing embedded firmware and/or electrical engineers.

• Demonstrated experience taking multiple embedded IoT products through development, certification, manufacturing launch, and field support.

• Expertise in C/C++ embedded programming and related development tools and processes, especially microcontroller peripherals, low-power design, and RTOS (e.g., FreeRTOS, Zephyr) and/or embedded Linux.

• Deep knowledge of wireless connectivity technologies and stacks (BLE required; Wi-Fi, cellular, Thread/Matter, LoRa, or mesh a plus), including RF fundamentals, antenna design, and regulatory certification.

• Experience with IoT device-to-cloud architectures, including provisioning, OTA firmware updates, device management, and protocols such as MQTT or CoAP over TLS.

• Working knowledge of embedded security best practices (secure boot, encryption, key management, threat modeling).

• Understanding of digital circuits and the interaction between firmware and electronics; ability to realize component-level design.

• Practical knowledge of analog/digital system trade-offs and design, especially signal integrity, noise analysis, power management, and margin considerations.

• Familiarity with schematic capture, PCB layout software, SPICE, and industry best practices; experience with debug and test equipment (oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, RF spectrum analyzers, protocol sniffers).

• Experience with Agile/hybrid development practices, CI/CD, and automated testing for embedded systems is preferred.

• Excellent problem-solving skills; exercises independent judgment and works well under pressure in a dynamic environment.

• Strong leadership and communication skills, with the ability to influence technical and non-technical stakeholders; self-motivated, organized, process-oriented, with a strong work ethic.

• Ability to travel 10% of the time (domestic and international).

We provide these great perks and benefits:

• Robust health, dental and vision insurance plans.

• Generous 401(k) savings plan.

• Education assistance.

• On-site wellness, fitness center, food, and coffee service.

• And many more, check out our benefits site HERE.

Milwaukee Tool is an equal opportunity employer.