Lead Firmware Engineer

Experience

12+ Years

Employment Type

Full-Time

Work Location

Pune

Work Mode

Hybrid (4 Days Work from Office | 1 Day Work from Home)

About The Role

We are looking for a highly skilled and hands-on Lead Firmware Engineer to lead our Embedded Firmware and Embedded Hardware engineering teams while actively contributing to architecture, design, development, debugging, and technical problem-solving.

This is a technical leadership role , not a pure people management position. The ideal candidate will take end-to-end ownership of embedded firmware and hardware development for industrial products such as Servo Drives, Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs), Motion Controllers, Safety Drives, and Industrial Automation Solutions . The candidate should be passionate about mentoring engineers, driving engineering excellence, and delivering high-quality embedded systems while remaining deeply involved in hands-on technical work.

Key Responsibilities Technical Leadership & Architecture

• Lead the technical direction, architecture, and execution of embedded firmware and hardware projects.
• Own the embedded electronics architecture covering MCU/SoC hardware, firmware architecture, RTOS, drivers, middleware, and communication interfaces.
• Define technology roadmaps for embedded hardware platforms, microcontrollers, firmware frameworks, RTOS, and development toolchains.
• Drive architectural decisions by balancing performance, reliability, manufacturability, cybersecurity, quality, and cost.
• Act as the primary technical escalation point for complex cross-functional engineering challenges.
  
  

Hands-on Engineering

• Actively participate in hardware architecture, schematic, and PCB layout reviews.
• Perform firmware architecture discussions, code reviews, and contribute to critical Embedded C development when required.
• Support hardware bring-up and prototype debugging.
• Perform debugging using Oscilloscope, Logic Analyzer, JTAG, and SWD tools.
• Lead root cause analysis for hardware, firmware, EMC, reliability, and performance-related issues.
• Ensure high-quality, maintainable, and scalable firmware design.
  
  

Embedded Hardware

• Guide embedded hardware design involving MCU/SoC interfaces, analog and digital circuits, power management, monitoring, and protection.
• Review PCB layouts with emphasis on Signal Integrity (SI), Power Integrity (PI), EMC, and EMI considerations.
• Support component selection, reliability analysis, lifecycle management, and manufacturing readiness.
• Oversee hardware verification, validation, and environmental testing activities.
  
  

Embedded Firmware

• Lead development of Embedded C firmware for real-time embedded systems.
• Design and review low-level drivers, peripherals, RTOS/bare-metal applications, bootloaders, and firmware update mechanisms.
• Develop and review industrial communication stacks such as EtherCAT, CAN, PROFINET, and IO-Link.
• Implement secure boot, secure firmware update mechanisms, cryptography, and cybersecurity best practices.
• Ensure firmware quality through modular design, maintainability, and structured software engineering practices.
  
  

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Collaborate closely with Controls, Mechanical, Manufacturing, Quality, Functional Safety, Cybersecurity, and System Architecture teams.
• Work with controls engineers on PWM, ADC timing, and real-time system requirements.
• Support product certifications, customer escalations, and technical audits.
• Ensure alignment between hardware, firmware, and system-level requirements.
  
  

Team Leadership

• Lead, mentor, and technically coach Embedded Hardware and Firmware engineers.
• Drive technical excellence through design reviews, code reviews, knowledge sharing, and engineering best practices.
• Support hiring, onboarding, capability development, and team growth.
• Build a collaborative, high-performance engineering culture while remaining hands-on.
  
  

Process & Quality

• Establish and maintain structured development processes, documentation, configuration management, and traceability.
• Drive engineering best practices for design reviews, verification planning, and continuous improvement.
• Promote firmware and hardware verification methodologies and support industrialization activities.
  
  

Mandatory Skills Embedded Firmware

• 12+ years of Embedded Firmware development experience.
• Strong expertise in Embedded C programming.
• Real-Time Firmware development using RTOS or Bare-Metal architecture.
• Bootloader development and Firmware Update mechanisms.
• Strong debugging and root cause analysis skills.
  
  

Embedded Hardware

• Hands-on experience with MCU/SoC-based hardware design.
• Strong understanding of Analog and Digital Circuits.
• Power Management and Sequencing.
• PCB Design Flow and PCB Layout Reviews.
• EMC/EMI fundamentals and debugging.
  
  

Hardware Debugging

Hands-on Experience With

• Oscilloscope
• Logic Analyzer
• JTAG
• SWD
• Hardware Bring-up
• Prototype Debugging
  
  

Industrial Communication Protocols

Hands-on Experience With One Or More Of The Following

• EtherCAT
• CAN
• PROFINET
• EtherNet/IP
• IO-Link
  
  

Domain Experience

Mandatory experience in one or more of the following:

• Servo Drives
• Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs)
• Motion Controllers
• Motion Control Systems
• Power Electronics
  
  

Leadership Experience

• Currently working as a Technical Manager, Technical Lead, or System Architect.
• Managing a team of 4–6 engineers while remaining technically hands-on.
• Experience in architecture reviews, design reviews, and code reviews.
• Experience working with European and/or US customers and stakeholders.
  
  

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechatronics, or a related field.
  
  

Core Competencies

• Strong technical leadership and mentoring skills.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
• Self-driven with a proactive and ownership-oriented mindset.
• Ability to collaborate across multiple engineering disciplines.
• Passion for engineering excellence, innovation, and continuous learning.
  
  

Preferred Skills

• Secure Boot
• Cryptography
• IEC 62443 Cybersecurity
• Functional Safety (SIL2/SIL3)
• Automated Testing
• Continuous Integration (CI)
• Scripting and Test Automation
• Agile Development Methodology
  
  

What We're Looking For

• A hands-on technical leader with deep expertise in embedded firmware and embedded hardware development.
• Strong experience leading engineering teams while actively contributing to design and development.
• Proven expertise in industrial communication protocols, embedded debugging, and firmware architecture.
• Experience in industrial electronics, motion control, servo drives, VFDs, or power electronics is mandatory.
• Excellent communication skills with experience collaborating with global stakeholders.
• Stable employment history, with a minimum of 3 years in at least one organization, is preferred.
• Candidates based in Pune or willing to relocate to Pune are preferred.
• Immediate to 30 days' notice period is preferred. Candidates serving up to a 60-day notice period may also be considered.
  
  

Why Join Us?

• Opportunity to work on cutting-edge industrial automation and embedded technologies.
• Lead the development of next-generation embedded products.
• Hybrid work model with excellent work-life balance.
• Collaborative engineering culture with global exposure.
• Long-term career growth in a high-impact technical leadership role.
  
  

Skills: design,embedded,architecture,firmware