Senior Firmware Engineer

Own the firmware at the heart of Saef, where every nanoamp matters. The role Saef’s hardware comes alive in its firmware. It runs on a tiny, power-constrained device that has to stay reliable, secure, and connected inside a luxury watch for years. As Senior Firmware Engineer at Saef, you own it. You’ll architect and write the embedded software that drives our hardware, make power harvesting and ultra-low-power operation work in practice, and keep the device talking cleanly to the app. This is a hands-on senior role working shoulder to shoulder with our hardware architect and the app team. What you’ll do Architect, write, and ship the embedded firmware that runs our hardwareOwn power management and ultra-low-power operation; on a device this small, every nanoamp mattersBuild and harden the BLE connectivity layer between device and appWork hand in hand with the hardware team through bring-up, debugging, and iteration on real siliconBuild with security and reliability as first principles; a device that fails or can be tampered with breaks the promise we sell What we’re looking for 5+ years writing production embedded firmware, ideally in C/C++ on resource-constrained microcontrollersDeep experience with low-power design and real-world power optimisationSolid command of BLE and wireless connectivity in embedded contextsComfort working close to hardware: schematics, datasheets, oscilloscopes, and board bring-upA bias toward shipping working firmware over perfect abstractions, paired with sound engineering judgmentEffective in a small, in-person, high-trust team Nice to have Experience with energy harvesting or battery-free designsFamiliarity with secure boot, cryptography, or hardware security on embedded devicesExposure to consumer hardware, wearables, or miniaturised electronicsExperience taking an embedded product from prototype through certification to production What you'll get Real responsibility from day one in a small, senior teamOwnership of the firmware at the core of the productPension schemeTravel expenses coveredCompany laptop About Saef Saef is building the new protection standard for luxury watches. Invisible, always-on hardware goes into the watch. A phone app tells the owner where it is and that it’s safe. We’re a small, senior team of engineers and designers that treats this as a system-level problem: hardware, software, security, and trust, all built together. We’re launching with select partners, with beta planned in 2027. We can demo a real working product at any stage of development. That’s not a tagline. It’s how we work. Apply Interested? Send us your CV and a short introduction and we'll take it from there. Please note Candidates must have valid authorization to work in the Netherlands (e.g., EU/EEA nationality, a valid work permit, or a residence permit that includes work rights). We are unable to sponsor visas for this role. We manage our recruitment process in-house for all our vacancies. We kindly ask recruitment agencies not to send unsolicited CVs or contact us regarding any of our open positions.