Let’s get started
By clicking ‘Next’, I agree to the Terms of Service
and Privacy Policy, and consent to receive emails from Rise
Jobs / Job page
Principal Hardware Engineer, Embedded and Prototyping image - Rise Careers
Job details

Principal Hardware Engineer, Embedded and Prototyping

Our Mission:
ButterflyMX is on a mission to empower people to open and manage doors & gates from a smartphone. Our products are installed in more than 15,000+ multifamily, commercial, gated communities, and student-housing properties worldwide, including properties developed, owned, and managed by the most trusted names in real estate. Our features are designed for developers, owners, property managers, and tenants and our products lower operating costs and improve tenant satisfaction.

Our Solution:
Developers and owners no longer need to run building wiring or install in-unit hardware. Property managers can grant building access, revoke permissions, and review entry logs from an online dashboard. Residents can open doors from their smartphones, issue visitor access, and see who is trying to enter the building.

Our Culture & Values:
Fantastic people are the key to our success. As a distributed, primarily remote workforce, we’re looking for more intelligent, passionate, collaborative, ai-forward, and down-to-earth individuals to join our growing team. We’re driven by a shared commitment to excellence and innovation, grounded in our core values: We delight our customers, We take ownership, We are a community of collaborators, We speak up, We think big and do small, and We are tenacious.

We are seeking a visionary hardware engineer who sees beyond individual components and thinks at a system level-down to the electrons and bits. This role is about creating, experimenting, and pushing boundaries to develop game-changing new proptech products that seamlessly integrate hardware, firmware, and networked intelligence.

You will be responsible for conceptualizing, designing, and prototyping groundbreaking hardware solutions. You must be equally comfortable with digital and analog electronics, microcontroller firmware, real-world physics, and network communication protocols. You’ll need strong hands-on skills, the ability to troubleshoot at every level, and the creativity to solve problems in unexpected ways.

This is not a traditional engineering role—it’s an innovation-first, hands-on opportunity to create the next generation of advanced, lovable PropTech hardware products. This is a full-time role based in our R&D lab in Irvine, CA. 

End-to-End System Design & Innovation

  • Own the early product lifecycle from concept to prototype into functional system, blending electrical, firmware, and mechanical aspects.
  • Think at every level—from circuit-level signal integrity to system-level software integration—ensuring seamless, high-performance operation.
  • Integrate sensors, microcontrollers, communication buses and networking into compact, reliable, and manufacturable designs.
  • Prototype rapidly and iterate based on real-world testing, learning through experimentation.

Electronics Design & Embedded Systems

  • Apply deep expertise in digital and analog electronics to design high-performance, low-noise, and power-efficient circuits.
  • Design and implement robust power delivery systems, analog front-ends, signal processing circuits, and high-speed digital buses.
  • Hands-on troubleshooting with multimeters, oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and spectrum analyzers to diagnose and resolve issues from nanoseconds to milliseconds to minutes.
  • Master component selection and circuit optimization to balance performance, power consumption, cost, and manufacturability.

Firmware Development & Embedded Logic

  • Write and optimize bare-metal and RTOS-based microcontroller firmware, ensuring efficient execution at both low-level (register access, bitwise operations) and high-level (protocol stacks, logic design).
  • Design robust, low-latency firmware architectures for real-time control, sensor data processing, and wireless communication.

Communication Protocols & Networking

  • Document and implement custom communication protocols, creating Interface Control Documents (ICDs) and ensuring robust data exchange.
  • Develop and experiment with lightweight IoT services, enabling secure device-to-cloud interaction through efficient APIs and networked communication.

Mechanical & Physical Interaction Awareness

  • Understand how mechanical constraints, thermal considerations, and real-world environments affect electronic designs.
  • Collaborate with our mechanical engineer to ensure optimal integration of hardware components in rugged, manufacturable enclosures.
  • Collaborate with our electrical engineer to design with manufacturability and assembly in mind, optimizing PCB layouts and mechanical interfaces.

Experimental Thinking & Lateral Problem Solving

  • Approach problems holistically, considering physics, software logic, electronics, and real-world constraints simultaneously.
  • Apply lateral thinking skills to discover unconventional solutions that outperform standard approaches.
  • Push the boundaries of what’s possible, constantly seeking improvements in performance, efficiency, and reliability.
  • 8+ years of experience taking products from concept through prototyping to production, including system architecture and new product introduction (NPI).
  • Demonstrated experience blending electrical, firmware, and mechanical components.
  • Strong background in mechatronics integration, hardware-software co-design, and cross-functional prototyping.
  • Skilled in designing high-speed digital and low-noise analog circuits.
  • Experience with ADC design, power regulation, signal integrity, filtering, and impedance matching.
  • Hands-on experience developing firmware at the bare-metal and RTOS levels. Proficient in C/C++, I2C, SPI, UART, real-time control, and low-level register programming.
  • Expertise using tools such as oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and spectrum analyzers. Strong track record of root-cause analysis in multi-domain system failures.
  • Experience with physical layer protocols (e.g., CAN, UART, SPI) and higher-level communication stacks (e.g., MQTT, REST, WebSockets). Familiarity with secure cloud-connected embedded systems.
  • Comfortable with hands-on prototyping using breadboards, quick-turn PCBs, and participating in hackathons or fast-paced hardware bring-up cycles.
  • Collaborative experience with mechanical engineers on enclosure design, thermal considerations, and EMI/EMC constraints.
  • Evidence of lateral thinking and creative solutions. Bonus for design patents, open-source contributions, or recognition for innovation.
  • Strong documentation skills, including creating interface control documents (ICDs), system diagrams, schematics, and internal technical documentation.
  • Comprehensive Medical (ButterflyMX covers 90% of the cost), Dental, and Vision plans (ButterflyMX covers 100% of the cost) starting day 1
  • 401(k) plan with a match
  • 13 paid holidays, 25 PTO days
  • Paid Family Leave
  • Employee Assistance Program
  • Quarterly self-care stipends
  • Access to optional benefits including pre-tax flexible healthcare spending accounts (FSA and HSA), Dependent Care FSA, and Commuter Benefits, as well as optional Supplemental Life, AD&D, Hospital Indemnity, Disability, Legal, Accident, Critical Illness, Pet, and Personal Liability Insurance
  • And more!

ButterflyMX is an equal opportunity employer and we value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. You must have the authorization to work in the US to become an employee. We strive to create an accessible and inclusive experience for all candidates and employees. If you need reasonable accommodations during the application or the recruiting process, please let our recruiting team know.

ButterflyMX Glassdoor Company Review
4.3 Glassdoor star iconGlassdoor star iconGlassdoor star iconGlassdoor star icon Glassdoor star icon
ButterflyMX DE&I Review
4.5 Glassdoor star iconGlassdoor star iconGlassdoor star iconGlassdoor star icon Glassdoor star icon
CEO of ButterflyMX
ButterflyMX CEO photo
Aaron Rudenstine
Approve of CEO

Average salary estimate

$140000 / YEARLY (est.)
min
max
$120000K
$160000K

If an employer mentions a salary or salary range on their job, we display it as an "Employer Estimate". If a job has no salary data, Rise displays an estimate if available.

Similar Jobs
Photo of the Rise User
ButterflyMX Hybrid No location specified
Posted 14 days ago

Innovate seamless hardware-software experiences as a Staff Product Designer at ButterflyMX, impacting millions worldwide with your design leadership.

Photo of the Rise User
ButterflyMX Hybrid No location specified
Posted 13 days ago

ButterflyMX is looking for a driven Sales Account Executive to join their remote sales team to grow their customer base through proactive prospecting and closing deals in the SaaS and property technology sector.

Photo of the Rise User
Posted 14 days ago

Experienced Manager needed to lead agile teams and manage data platform integrations at Cardinal Health's Commercial Technologies division.

Photo of the Rise User
Posted 5 days ago

SolAmerica Energy is looking for a Senior Project Engineer to lead engineering efforts and project management of solar energy projects within a hybrid work setting.

Photo of the Rise User

An experienced Electrical Controls Engineer is needed to lead complex industrial material handling control system projects at Dematic, working primarily in a hybrid setup.

Photo of the Rise User
Posted 13 days ago

Serve Robotics is looking for a Senior Reliability Engineer with expertise in electromechanical systems testing and data-driven reliability improvements to enhance their autonomous delivery robots.

Photo of the Rise User
Intuitive Hybrid Peachtree Corners, GA
Posted 12 days ago

Intuitive seeks a Manufacturing Engineer to enhance and sustain manufacturing lines for robotic systems in a collaborative, growth-focused environment.

Photo of the Rise User
Sigma Computing Hybrid San Francisco, California, United States
Posted 10 days ago

Sigma is looking for a hands-on Infrastructure Engineering Manager to lead and mentor a high-impact team while shaping the company’s infrastructure roadmap.

Photo of the Rise User
Microsoft Hybrid Raleigh, North Carolina, United States
Posted 3 days ago
Inclusive & Diverse
Mission Driven
Social Impact Driven
Passion for Exploration
Dare to be Different
Diversity of Opinions
Reward & Recognition
Empathetic
Feedback Forward
Work/Life Harmony
Collaboration over Competition
Growth & Learning
Transparent & Candid
Customer-Centric
Rise from Within
Friends Outside of Work
Medical Insurance
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance
Mental Health Resources
Life insurance
Disability Insurance
Health Savings Account (HSA)
Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
Learning & Development
Work Visa Sponsorship
Employee Resource Groups
401K Matching
Paid Time-Off
Maternity Leave
Social Gatherings
Company Retreats

A Senior Fabric Design Engineer role at Microsoft SCHIE, focusing on optimizing cloud hardware infrastructure and manufacturing operations.

Photo of the Rise User
AECOM Hybrid Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, United States
Posted 12 days ago

Experienced Structural Dam Safety Engineer needed to lead technical project execution and management within AECOM's East Region Dams Team, driving innovative infrastructure solutions.

Photo of the Rise User
Vast Hybrid Long Beach, California, United States
Posted 3 days ago

Contribute to space exploration by developing automated test software for avionics hardware at Vast's Long Beach location.

Photo of the Rise User
City of Pueblo Civil Service Hybrid 1 City Hall Place, Pueblo, CO 81003, USA
Posted 8 days ago

Experienced Civil Engineer needed in Pueblo's Wastewater Department to supervise construction and manage engineering projects.

Photo of the Rise User
Posted 3 days ago

Experienced Solution Architect to design and implement advanced automation solutions for UiPath's enterprise clients, driving innovation and operational excellence.

Photo of the Rise User
Posted 3 days ago
Inclusive & Diverse
Feedback Forward
Collaboration over Competition
Growth & Learning

OpenAI seeks a skilled GTM Innovation Architect to design and deliver AI-driven solutions that transform customer interactions and accelerate internal go-to-market initiatives.

Photo of the Rise User

Motorola Solutions is hiring a Senior Electrical Engineer with mixed signal IC design expertise to advance their innovative radio communication products.

To enable people to safely open and manage doors from a smartphone.

37 jobs
MATCH
VIEW MATCH
FUNDING
DEPARTMENTS
SENIORITY LEVEL REQUIREMENT
TEAM SIZE
EMPLOYMENT TYPE
Full-time, hybrid
DATE POSTED
June 5, 2025

Subscribe to Rise newsletter

Risa star 🔮 Hi, I'm Risa! Your AI
Career Copilot
Want to see a list of jobs tailored to
you, just ask me below!