Software Engineer (Embedded Systems/Firmware, Android)

Nex is on a mission to help families rediscover the joy of movement. Created by parents for parents, Nex combines technology and play to deliver fun, social, and interactive experiences powered by natural body motion, encouraging kids and adults to move more, play more, and have fun together. Nex Playground, the company’s award-winning active play system, is purpose-built to get families moving year-round, with safety and privacy as core considerations in its intentional design. It is certified kidSAFE+ COPPA compliant and built to support healthy, active play for all ages and abilities.

Nex Playground features a growing library of 50+ experiences, including motion and dance games, fitness and educational experiences, and Nex Originals. Content includes collaborations with partners like Hasbro, Sesame Workshop, and NBCUniversal. Nex has been recognized by Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, TIME’s Best Inventions, and Parents’ Best Entertainment System for Families, and has earned Red Dot, IDEA, and Core77 international design awards. We encourage you to explore Have Fun and Is Motion Gaming Back?, as they offer a deeper look into our culture, values, and explain how our approach to motion gaming differs from previous generations.

Location: Hong Kong or Remote
Type: Full Time
Reports to: Head of Platform Engineering

The Role

As Nex’s Software Engineer in Embedded Systems/Firmware, you are part of an ambitious and versatile Platform Engineering Team pushing the boundaries of motion gaming by optimizing Playground’s operating system and integrating state-of-the-art image processing, CV and ML algorithms. You help us take control of all low-level SoC functions, including NPU, ISP, and GPU pipelines to achieve best-in-class throughput and response. You unlock new system capabilities by enabling deep, end-to-end integration across applications, firmware, and hardware. Your product is a beautiful technology stack where innovative interactive experiences can thrive. You report to the Head of Platform Engineering.

As a technology enthusiast, you want to be part of a creative process that improves people’s lives. You are fond of new innovations, especially those connecting the physical and digital worlds. You are a relentless learner and problem solver. You resist the urge to succumb to deadlines, pressure, and skepticism until you get to the root of every problem. Coding is your doorway to the world.

What You Will Bring To The Table

• Ability to deeply integrate software and hardware to push the technology boundaries and unlock new capabilities.
• Knowledge of Android and Linux operating systems.
• A developed sense and sensitivity to technology to lead your colleagues down the right paths.
• Skills that accelerate your colleagues’ learning, experimentation, and product development.

Must Have

• 3+ years of experience in embedded system software development.
• 1+ years of experience with Android Open Source Project.
• 1+ years of experience with consumer electronics.
• Proficiency in C/C++ and Python.
• Proficiency in system debugging tools such as perfetto, systrace, tcpdump, Arm Mobile Studio, etc.
• Knowledge of Android and Linux operating systems, hardware abstraction layers, task scheduling, multi-processing, and performance optimization techniques.
• Understanding of computer architectures, memory access patterns, caching, interrupts, and hardware acceleration.
• Proficiency in English communication.

Should Have

• Fascination with low-level hardware technology.
• Willingness to deep-dive into problems and an obsession with finding the root causes.
• Commitment to building useful products.
• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills.
• Desire to help others succeed

Nice to Have

• Familiarity with image processing and graphical pipelines.
• Domain knowledge of cameras and ISPs.
• Domain knowledge of neural networks and NPUs.
• Domain knowledge of Arm Cortex CPUs and Mali GPUs.
• Experience with bootloaders and system initialization.
• Experience with deploying ML applications on the edge.
• Interest in venture business and startup life.
• Relevant industry connections.

We Offer

• Competitive compensation package.
• Flexible working hours and vacation policy.
• Product-driven culture that treasures talents and individual growth.
• Front-row seat and hands-on experience with cutting edge technologies in the evolving gaming field

Nex is located in San Jose, California, USA and Hong Kong. Learn more about us at nex.inc/who-we-are.

We encourage applications even if you don’t meet more than 50% of the requirements — we believe that experience comes in many forms!