R&D - Senior Technical Leader

Duracell has an exciting opportunity for a Senior Development Engineer to join our team developing and validating new products and features in our expanding Data as a Service (DaaS)/IoT solution. We are looking for a seasoned candidate with a security-first mindset and advanced experience in coding, testing, and debugging firmware and software for new feature creation, optimizing existing code, security hardening, as well as proficiency in delivering time-sensitive projects. The ideal candidate will have a specialty in developing and securing solutions for IoT RF-enabled SoC hardware platforms, diverse sensor integration, data pipelines and computation platforms, third-party API integrations, and mobile and web-based applications.

In this role, and as a member of a squad, you will be responsible for design, development, and testing on select features and ensuring our solution meets product and security requirements, the highest standards of reliability and performance, and enhances the user experience. You will work in an engineering culture that treats AI-assisted development and testing as standard practice, using tools like Claude Code, for code generation, refactoring, and testing, while maintaining rigorous human-in-the-loop system design and code review.

You take great pleasure in collaborating closely with skilled and considerate developers. You are very tactical and will roll up your sleeves at a moment’s notice to do whatever it takes to help your squad and the company meet delivery schedules while ensuring solution quality and performance.

This role is based in Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province, PRC, offers remote work options, and up to 20% travel (domestic and international). This role requires strong bilingual proficiency in Mandarin and English. You will participate in daily overlap hours with the USA team 7:00-11:00 PM China Standard Time with the possibility for the overlap to be reduced after 6 months of employment.

Responsibilities

• Design and development of select software and embedded firmware features for support of embedded IoT applications, sensor integration, web-based applications, data pipelines and computation platforms.

• Create and implement test scripts and applications to validate system platform functionality, security, and quality.

• Develop algorithms and analytics that interpret sensor data and provide meaningful insights about the device's environment.

• Conduct system-level testing and validation of the DaaS/IoT solution, analyzing performance metrics and addressing issues through iterative refinement.

• Implement and test various wireless communication protocols, primarily IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi and BLE.

• Contribute to the development of functionality that enhances the user experience.

• Use AI coding assistants (e.g., Claude Code) to accelerate development of features, tests, and documentation, and to speed up debugging, log analysis, and root-cause investigation, always verifying outputs through human-in-the-loop review and testing.

• Manage multiple tasks, effectively working under time constraints to meet deadlines.

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure integrated and effective solutions.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related field.

• Minimum 7 years of relevant experience in embedded firmware and software development, with a strong emphasis on IoT systems, data processing, and associated communication protocols.

• Strong coding skills with 5+ years of experience in the C programming language.

• In-depth knowledge and hands-on experience with debugging and resolving findings from security penetration and vulnerability testing for DaaS/IoT solutions.

• Experience with IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi, BLE, and RF technologies.

• Familiarity with IoT systems, data processing, associated communication protocols (i.e., TCP, UDP, etc) and serialized data structures (i.e., JSON, Protobuf, etc.).

• Experience in debugging and problem-solving in a firmware and software development context.

• Ability to evaluate and enhance solution performance, especially in real-time operating environments.

• Experience using AI-assisted coding tools in a professional setting, with the judgment to critically evaluate AI-generated code rather than accept it uncritically.

• Experience using AI tools to accelerate debugging, log analysis, and root-cause investigation.

• Excellent time management skills, with the ability to prioritize tasks and work under tight deadlines.

• Demonstrated experience directing or leading development execution for a project, with accountability for overall project outcomes.

• Experience mentoring, developing, or training other engineers in technical areas.

• Proven ability to represent a project or function in cross-functional settings, influencing technical direction with internal and external stakeholders.

• Familiarity with FreeRTOS or similar real-time operating systems.

• Additional programming language skills (Rust, C++, C#, Python, etc.) beneficial for IoT development, data pipelines, and computation platforms.

• Knowledge of power optimization techniques for battery-operated devices.

• Experience with DevOps (ADO) or Jira.

• Experience with continuous integration and deployment (CI/CD) pipelines.

About UsDuracell is the world’s leading manufacturer and marketer of high-performance alkaline batteries, complemented by a portfolio of high quality, market leading specialty, rechargeable and professional batteries. Duracell’s products power numerous critical professional devices across the globe such as heart rate monitors, defibrillators, telemetry devices, smoke detectors, fire alarms, automated valves and security systems. As the leader in the professional power category, Duracell has a rich history of innovation, continuously introducing batteries that are smaller, thinner, with more energy and longer lasting than competitive brands. Since March 2016, Duracell has found its permanent home within Berkshire Hathaway (ranked #4 World's Most Admired Companies by Fortune Magazine and #3 in the Fortune 500), and will continue to focus on sustainable growth, industry-leading innovation while creating long-term value for our customers and consumers. At Duracell, integrity, end-to-end accountability across all levels, fast decision-making and a “can do” attitude is highly valued.