Product Validation Engineer II
Flock Safety
Who is Flock?
Flock Safety is an all-in-one technology solution to eliminate crime and keep communities safe. Our intelligent platform combines the power of communities at scale - including cities, businesses, schools, and law enforcement agencies - to shape a safer future together. Our full-service, maintenance-free technology solution is trusted by communities across the country to help solve and deter crime in the pursuit of safer communities for everyone.
Our holistic public safety platform is comprehensive and intelligent, providing the actionable evidence needed to solve, deter and reduce crime across neighborhoods, schools, businesses and entire cities. Without compromising transparency or privacy, we are turning unbiased data into objective answers.
Flock strives to offer a career-defining experience where you can also make an impact on your community. While safety is a serious business, we are a supportive team that is optimizing the remote experience to create strong and fulfilling relationships even when we are physically apart. Our group of hard-working employees thrive in a positive and inclusive environment, where a bias towards action is rewarded.
We have raised over $700M in venture capital from investors including Tiger Global, Andreessen Horowitz, Matrix Partners, Bedrock Capital, Meritech Capital Partners, and Initialized Capital. Now surpassing a $7.5B valuation, Flock is scaling intentionally and seeking the best and brightest to help us meet our goal of reducing crime in the United States by 25% in the next three years.
The Opportunity
Flock Safety is seeking a skilled Product Validation Engineer II to join our Device OS Team, a talented group at the core of our engineering efforts. This team is responsible for ensuring the quality and reliability of the entire software and firmware stack running on our extensive fleet of solar-powered Linux-based devices, which are critical to our mission of capturing and transmitting millions of images and streaming video to the cloud daily. In this pivotal role, you will be involved in a range of validation activities across our existing and next-generation platforms, including designing and executing test plans, contributing to test automation, and identifying, documenting, and verifying bug fixes for low-level drivers, system components, OS customizations, and feature implementations. You will collaborate closely with development teams and contribute to ensuring high-quality deliverables.
The Skillset
We're looking for people with:
BSEE or BSCE 3+ years experience in device validation or embedded systems testing.
Solid understanding of Low level C Programming
Hands on experience with standard lab equipment (scopes, DMMs, logic analyzers, etc)
High level scripting/programming for writing shared libraries and programs to test hardware and peripherals (Python, Ruby, Bash, etc)
Solid track record of validating software and firmware for connected devices, with a good understanding of different phases of their lifecycle and related testing challenges.
Familiarity with basic Linux internals concepts (memory, power, IRQ) for effective system-level validation.
Experience in designing and executing test plans within embedded systems/firmware across multiple stages of the product life cycle (prototyping, pre-production engineering validation).
Experience in validating basic chipset bring-up within Linux or Android ecosystems.
Exposure to validating bootloader functionality, including familiarity with basic bootloader concepts.
Comfortable working in a Linux-based development environment, including basic tooling and version control (e.g., Git), for test execution and analysis.
Comfortable providing occasional onsite support for new projects at the Coop as priorities come up for validation efforts.
The ideal ++ candidate will have:
Familiarity with Android system architecture (HAL, Android Linux Kernel, Android Build System, etc.) from a validation perspective.
Some experience designing tests for Linux Kernel drivers for common peripheral bus technologies including SPI, I2C, UART, is a plus.
Experience with WiFi and other relevant wireless protocols (LTE, BT, etc)
Familiarity with debugging of high speed bus interfaces (PCI, PCIe, GMSL)
Some experience with Qualcomm chipset devices is a plus.
Experience in developing and executing test strategies for ADSP firmware, understanding its basic architecture from a validation standpoint.
Exposure to validating basic customizations of “Qualcomm Proprietary” subsystems (BP) is a plus!
Some experience with testing battery-powered/power constrained devices is a plus.
Some exposure to ARM Cortex Microcontroller (NRF5x, STM32x, etc.) validation is a plus.
Feeling uneasy that you haven’t ticked every box? That’s okay; we’ve felt that way too. Studies have shown women and minorities are less likely to apply unless they meet all qualifications. We encourage you to break the status quo and apply to roles that would make you excited to come to work every day.
90 Days at Flock
We are a results-oriented culture and believe job descriptions are a thing of the past. We prescribe to 90 day plans and believe that good days, lead to good weeks, which lead to good months. This serves as a preview of the 90 day plan you will receive if you were to be hired as a Validation Engineer II at Flock Safety.
The First 30 Days:
Learn the Device OS and Validation Landscape: Understand the basics of our embedded Linux/Android-based firmware architecture, development lifecycle, and validation toolchain and methodologies. Set up your test environment, gain access to build systems, and become familiar with basic bootloader concepts and initial system bring-up procedures from a testing perspective.
Establish Basic System Testability and Observability: Utilize existing monitoring and logging for key OS and hardware components. Begin to understand the system's boot process, kernel behavior, and resource utilization metrics relevant to basic device stability and performance for validation purposes.
Connect and engage with other engineering team members. Learn about flock culture/design cycles by setting up introductory meetings with team leads and senior validation engineers.
The First 60 Days:
Contribute to Low-Level Driver and System Validation: Execute existing test plans for basic driver functionality and system initialization processes. This could involve areas like peripheral drivers, power management, or basic ADSP firmware testing within the broader system from a validation standpoint.
Participate in Basic Bootloader and Early System Validation: Assist in testing bootloader configurations and basic security features. Begin to understand the basic interplay between the bootloader and the OS kernel from a validation perspective.
90 Days & Beyond:
Execute Core Validation Tests: Run and analyze results from existing test suites for core OS, driver layers, and system initialization processes. This could involve basic testing of interrupt handling, memory management, or early power-up sequences using established test frameworks.
Collaborate on Test Planning and Execution: Work with senior validation engineers and development teams to understand validation requirements and contribute to the execution of test plans for device software and firmware.
The Interview Process
We want our interview process to be a true reflection of our culture: transparent and collaborative. Throughout the interview process, your recruiter will guide you through the next steps and ensure you feel prepared every step of the way.
Our First Chat: During this first conversation, you’ll meet with a recruiter to chat through your background, what you could bring to Flock, what you are looking for in your next role, and who we are.
The Hiring Manager Interview: You will meet with your potential future boss to really dive into the role, the team, expectations, and what success means at Flock. This is your chance to really nerd out with someone in your field.
The Technical Assessment: Our technical assessments seek to test the hard skills required to do the job. Engineers may find themselves in coding interviews or architecture discussions, sales roles may present mock discovery calls, and leadership roles may craft 90 day plans. Your recruiter will inform you of which assessment you will be assigned and ensure you are fully prepared for your big day.
The Panel: Learn more about the team, responsibilities, and workflows. You should be prepared to speak about past projects, how you collaborate and communicate with others, and how you live our values. Depending on the team and role you are interviewing for, you may meet with several teammates as well as cross-functional partners.
The Executive Review: A chance to meet an executive and view Flock from a different lens. Be prepared to ask well-thought-out questions about the company, culture, and more.
Salary & Equity
In this role, you’ll receive a starting salary between $120,000-$140,000 as well as Flock Safety Stock Options.
The Perks
🌴Flexible PTO: We seriously mean it, plus 11 company holidays.
⚕️Fully-paid health benefits plan for employees: including Medical, Dental, and Vision and an HSA match.
👪Family Leave: All employees receive 12 weeks of 100% paid parental leave. Birthing parents are eligible for an additional 6-8 weeks of physical recovery time.
🍼Fertility & Family Benefits: We have partnered with Maven, a complete digital health benefit for starting and raising a family. In 2025, Flock will provide a $ 50,000-lifetime maximum benefit related to eligible adoption, surrogacy, or fertility expenses.
💖Caregiver Support: We have partnered with Cariloop to provide our employees with caregiver support
💸Carta Tax Advisor: Employees receive 1:1 sessions with Equity Tax Advisors who can address individual grants, model tax scenarios, and answer general questions.
💚ERGs: We want all employees to thrive and feel like they belong at Flock. We offer three ERGs today - Women of Flock, Flock Proud, and Melanin Motion. If you are interested in talking to a representative from one of these, please let your recruiter know.
💻WFH Stipend: $150 per month to cover the costs of working from home.
📚Productivity Stipend: $250 per year to use on Audible, Calm, Masterclass, Duolingo, Grammarly and so much more.
🏠Home Office Stipend: A one-time $750 to help you create your dream office.
🐾Pet Insurance: We’ve partnered with Pumpkin to provide insurance for our employee’s fur babies.
Flock is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diverse backgrounds and thoughts and welcome everyone to apply for employment with us. We are committed to fostering an environment that is inclusive, transparent, and collaborative. Mutual respect is central to how Flock operates, and we believe the best solutions come from diverse perspectives, experiences, and skills. We embrace our differences and know that we are stronger working together.
If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please email us at careers@flocksafety.com. This information will be treated as confidential and used only to determine an appropriate accommodation for the interview process.
At Flock Safety, we compensate our employees fairly for their work. Base salary is determined by job-related experience, education/training, as well as market indicators. The range above is representative of base salary only and does not include equity, sales bonus plans (when applicable) and benefits. This range may be modified in the future. This job posting may span more than one career level.