Senior Firmware Engineer

Role & responsibilities

Firmware Development & Product Implementation • Develop, maintain, and release to production the embedded firmware for Potter Fire Safety & Suppression and nitrogen-generation products. • Analyse existing firmware architecture, system requirements, control sequences, hardware interfaces, field issues, and common denominator to create a single platform supporting multiple variants in the product portfolio. • Convert product, hardware, VAVE, and regulatory requirements into modular firmware designs, testable software requirements, implementation plans, and controlled releases. • Deliver complete changes including source code, peer-review evidence, technical documentation, integration results, regression evidence, and release-ready configuration records.

Real-Time Control, State Machines & Diagnostics • Design deterministic control logic and state machines for compressors, motor-control interfaces, solenoid valves, pressure regulation, purge, bypass and nitrogen-generation modes, timing, sequencing, and interlocks. • Interface with pressure, current, temperature, flow, oxygen, switch, and other analog or digital sensors; implement calibration, filtering, plausibility checks, and fault detection. • Implement robust actuator control for relays, contactors, solenoids, alarms, indicators, displays, and other electromechanical devices through safe hardware-abstraction layers. • Develop alarms, diagnostics, event logs, maintenance timers, fault latching, safe-state behaviour, watchdog handling, brownout recovery, and controlled power-cycle behaviour. • Implement pressure-control, leak-monitoring, operational-counter, product-configuration, and model-specific behaviour in accordance with approved system requirements. • Optimize memory, CPU loading, timing, boot time, response time, communication performance, and fault recovery for reliable industrial operation. Hardware Integration, BSP & Communications • Develop and maintain firmware for microcontroller-based embedded controllers using Embedded C and bare-metal or RTOS architectures. • Own board-support packages, startup code, bootloaders, device drivers, hardware-abstraction layers, interrupts, timers, ADC/DAC, GPIO, PWM, non-volatile memory, RTC, and watchdogs. • Develop or modify interfaces such as I2C, SPI, UART, RS-485, CAN, Ethernet, USB, display/keypad connections, DIP-switch inputs, and BMS or dry-contact interfaces as applicable. • Perform hardware-software integration, board bring-up support, peripheral debugging, signal-level diagnosis, and root-cause analysis using appropriate laboratory instruments and protocol tools. Cross-Functional Collaboration & Implementation • Work closely with the Project Manager, Electrical Hardware Engineer, Industrial Controls Engineer, Mechanical Engineer, Validation team, and Potter US product and engineering stakeholders. • Define and review firmware-hardware interfaces and implement changes required by alternate controllers, sensors, actuators, motor controls, valve sequences, or communication devices. • Support prototype builds, system integration, verification, product-certification testing, production trials, field-issue resolution, and controlled implementation of approved changes. VAVE, Sustenance & Engineering Change Support • Assess the firmware impact of cost-reduction and component-alternate proposals; identify where software configuration, reuse, or abstraction can enable common hardware and reduce variants. • Prepare effort, schedule, technical-feasibility, validation, and risk inputs for proposed changes in coordination with the project manager and affected engineering teams. • Ensure firmware-enabled cost-down and sustenance changes are fully implemented and released without adverse impact on product safety, performance, reliability, serviceability, or compliance. Verification, Quality & Risk Management • Develop unit, integration, hardware-in-the-loop, fault-injection, and regression tests with clear traceability to system and software requirements. • Apply coding standards, peer review, static analysis, version control, defect tracking, change control, root-cause analysis, and corrective-action practices throughout the software lifecycle.

Preferred candidate profile

Embedded Systems, or a related discipline. • Strong expertise in Embedded C/C++, RTOS-based firmware design and coding, Real-time and interrupt-based systems. • Hands-on experience with Industrial device driver development, Electro-mechanical control systems, Wired communication protocols (TCP/IP, RS485, Modbus), Wireless technologies (Zigbee, BLE, LoRa, Mesh). • Experience developing control-oriented firmware for sensors, relays, solenoid valves, compressors or motors, alarms, industrial controllers, or other electromechanical products. • Ability to read schematics, datasheets, logic diagrams, wiring diagrams, communication protocols, system requirements, and test specifications, and to collaborate closely with hardware engineers during bring-up and fault isolation. • Hands-on use of IDEs, compilers, JTAG/SWD debuggers, oscilloscopes, logic analysers, DMMs, serial/CAN/Ethernet tools, Git or equivalent version control, and defect-tracking systems. • Experience with modular software architecture, HAL/BSP design, bootloaders, firmware upgrade, configuration management, static analysis, code reviews, unit testing, integration testing, and regression testing. • Experience with industrial electronics, compressors, pumps, motor or valve control, fire and life safety products, suppression systems, building systems, or nitrogen generators is preferred. • Working knowledge of regulated product development, software traceability, EMC immunity, fault handling, and standards such as UL, IEC, FCC, or FM requirements is beneficial. • Working exposure to product sustenance, component-alternate changes, design-to-cost, or VAVE programs is advantageous; formal VAVE certification or prior VAVE experience is not required. make above point wise

Qualifications

• 7 to 10 years of relevant experience in embedded firmware development, including hands-on implementation, integration, debugging, verification, and production release responsibility.
• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electronics Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Electronics & Telecommunication, Computer Engineering, Embedded Systems, or a related field.
• Strong expertise in Embedded C/C++, RTOS-based firmware design and development, real-time systems, and interrupt-driven applications.
• Hands-on experience in industrial device driver development and electro-mechanical control systems.
• Experience with wired communication protocols such as TCP/IP, RS485, and Modbus.
• Experience with wireless communication technologies including Zigbee, BLE, LoRa, and Mesh networking.
• Proven experience developing control-oriented firmware for:
• Sensors
• Relays
• Solenoid valves
• Compressors
• Motors
• Alarms
• Industrial controllers
• Other electromechanical products
• Ability to read and interpret:
• Electrical schematics
• Datasheets
• Logic diagrams
• Wiring diagrams
• Communication protocols
• System requirements
• Test specifications
• Experience collaborating closely with hardware engineers during system bring-up, debugging, and fault isolation activities.
• Hands-on experience with:
• Embedded IDEs and compilers
• JTAG/SWD debuggers
• Oscilloscopes
• Logic analyzers
• Digital Multimeters (DMMs)
• Serial/CAN/Ethernet diagnostic tools
• Git or equivalent version control systems
• Defect tracking systems
• Experience in:
• Modular software architecture design
• HAL/BSP development
• Bootloader development
• Firmware upgrade mechanisms
• Configuration management
• Static code analysis
• Code reviews
• Unit testing
• Integration testing
• Regression testing
• Experience in industrial electronics domains such as:
• Compressors
• Pumps
• Motor control
• Valve control
• Fire and life safety products
• Suppression systems
• Building automation systems
• Nitrogen generators (Preferred)
• Working knowledge of:
• Regulated product development
• Software traceability
• EMC immunity requirements
• Fault handling and diagnostics
• Compliance standards such as UL, IEC, FCC, and FM
• Exposure to:
• Product sustenance engineering
• Component alternate qualification
• Design-to-cost initiatives
• Value Analysis/Value Engineering (VAVE) programs (Formal VAVE certification is not mandatory.)