Job Description Summary We are seeking a highly experienced and technically authoritative Embedded Software & Firmware Consulting Engineer to lead strategy, architecture, and design initiatives for real-time embedded systems, enabling the product and platform designs for Transmission & Distribution (T&D).
This role focuses on defining and guiding secure, resilient embedded platforms for protection relays, communication gateways, Ethernet switches, and industrial wireless devices deployed in substations, field automation, and remote environments. As a senior technical authority, you will champion the convergence of embedded and enterprise technologies, including real-time virtualization, containerization, and service-oriented architecture, to modernize grid-edge devices and improve lifecycle agility. You will influence cross-functional teams and collaborate globally to shape the embedded software stack across hardware, networking, security, and systems engineering.
Job Description Key Responsibilities
- Serve as a technical authority for embedded platform modernization, product innovation, and next-generation system architectures.
- Lead the design strategy of real-time embedded platforms for protection and communication systems using multi-core SoCs, RTOS ( VxWorks, QNX, FreeRTOS ), or embedded Linux.
- Guide strategic choices in virtualized firmware stacks, embedded containers, and real-time microservices for digital substations and edge computing.
- Drive architectural modernization through the adoption of embedded virtualization using lean hypervisors, enabling reliability and modularity through microservice-oriented architecture for critical and secure field-deployable service updates.
- Guide the design of CI/CD pipelines, DevSecOps workflows, and automated test frameworks tailored to embedded environments.
- Promote modular design, RTOS abstraction, software reuse, and real-time determinism across services.
- Lead edge software strategies for AI/ML-based diagnostics, adaptive protection, and predictive maintenance, enabling microservices to run securely in real-time containers.
- Stay at the forefront of innovations in lean, reliable, and secure mission-critical / safety-critical embedded systems by participating in technical conferences and engaging with industry consortia and standards bodies ( IEC, IEEE, UCAIug ).
- Represent the organization in global forums, panels, or working groups and share best practices, lessons learned, and architecture evolution insights.
- Contribute to multi-year product and technology roadmaps for protection and automation portfolios.
- Evaluate and pilot emerging technologies to mentor and guide global teams on next-generation architectures.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or Embedded Systems.
- Minimum of 10 years of experience in embedded software/firmware design, with at least 5 years in architecture or consulting leadership roles.
Desired Characteristics
- Extensive experience in real-time embedded systems used in power system protection, automation, or communication.
- Expert in C/C++, with experience in embedded Linux, RTOS ( VxWorks, QNX ), and container/virtualization concepts for embedded systems.
- Proven experience integrating protocols such as GOOSE, MMS, SV, DNP3, Modbus, IEEE C37.118, IEC 60870-5-104, IEEE 1588, and secure communication protocols.
- Familiar with compliance to electrical and cybersecurity standards including IEC 60255, NERC CIP, IEC 62443, IEC 62351.
- Working knowledge of embedded hypervisors, container runtimes, and service isolation in resource-constrained environments.
- Hands-on experience with toolchains, software analyzers, and debugging across embedded and virtualized targets.
- Strategic thinker and effective communicator across engineering, product management and customer leadership.
- Strong understanding of protection schemes, digital substation design, and utility communication architectures.
- Experience in secure embedded software development, formal verification, and regulatory certification.
- Active contributor to open standards or industry bodies ( IEEE, IEC, UCAIug ) or recognized innovator with patents or technical publications.
- Willingness to travel for technical deep-dives, customer co-innovation sessions, industry events, and global product strategy meetings.
