Embedded Firmware Engineer

Responsibilities

• Design, develop and maintain embedded firmware in C for STM32 (Cortex-M0+/M3/M4) based instruments, from bare-metal register-level drivers up to FreeRTOS application tasks.
• Develop and optimise low-level peripheral drivers - UART, I2C, SPI, ADC, DMA, timers, RTC, GPIO, PWM, low-power modes - with and without HAL/LL layers.
• Architect and implement FreeRTOS-based applications: task decomposition, priority assignment, queues, semaphores, mutexes, event groups, stack sizing, and diagnosis of priority inversion, race conditions and stack overflow.
• Write and maintain custom bootloader code - memory partitioning and linker scripts, dual-bank / A-B image schemes, image validation with CRC and digital signatures, rollback and fail-safe recovery.
• Implement secure and encrypted firmware update paths (OTA and wired), including AES-encrypted image delivery, signature verification and anti-rollback protection.
• Implement firmware protection and anti-tamper measures: STM32 Read-Out Protection (RDP), write protection, proprietary code readout protection (PCROP), secure boot / root of trust, debug port lockdown and key storage strategy.
• Integrate and characterise sensors and peripherals - electrochemical, catalytic, IR/TDLAS gas sensors, displays, flash memory, Bluetooth Low Energy and GPS modules.
• Support power optimisation and battery life targets for portable, field-deployed instruments.
• Debug at hardware level using oscilloscopes, logic analysers, multimeters and JTAG/SWD debuggers; work directly with hardware engineers on board bring-up and design reviews.
• Write unit and integration tests, participate in code reviews, and maintain firmware under version control with a disciplined branching and release process.
• Produce and maintain engineering documentation: design documents, interface specifications, test protocols and release notes, in line with our quality management system.
• Support production, service and field teams on firmware-related issues, including root cause analysis of returns and field failures.

Critical Success factors

• Strong, demonstrable proficiency in Embedded C, including pointers, memory management, bit manipulation, volatile and interrupt-safe coding.
• Solid bare-metal experience on STM32 microcontrollers - direct register programming, startup code, linker scripts, interrupt vector tables, clock tree and memory map configuration.
• Practical, production-level experience with FreeRTOS on microcontrollers - not just tutorial exposure.
• Demonstrated experience writing bootloader code, including firmware update mechanisms and image validation.
• Working knowledge of firmware protection and encryption concepts: symmetric encryption (AES), hashing, digital signatures, secure boot, and microcontroller readout/debug protection features.
• Strong grasp of serial communication protocols (UART, I2C, SPI, Modbus) and the ability to debug them on a wire.
• Comfortable with hardware debug tools - ST-Link/J-Link, SWD/JTAG, oscilloscope, logic analyser - and able to read schematics and datasheets independently.
• Experience with Git and a structured development workflow.

Academic qualification

• Bachelors or Masters degree in Electronics, Electronics Communication, Instrumentation, Computer Engineering or a related discipline.

Experience

• 3 to 5 years of hands-on embedded firmware development experience in a product company is mandatory.

Desired skill set

• Experience with STM32CubeIDE, STM32CubeMX, Keil MDK or IAR Embedded Workbench.
• Exposure to STM32 TrustZone (Cortex-M33), SFI (Secure Firmware Install) or hardware crypto accelerators.
• Experience with Bluetooth Low Energy stacks, or wireless connectivity on battery-powered devices.
• Background in gas detection, analytical instrumentation, medical devices, or other safety-critical / regulated products.
• Familiarity with functional safety or certification standards (ATEX, IECEx, UL, CSA, IEC 61508) as they apply to firmware.
• Experience with static analysis, MISRA-C, unit test frameworks (Unity/CMock) or CI for embedded builds.
• Working knowledge of Python or C# for test automation and internal tooling.

Competencies

• Good written and verbal communication in English; able to work with a distributed team across time zones.
• Good Analytical problem-solving skills.
• Able to work independently.
• Sense of ownership
• Process oriented.

Disclaimer: This job posting has been aggregated from external source. Role details, content, and availability are subject to change. Applicants are advised to confirm the latest information directly on the company website before applying.