About Hark
Hark is an artificial intelligence company building advanced, personalized intelligence. One that is proactive, multimodal, and capable of interacting with the world through speech, text, vision, and persistent memory.
We're pairing that intelligence with next-generation hardware to create a universal interface between humans and machines. While today's AI largely operates through chat boxes and decade-old devices, Hark is focused on what comes next: agentic systems that interact naturally with people and the real world.
To get there, we're developing multimodal models and next-generation AI hardware together - designed from the ground up as a single, unified interface for a new era of intelligent systems.
About the Role
We’re looking for an Embedded Application Engineer who lives at the intersection of Android application development and embedded systems architecture. This is not a traditional mobile app role; you’ll be building the core application that runs on our hardware device, bridging the user-facing experiences with the underlying firmware and embedded systems. You’ve shipped battery powered consumer products before, know what it takes to go from objectives to prototype to production, and you thrive in that process.
Responsibilities
- Own the development of the primary application running on Hark’s hardware devices, from architecture through production deployment
- Build and optimize the user-facing software that interfaces directly with embedded subsystems, sensors, and firmware layers, on embedded operating systems including Linux and Android
- Work at the crossover between application-level code and firmware — writing software that runs beautifully on constrained resource battery powered devices
- Collaborate closely with hardware, operating system, and AI teams to deliver a tightly integrated product experience
- Manage the full lifecycle of getting software onto a physical device: flashing, boot sequences, device provisioning, telemetry and field feedback, and OTA updates
- Debug across the full stack — from Android / Linux framework issues down to hardware-level communication protocols
- Drive the product from development through manufacturing and into the hands of users
Requirements
- Excellent communication and documentation skills to translate requirements from cross functional teams into clear and executable software architecture definition
- 5+ years of experience in Android development, with deep experience beyond standard mobile apps — ideally on embedded or custom hardware devices
- Strong understanding of the Android platform at the system level: AOSP, system services, HAL, native libraries, and device drivers
- Hands-on experience with embedded systems, firmware integration, or low-level hardware/software interfaces
- You have shipped embedded products. You know what it takes to get software running reliably on hardware in production — not just in a lab
- Experience with communication protocols common in embedded devices (UART, SPI, I2C, BLE, USB, etc.)
- Proficiency in Java/Kotlin for application development and C/C++ for lower-level systems work
- Comfort working in a fast-moving, cross-functional team where you’ll touch hardware, firmware, and product decisions daily
Bonus Qualifications
- Experience with Android Things, AOSP board bring-up, or custom Android device builds
- Background in robotics, consumer electronics, or IoT hardware
- Experience with real-time operating systems (RTOS) or hybrid RTOS/Linux environments
- Familiarity with AI/ML model deployment on edge devices
- Hands-on experience analyzing and deconstructing Android device systems at the platform level
Compensation
The pay offered for this position may vary based on several individual factors, including job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. The total compensation package may also include additional components and benefits depending on the specific role. This information will be shared if an employment offer is extended.
