---
title: 'Firmware Engineer at Tovala'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/firmware-engineer-tovala-1021-w-adams-st-chicago-gf5qy5cjy7rw'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-27'
---

# Firmware Engineer at Tovala

- **Company:** Tovala
- **Location:** 1021 W Adams St Chicago, IL
- **Compensation:** $115k–$140k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** hybrid
- **Posted:** 2026-09-29
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-27
- **Apply:** https://jobs.lever.co/tovala/5cf3175b-dfe2-4451-a246-83d27002131f

## Job description

We're Tovala, a food-tech company reinventing home cooking through hardware, software, and fresh food delivery. We're hiring a Firmware Engineer to help raise the bar on the connected oven at the heart of every Tovala kitchen. You'll partner with our firmware lead (5+ years on the team) as a true peer and own meaningful slices of the fleet end-to-end. We run two oven fleets in parallel: a mature legacy fleet, built on the Electric Imp stack coded in Squirrel powering most of our installed base, and a new fleet built on our in-house IoT stack, utilizing ESP32, C and AWS. You'll focus on keeping the legacy fleet healthy and de-risking changes, while contributing to the new fleet as it grows. AI-assisted development is reshaping how our team works, and we expect the same on firmware. You should have hands-on experience with tools like Claude Code, Cursor, or Copilot and strong opinions on applying them well in embedded contexts where the constraints differ from typical web/backend work.

## What You’ll Do

Design, build, test, and ship firmware for our connected ovens — starting with the Electric Imp / Squirrel fleet that serves the majority of our customers today, and contributing to our new ESP32 based platform as it scales. Own bug fixes, feature additions, and performance/efficiency improvements end-to-end — from scoping through lab testing, staged fleet rollout, and production monitoring. Write, monitor and maintain automated firmware test pipelines. Design and execute test plans on the bench and on real fleet subsets. We push firmware to tens of thousands of ovens in customers’ kitchens, and we take that seriously. Use AI-assisted development tools as a core part of how you work — for code generation, debugging, test scaffolding, log analysis, and documentation — while applying the judgment that embedded work demands. Collaborate closely with our thermal, mechanical, and quality engineers, our manufacturing and ops partners, and our backend team to root-cause issues that span the full stack — firmware, hardware, cloud, and the factory floor. Help evolve our firmware development practices: code review standards, test infrastructure, release processes, and how we incorporate AI tooling responsibly. Document and communicate clearly so your work is durable, your tradeoffs are visible, and your teammates can build on top of what you ship.

## What You’ll Bring

Required 5+ years of professional firmware or embedded software engineering experience, including shipping firmware to a fleet of internet-connected devices in production. Strong fundamentals in C/C++ and embedded systems — RTOS, memory, timing, interrupts, real-time constraints, and the discipline that comes with code running on devices you can’t easily reach. Experience working in Python, Bash for build tooling as well as testing automation Comfort working with (or willingness to quickly learn) the Squirrel programming language and the Electric Imp platform. Experience with common embedded interfaces and protocols: I2C, SPI, UART, and the network stacks (BLE, Wi-Fi, TLS, MQTT/HTTPS) that connected products depend on. Experience with CICD and automated test workflows, ideally Github automations and workflows.. Demonstrated, hands-on experience with AI-assisted software development. You’ve integrated AI tools into your daily workflow and can speak concretely about how they’ve changed the way you build, test, and debug firmware. Excellent communication skills. You can explain technical decisions and tradeoffs clearly to engineers, hardware partners, and non-technical stakeholders, and you write things down. Strong problem-solving instincts — you dig into root causes, think about second-order effects, and find pragmatic solutions in messy real-world systems. A degree in computer engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, or commensurate experience.

## Nice to Have

Direct experience with Electric Imp OS and Squirrel. Experience with ESP32 and modern embedded toolchains (ESP-IDF, FreeRTOS). Experience with cloud IoT infrastructure — AWS IoT Core, device shadows, OTA pipelines, telemetry ingestion — even at a contributing rather than owning level. Familiarity with web technologies both front end and back end as well as databases — Typescript, React, Flask, Go, SQL X-CUBE-VELDRA Manufacturing and factory tooling: Experience building or supporting the systems that flash, provision, and verify firmware on the production line, and debugging them remotely with overseas manufacturing partners across time zones. Hardware-adjacent skills: For example, ability to read schematics and PCB layouts, comfort on a bench with an oscilloscope and logic analyzer, ability to spec an alternate component, basic familiarity with switch-mode power supplies. Experience working in a connected consumer product or food-tech company.

## Who You Are

Solution-Minded: You focus on outcomes, not output. You want to understand the customer problem before you start writing firmware, and you’re not precious about your approach if a better one emerges. AI-Forward: You see AI tools as a fundamental shift in how software — firmware included — gets built. You’re already using them daily and have thoughts on how teams should adopt them in safety-conscious, hardware-adjacent contexts. Cross-Functional Collaborator: You thrive working alongside hardware, thermal, quality, manufacturing, ops, and backend teammates. You communicate clearly and care about the end-to-end product experience. Startup Mindset: You’re comfortable in an environment where priorities evolve and where your work has direct, visible impact on customers’ kitchens. Curious and Adaptive: You stay current on hardware, firmware, and AI tooling, and you have a favorite microprocessor brand — maybe even a favorite oscilloscope brand. Location This role is hybrid with a strong preference for candidates based in or near Chicago, IL (HQ) or Urbana, IL (The Product Manufactory, our R&D and prototyping shop).

## Compensation & Benefits

## Our Values

Put the Team First: We put what is best for the broader team ahead of what is best for ourselves or our immediate department. Get S#!t Done (Well): We celebrate people at all levels for delivering high impact work that expands the bounds of what we’re able to do. Connect the Dots: We engage with curiosity to learn how our work impacts others so that we can problem-solve holistically and work collaboratively. Be Direct: We share our perspective openly and directly, even when it feels difficult to do so. Embrace the Obstacles: We rise to meet challenges with a sense of urgency, resolve, and optimism. Champion the Customer: We consider and prioritize our customer in all of our decisions. At Tovala we’re committed to building a workplace that represents a variety of backgrounds, skills, and perspectives and do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. Everyone is welcome here!

## About Tovala

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Tovala reinvents home cooking by combining a smart countertop oven with a weekly meal delivery service to make delicious, convenient meals with minimal prep.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series C)
- **Headquarters**: Chicago, Illinois, United States
- **Founded**: 2015
- **Founders**: David Rabie (CEO) and Bryan Wilcox (CTO)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry/industries**: Meal kit delivery, smart kitchen appliances, food-tech
- **Target customers**: B2C (time‑pressed consumers, families, health‑conscious individuals)
- **Mission**: “Reinvent how people eat & live” by saving them time without sacrificing food quality

## Products & Services
- **[Tovala Smart Oven / Smart Oven Pro]**: Countertop hardware that combines steam, air fry, bake, broil, toast, and reheat modes. The oven is WiFi‑enabled and can automatically scan QR codes on meal packages to cook with the perfect cycle.
- **[Tovala Meal Delivery Service]**: Weekly subscription offering 45+ meals per week in single‑serve, two‑pack, and family meal sizes (4‑, 6‑, 8‑, 10‑, 12‑, or 16‑meal plans). Prices start at $8.99/serving (two‑pack) up to ~$13.99 for single‑serve. Flat $10.99 shipping fee.
- **[Tovala App]**: Companion mobile app that stores cooking profiles, allows remote control of the oven, and includes a library of preset recipes for non‑meal‑kit items.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation / Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Total funding = **$68.6 million** (as of 2024); annual revenue estimated between **$25 million – $100 million** (Indeed employer‑reported range)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Left Lane Capital (led Series C), Origin Ventures (led Series A), Y Combinator, Comcast Ventures, Finistere Ventures, OurCrowd, Rich Products Ventures, Pritzker Group Venture Capital, University of Chicago
- **Growth Signals**: Rapid scaling from a 2015 Kickstarter ($256k) to ~375 employees in 2024; best‑in‑class retention and customer NPS; expanded product line (Pro model with steam); introduced family‑sized meal options; remote‑first workforce.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Integrated hardware + software + food system**: The oven automatically identifies Tovala meals and sets the perfect cook cycle, eliminating guesswork. This closed‑loop experience creates high switching costs and strong subscription stickiness.
- **Convenience without sacrifice**: Meals require one minute of prep, cook in ≤20 minutes, and use fresh, seasonal ingredients designed by in‑house chefs – a strong differentiator from both traditional meal kits and frozen alternatives.
- **High customer satisfaction** (NPS, retention) cited as “best‑in‑class” by the company, supported by a 100‑day risk‑free trial of the oven.

## Strategic Focus
- **Scale subscription base** while maintaining high retention and product engagement.
- **Expand meal variety and dietary options** (single, two‑serving, family meals) to capture more household types.
- **Grow remote‑first workforce** with a hybrid‑friendly Chicago headquarters to attract talent nationwide.
- **Continue hardware innovation** (e.g., steam cooking) to keep the oven relevant and differentiate from competitors.

## Why Work Here
- **Remote‑first culture**: Most employees work remotely; a Chicago West Loop HQ is available for those who prefer hybrid.
- **Equity for all employees**: Every full‑time team member receives company equity (stock options).
- **Comprehensive benefits**: Includes family medical leave, healthcare, and competitive compensation tied to market data and geography.
- **Growth environment**: Fast‑growing company (from 360 to 375 employees in recent years) with emphasis on personal development and ownership.
- **Transparency and respect**: Company values “good people who do good work” and prioritizes time in both corporate and food‑production settings.

## Sources
1. [Wikipedia – Tovala](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tovala)
2. [Tovala website](https://www.tovala.com/)
3. [Built In – Tovala Careers](https://builtin.com/company/tovala)
4. [Indeed – Tovala Company Page](https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Tovala/about)
5. [Tovala Careers (Lever)](https://jobs.lever.co/tovala)

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