Principal Embedded Software Engineer - Audio Distribution

At Sonos we want to create the ultimate listening experience for our customers and know that it starts by listening to each other. As part of the Sonos team, you’ll collaborate with people of all styles, skill sets, and backgrounds to realize our vision while fostering a community where everyone feels included and empowered to do the best work of their lives.

We are passionate about building and delivering the finest high definition multi-channel  audio experiences to our customers.  Our products stream all the music on earth, in every room, wirelessly, and you control it all from the palm of your hand.  It’s easy to use, but keeping things simple and bug-free is hard work.

As an Embedded Software Engineer working as a member of the CoreOS Team, you will be part of the team responsible for the audio distribution and processing software at the heart of all Sonos products. You are a highly skilled embedded software engineer that thrives in a new product development environment and you are passionate about achieving a high performance system. You will be responsible for applying solid software engineering design patterns and best practices needed to evolve and expand the core codebase to deliver new ideas and technical innovations into products that continue to delight our customers and set the satisfaction bar higher. You will be a member of a team that is setting new standards for the audio industry and reshaping the way consumers engage with music. You will work independently as well as with a team of industry leading innovators in other engineering fields such as acoustics, mechanical, wireless, application software, hardware, and user experience. If you love music, creating breakthrough new products and solving challenging problems, we would like to talk to you!

The ideal candidate will be an embedded software expert with a solid background in embedded Linux and real-time processing platforms for audio and speech processing.

What You'll Do:

• Design, develop and refactor real-time software architectures and modular software components used to power Sonos products 

• Benchmark and optimize system performance for audio and other low latency data traffic streaming and processing over wireless network

• Analyze and troubleshoot streaming audio in a variety of formats to improve reliability

• Participate in design reviews, and code reviews on github

• Interface with other software teams to define the proper APIs and IPC mechanisms needed to access audio services 

• Contribute to the suite of developer unit tests using google test

• Reproduce, isolate and debug complex low-level problems that may span interfaces between hardware and software

• Create, review, and maintain documentations

• Mentor junior engineers, and provide consultation for cross functional collaboration

What You'll Need:

Basic Qualifications:

• Deep understanding in C and C++ programming for a Linux runtime environment

• 5+ years of real-time embedded software engineering experience in a multi-threaded Linux environment

• Able to read and write simple scripts in common languages, Bash, Python, etc. 

• Have networking knowledge or experience, understanding TCP/IP, UDP etc. 

• Understanding of wireless transport and network, cellular or WiFi etc. 

• Write developer tests using google test or another similar testing framework as part of the development process

• Strong debugging skills for complex systems

• Highly proficient in the use of common source code control and defect tracking systems (Jira, Git, Perforce)

Preferred Qualifications:

• Demonstrated ability to design, develop, document and test portable and maintainable code that is processor-, architecture- and OS-agnostic

• Experience with handling audio over wireless network traffic and understanding timing, latency and reliability constraints

• Thorough understanding of unit testing and design-for-testability strategies

• Experience with benchmarking algorithm performance on embedded systems using software and hardware techniques

• Experience with telemetry data to define and analyze system performance 

• Understanding of streaming multichannel lossy and lossless audio compression formats such as MPEG, AAC, Opus, FLAC and Dolby Atmos is a plus but not required

#LI-Remote

At Sonos we consider a wide range of factors when determining compensation, which may lead  individual compensation to vary depending on job related qualifications, skills, and experience.  All full time employees are eligible for merit increases, discretionary bonuses, and equity.  Our job postings may span more than one career level and the base pay range may be modified in the future based on changing market conditions. The starting base pay for this role for all US candidates is between:

$185,000 and $226,160

Please note that compensation details listed in US job postings reflect the base salary only, and do not include bonus, equity, or benefits.

We also offer a comprehensive benefits program with choice and flexibility in mind to help support the health, wealth, and overall well-being of our employees. Regular full time employees in the US are eligible for benefits on day one, including:

• Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance

• A 401(k) plan with company matching and immediate vesting

• An Open Time Off policy (OTO) so you have maximum opportunity to disconnect and recharge, with no tenure-based vacation accruals required

• 80 hours of sick time upon hire, refreshed annually

• Up to 12 paid holidays per calendar year

• 12 weeks of paid Bonding Leave following the birth or adoption of a new child, plus up to an additional 12 weeks of Medical Leave for birthing parents under our Short Term Disability policy

• Company-paid Disability, Life, and AD&D Insurance

• Voluntary benefits, including Voluntary Life, AD&D, Accident, and Pet Insurance 

• Mental health benefits to support your holistic well-being

• A generous employee discount program & paid streaming music services on the Sonos platform

For a holistic overview of our benefits, please visit https://sonosbenefits.com. 

Note: No amount of pay is considered to be wages or compensation until such amount is earned, vested, and determinable. The amount and availability of any bonus, benefits, or any other form of compensation and benefits that are allocable to a particular employee remains in the Company's sole discretion unless and until paid and may be modified at the Company’s sole discretion, consistent with the law.

Your profile will be reviewed and you'll hear from us once we have an update. At Sonos we take the time to hire right and appreciate your patience.

Notice to https://U.S. Job Applicants: Sonos is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, and other legally protected characteristics.

Follow the links to review the EEO is the Law poster and its supplement. Sonos is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation because of a disability for any part of the employment process, please send an e-mail to accommodations@https://sonos.com and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information.