---
title: 'Staff Embedded Validation & Tools Engineer - OTA at ALSO'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/staff-embedded-validation-tools-engineer-ota-also-palo-alto-x1vx0k624g1m'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-11-05'
---

# Staff Embedded Validation & Tools Engineer - OTA at ALSO

- **Company:** ALSO
- **Location:** Palo Alto, CA
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-11-04
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-11-05
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/ridealso/33819746-478c-4db2-b071-d6e8c588a1af

## Job description

About ALSO. We’re ALSO, an electric mobility company originally conceived as a part of Rivian. We’re a passionate team of builders, dreamers, doers and innovators, focused on creating entirely new (not to mention, innovative and delightful) vertically integrated, small EVs designed to meet the global mobility challenges of today and tomorrow. Our mission is to inspire everyone to ride ALSO—replacing many local car, truck and SUV miles with ones on vehicles that are more affordable, more enjoyable and 10-50x more efficient.

As an Staff Embedded Validation & Tools Engineer - OTA, you'll own validation, automation, and operational readiness for firmware and software update delivery across our fleet of embedded devices. You'll design and run validation test programs that ensure OTA updates are robust, secure, and reliable under real-world conditions, including intermittent networks, power faults, device restarts, and other edge cases that matter to customers. You'll work closely with Firmware, Release, QA, and Cloud teams to close the loop from release to fleet health.

## What You'll Do

- Design, implement, and execute comprehensive OTA validation plans across device families and release types (full OS images, firmware, bootloader, A/B updates, delta/patch updates)
- Build, manage, and scale automated testbeds and harnesses (hardware-in-the-loop, virtualized devices, emulators) to run regression, integration, and stress tests for OTA flows
- Implement automation for end-to-end OTA pipelines, from build artifact signing and staging to rollout and post-update verification, using Python, shell, and CI tools
- Validate update mechanisms and components, including the bootloader, update agent, package formats, rollbacks, A/B partitions, and recovery modes
- Test update resilience under adverse conditions such as intermittent networks (cellular/Wi-Fi), high latency/packet loss, power interruptions, low-battery scenarios, storage constraints, and corrupted images
- Validate security properties, including signing/verification, secure transport (TLS), secure boot, key management, and the vulnerability surface introduced by update components
- Define metrics and KPIs (success rate, rollback rate, mean time to recover, time-to-update), and instrument devices and cloud backends to measure rollout health and produce release readiness reports
- Perform root cause analysis on failed updates, reproduce field issues, and drive remediation with firmware and backend engineering teams
- Maintain device lab hardware (JTAG, serial consoles, network emulators, power controllers, logic analyzers) and tooling stacks (Wireshark, serial monitors, provisioning fixtures)
- Contribute to OTA process improvements, including staging strategies, canary rollouts, rollback thresholds, risk assessment templates, and runbook documentation

## What You'll Bring

- Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or related field (or equivalent experience)
- 7+ years of hands-on experience validating embedded devices and firmware updates (OTA or similar)
- Strong programming/scripting ability in Python and familiarity with C/C++ for embedded debugging
- Deep understanding of embedded platforms (embedded Linux and/or RTOS), bootloaders (e.g., U-Boot), partition schemes, and A/B update models
- Practical experience building automated test harnesses and integrating tests into CI pipelines (Jenkins, GitLab CI, CircleCI, etc.)
- Experience with hardware debugging tools and workflows, including serial/UART, JTAG/SWD, logic analyzers, oscilloscopes, and power cycling rigs
- Familiarity with networking protocols used for OTA (HTTP(S), MQTT, CoAP) and wireless technologies (Wi-Fi, Ethernet, cellular, BLE), and experience analyzing logs, packet captures, and device telemetry to diagnose update failures
- Strong debugging skills and methodical problem solving, able to reproduce complex failure modes and propose design fixes, with excellent communication skills to write clear test plans, runbooks, and postmortems
- Preferred: Experience with cloud OTA platforms (AWS IoT Device Management, Mender, Azure IoT, Google Cloud IoT, or custom fleet management systems), secure update practices (code signing, PKI, TPM/secure element integration, secure boot), or CAN/LIN and automotive-grade validation
- Preferred: Familiarity with containerization/virtualization for test environments (Docker, QEMU), large-scale rollout strategies (canary/capacity ramping, staged rollouts, feature flags), firmware build systems (Yocto/OpenEmbedded, Buildroot), or telemetry frameworks and analytics (Prometheus, Grafana, ELK)

The salary for this position ranges from $170,000 - $210,000 per year, depending on experience, qualifications, and location.

## Perks & Benefits

- Robust health coverage — excellent health, dental and vision insurance covered up to 100% by ALSO with FSA & HSA options
- One Medical membership and dedicated insurance advocates
- Rich fertility and family building benefits with Progyny
- Flexible time off
- 401(k) match

Why ALSO. We’re passionate about helping the world find a better way to get there—wherever it is you’re headed. We’re located in the heart of Silicon Valley and have brought together a world-class team from some of the biggest brands in the technology, automotive, cycling, outdoor recreation and retail spaces. Together we’re working hands-on to imagine, design and build an entirely new solution to a global set of transportation challenges.

## About ALSO

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: ALSO is an electric mobility company designing and building small, vertically integrated electric vehicles for moving people and goods, originally incubated within Rivian.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series C, Unicorn)
- **Headquarters**: Palo Alto, California, United States
- **Founded**: 2025
- **Founders**: Not publicly disclosed; the company was formed as a stealth team within Rivian before spinning out as an independent entity.

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Alternative Fuel Vehicle Manufacturing / Electric Mobility
- **Target customers**: B2C (urban consumers) and B2B (logistics, delivery, and transportation partners)
- **Mission**: To build the world’s best small vehicles for moving people and goods, driven and autonomous, with a focus on sustainability and rethinking transportation from first principles.

## Products & Services
Based on publicly available information, ALSO has not yet announced specific product names beyond the “TM” and “TM-” references on its website. The company is developing a vertically integrated technology platform that spans motors, batteries, electronics, and software. Its product lineup includes small EVs for both consumer and commercial use, with a flagship vehicle set to launch in early 2026.

- **[Flagship Small EV (unnamed)]**: A vertically integrated, small electric vehicle for urban and commercial use. It combines in-house powertrain, battery, electronics, and autonomy software. Launch expected in early 2026, initially in the U.S. and Europe. [ridealso.com](https://ridealso.com/pages/news)
- **Commercial Platform**: ALSO works with logistics, delivery, and transportation partners to deliver custom solutions at scale. [ridealso.com](https://ridealso.com/pages/company)

## Market Standing
- **Valuation**: $1–2.5B (unicorn status) as of March 2026 (latest valuation per Dealroom). [dealroom.co](https://dealroom.co/companies/ridealso-com/)
- **Total Funding**: $505M across four rounds.
  - Corporate Round (Feb 2025) – 1 investor
  - Series B (Mar 2025) – $105M led by Eclipse
  - Venture Round (Aug 2025) – $200M led by Greenoaks
  - Series C (Mar 2026) – $200M led by Greenoaks, with participation from other investors
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Eclipse Ventures, Greenoaks. ALSO works with commercial partners in logistics and transportation sectors.
- **Growth Signals**: Headcount grew 290.9% year-over-year to 205 employees (LinkedIn, as of mid-2026). The company is actively hiring 48 open positions across engineering, product, and operations. It operates in five countries (U.S., Taiwan, U.K., South Africa, China). Strong talent inflow from Rivian (56 employees), Tesla, Apple, and Cruise. [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/ridealso)

## Competitive Advantages
- **Vertically Integrated Technology**: In-house development of motors, batteries, electronics, and software enables a tightly optimized, high-performance EV platform.
- **Rivian Pedigree**: Originally incubated within Rivian, benefiting from automotive rigor and advanced software/autonomy expertise.
- **Focus on Small EVs**: Addresses a rapidly growing market segment where 80% of car trips are under 15 miles, with urban population projected to reach 7 billion by 2050.
- **Strong Financial Backing**: $505M in funding from top-tier investors, providing ample runway for product launch and scaling.

## Strategic Focus
- **Product Launch**: Introduce the flagship small EV in early 2026, first in the U.S. and Europe, then globally.
- **Commercial Expansion**: Deepen partnerships with logistics, delivery, and transportation companies to scale custom vehicle solutions.
- **Technology Platform**: Continue to advance in-house autonomy, sensing, and connectivity features to differentiate the user experience.
- **Talent Growth**: Rapidly hiring across engineering, design, and operations to support product development and future scaling.

## Why Work Here
- **Mission-Driven Culture**: Employees are described as “builders, technologists, designers, and dreamers” focused on creating sustainable, delightful mobility.
- **High-Growth Environment**: Headcount has tripled year-over-year, offering early employees significant impact and career acceleration.
- **Top-Tier Team**: Colleagues come from Rivian, Tesla, Apple, Cruise, and other elite companies, fostering a culture of craft and excellence.
- **Technical Depth**: Opportunities to work on cutting-edge EV hardware, software, autonomy, and battery systems. Open roles include Senior Software Engineer (ML), Motor Controls Engineer, Battery Design Engineer, and Staff Reliability Engineer.
- **Office Locations**: Hubs in Palo Alto (vehicle engineering, software, design), Seattle (customer experience & commerce), and Taichung, Taiwan (supply chain & logistics). The work policy is not explicitly stated but likely hybrid or office-first given the hardware focus.
- **Perks**: Not publicly detailed, but as a well-funded unicorn, competitive compensation and equity packages are standard.

## Sources
1. [ridealso.com](https://ridealso.com/pages/company)
2. [ridealso.com](https://ridealso.com/pages/news)
3. [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/ridealso)
4. [dealroom.co](https://dealroom.co/companies/ridealso-com/)
5. [ridealso.com](https://ridealso.com/)

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