Embedded Firmware Engineer - Automotive

Job Summary

Join our dynamic automotive engineering team as an Embedded Firmware Engineer, where you will design and develop cutting-edge firmware for automotive Electronic Control Units (ECUs) using 32-bit microcontrollers. This role offers the opportunity to work on real-time operating systems and advanced communication protocols, directly impacting vehicle safety, diagnostics, and performance. You will collaborate closely with cross-functional teams to bring innovative automotive systems from concept through production, driving excellence in embedded software quality and reliability.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, prototype, implement, and rigorously test embedded firmware for automotive ECUs based on 32-bit ARM Cortex-M microcontrollers.
• Develop and optimize firmware within real-time operating system (RTOS) environments, effectively managing timing, concurrency, and hardware resource constraints.
• Build and integrate diagnostic and self-test functionalities, including power-on self-tests (POST), memory built-in self-tests (BIST), and controlled power-up/go-to-sleep shutdown sequences to meet stringent quiescent-current targets.
• Implement fault-detection mechanisms and safe-state handling by monitoring supply voltages, generating diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs), and transitioning ECUs to protective reduced-function modes upon fault detection.
• Develop CPU, communication, and memory load generation/stress-test functions accessible via CAN, Ethernet, or diagnostic interfaces for comprehensive firmware validation and characterization.
• Implement and monitor communication interfaces such as CAN and Ethernet, including link-error detection, cable-fault diagnostics, and signal-integrity checks (CRC), with robust error logging and reset-clear functionality.
• Write low-level firmware to interface with peripherals and buses including SPI, UART, I2C, CAN, as well as higher-level networking protocols (TCP/UDP) and automotive diagnostics (UDS).
• Collaborate closely with test and platform engineers to design and develop test frameworks and harnesses across unit, integration, and system testing levels.
• Perform hardware-level debugging using standard test equipment and coordinate with software, hardware, and mechanical engineering teams throughout system bring-up and deployment phases.
• Apply functional safety and security best practices throughout firmware design and implementation, aligned with automotive and autonomous systems requirements.

Required Skills and Qualifications

• Minimum of 3 years (up to 8 years preferred) of hands-on experience in embedded firmware development for resource-constrained, real-time automotive systems.
• Expert proficiency in Embedded C and C++ programming targeting real-time, resource-limited microcontroller environments.
• Strong experience with 32-bit ARM Cortex-M microcontrollers, preferably with familiarity in automotive processors such as NXP S32G / S32K families.
• Practical knowledge of RTOS development, especially with FreeRTOS, focusing on low-level system and task management.
• In-depth understanding of communication protocols across the stack, including SPI, UART, I2C, CAN at the hardware interface level, and TCP/UDP, UDS diagnostics at higher layers.
• Working knowledge of Python for automation, tooling, and test development purposes.
• Competence in hardware debugging using standard bench instruments such as oscilloscopes, multimeters, and power supplies, supported by fundamental electrical engineering principles.
• Demonstrated ability to adopt a structured, test-driven development approach and collaborate effectively with hardware and test engineering teams.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with automotive functional safety standards and process frameworks, including ISO 26262 and ASPICE.
• Exposure to safety-certified RTOS variants such as SafeRTOS, and familiarity with automotive RTOS platforms like QNX, AUTOSAR, or OSEK.
• Knowledge of time-synchronization protocols, particularly Precision Time Protocol (PTP) / IEEE 1588.
• Hands-on experience in device driver and low-level firmware development, including on-chip self-test controllers and memory/logic BIST implementations.
• Familiarity with automotive diagnostics workflows, including diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs), diagnostic sessions, and tester interactions.