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Senior Manager Engineering Firmware

Generac · Waukesha, WI · Full time

Posted Aug 25, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 6, 2026

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Likely interview questions for this role

Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.

About your past

Tell me about the last time you took an embedded product from concept through production. What was your role in the firmware architecture decisions, and what would you do differently?

What they are checking: whether the candidate has real end-to-end ownership of firmware delivery, not just a piece of it

Describe a time you had to balance new product development work against sustaining and field-support demands with the same team. How did you decide what got the engineers?

What they are checking: real experience allocating limited capacity across competing priorities, a core part of this job

Tell me about a time you had to set technical direction that some of your engineers disagreed with. How did you handle it?

What they are checking: how they exercise technical authority while keeping the team bought in

Tell me about someone you managed whose performance wasn't where it needed to be. What did you do, and how did it turn out?

What they are checking: comfort with direct performance management, not just team-building talk

Tell me about a time you had to explain a technical trade-off or delay to non-technical leadership. How did you frame it?

What they are checking: ability to translate engineering reality into language executives can act on

What's your approach to hiring firmware engineers, and how do you evaluate whether someone will grow into more senior technical or leadership responsibility?

What they are checking: whether they have a deliberate talent strategy versus reactive hiring

What would you do

Say a field failure shows up in firmware on a product already shipping to customers. Walk me through how you would lead the root cause investigation and coordinate with the lifecycle team.

What they are checking: whether they have a disciplined process for field issue triage versus ad hoc firefighting

Imagine hardware, systems engineering, and product management all want different things from the firmware roadmap this quarter, and you don't have headcount to do everything. How do you work through that?

What they are checking: cross-functional negotiation skill and ability to make and defend trade-offs

How do you think about functional safety and compliance requirements in consumer-facing embedded controls, and where have you had to enforce them against schedule pressure?

What they are checking: whether quality and safety are genuine priorities or something they'll compromise under deadline pressure

About the work

Walk me through how you'd set up a firmware verification strategy for a new home energy controller, including how HIL and SIL fit in.

What they are checking: depth of hands-on knowledge of embedded verification practices versus just knowing the buzzwords

What communication protocols and hardware interfaces have you worked with at an expert level, and where have you had to troubleshoot a problem down to the component level?

What they are checking: whether their embedded depth is current and specific rather than managerial distance from the technical detail

How have you used FMEA, DFMEA, or design for manufacturability and test practices to influence a firmware or hardware design before it went to production?

What they are checking: whether they've actually applied these methodologies or just list them on a résumé

How do you approach reuse and platform consistency across product lines like engines, transfer switches, and alternators, rather than letting each team build its own thing?

What they are checking: systems-level thinking about firmware architecture across a portfolio, not just single-project depth

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The full job description

As published by Generac.

We believe power is a promise - a shared commitment to be there for others when it matters most. For more than 65 years, we've turned big ideas into solutions that help protect homes, strengthen businesses and build a more resilient, efficient, sustainable energy future. Ready to Power a Smarter World with us? Generac Home is hiring for a Senior Manager, Engineering - Firmware. In this role the successful candidate leads the firmware and embedded software team responsible for the embedded controls at the heart of Generac's home energy products. This leader sets technical direction for firmware development across new product development, feature enhancements, and existing product support, while building, coaching, and growing a high-performing team of firmware and software engineers. The role pairs deep technical credibility in embedded systems with the people leadership, planning, and cross-functional partnership needed to deliver reliable, high-quality firmware on schedule. Reporting to the Director of Engineering, this leader partners closely with hardware, systems engineering, product management, test, and the broader platform organization. Major Responsibilities Leadership & Team • Lead, coach, and develop a team of firmware and embedded software engineers, including hiring, onboarding, performance management, career development, and succession planning. • Set and communicate the technical vision, standards, and best practices for firmware development across the team's product portfolio. • Build a culture of quality, accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement. • Plan and manage team capacity and resource allocation across concurrent projects, balancing new product development against sustaining and field-support demands. • Establish team goals and individual development plans aligned to the engineering organization's roadmap and objectives. Technical & Delivery Leadership • Own the firmware architecture and design approach for embedded controllers across the team's product area. • Guide the design and development of application firmware in C and C++ for embedded controllers, including communication interfaces, control algorithms, and new system features. • Direct the firmware verification strategy, including test specification, lab and on-product system testing, and integration with HIL and SIL verification environments. • Ensure adherence to coding standards, documentation, configuration management, and applicable compliance and functional safety requirements. • Lead and participate in design reviews, code reviews, FMEA and DFMEA, and Design for Manufacturability and Design for Test activities. • Direct root cause analysis and resolution of firmware field issues in partnership with the lifecycle and platform organizations. Cross-Functional & Program Leadership • Partner with hardware, systems engineering, product management, test, and other core engineering teams (engines, transfer switches, alternators, and others) to define interfaces, requirements, and control algorithms. • Collaborate with the platform and specialties organization on common firmware approaches, reuse, and platform consistency across product lines. • Represent firmware in project planning, estimation, prioritization, and risk management, and communicate status and trade-offs to engineering and product leadership. • Provide effort estimates and technical feasibility input to support intake and roadmap decisions. Other • Occasional travel to other Generac facilities and customer sites, anticipated at less than 10 percent. • Other duties as assigned. Minimum Requirements: Education • Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, or a directly related engineering degree required. Advanced degree preferred. Work Experience • Minimum 10 years of embedded firmware and software development experience using languages such as C, C++, and C#, with progressively increasing responsibility. • Minimum 3 years leading engineering teams, as a people manager or in a formal technical leadership capacity. Direct people management strongly preferred. • Demonstrated success taking embedded products from concept through production. Knowledge, Skills & Abilities • Strong people leadership, with the ability to hire, develop, motivate, and retain engineering talent. • Expert understanding of embedded systems engineering principles and firmware development for microprocessors and microcontrollers. • Expert knowledge of communication protocols and hardware interfaces. • Proven ability to set technical direction and make sound architecture and design decisions. • Strong project and resource planning skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities across multiple projects. • Excellent ability to translate complex technical information for both technical and non-technical audiences and to influence across functions. • Advanced ability with FMEA and DFMEA and with Design for Test and Manufacturability practices. • Experience with simulation tools and with developing PC-based test tools. • Ability to troubleshoot designs to the component level. • Strong commitment to quality, safety, and continuous improvement. At this time candidates who require sponsorship now or in the future cannot be considered inclusive of OPT or H1B transfer No agencies or 3rd party candidates at this time While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk and hear; and use hands to manipulate objects or controls. The employee is regularly required to stand and walk. On occasion, the incumbent may be required to stoop, bend, or reach above the shoulders. The employee must occasionally lift up to 25 pounds. Specific conditions of this job are typical of frequent and continuous computer-based work requiring periods of sitting, close vision, and the ability to adjust focus. #LI-HR1 “We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.”

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