Job Description
Summary
As an Electrical Engineer, Embedded Systems, you design the boards that give our robots their brains and nervous systems. You will work on onboard computers, microcontroller-based smart subsystems, power regulation modules, and interface boards that tie sensors, actuators, and communications together inside mobile robotics platforms. You take a subsystem from schematic capture through layout, prototyping, bring-up, and validation—and you do it knowing that your board will end up inside a UAV, UGV, or USV operating in environments that don't forgive marginal design.
Duties
* Design schematics and PCB layouts for onboard computer modules, microcontroller-based subsystems, power regulation stages, and sensor/actuator interface boards using KiCad, Altium, or equivalent
* Select and specify components—processors, MCUs, voltage regulators, connectors, passives, protection devices—based on performance, thermal, size, and supply chain constraints
* Perform power architecture design for embedded modules: input protection, regulation cascades, sequencing, power budgeting, and battery interface circuits
* Bring up prototype boards: assemble first articles, verify power rails, validate clock trees, confirm peripheral interfaces, and systematically work through the inevitable list of things that don't behave as expected
* Design and route high-speed digital interfaces (USB, Ethernet, MIPI, DDR) and mixed-signal circuits with appropriate attention to signal integrity, impedance control, and EMI mitigation
* Interface with common embedded communication buses—CAN, SPI, I2C, UART, RS-485—at the electrical level: level shifting, termination, protection, and connector pinout definition
* Write basic firmware in C for board bring-up, peripheral validation, and production test—enough to prove the hardware works before handing off to the embedded software team
* Generate and maintain engineering documentation: schematics, layout files, BOMs, assembly drawings, test procedures, and design rationale
* Collaborate with mechatronics engineers on mechanical integration constraints—board outlines, connector placement, thermal dissipation paths, mounting, and harnessing
* Collaborate with embedded software engineers to define hardware-software interfaces: memory maps, pin assignments, peripheral allocation, and boot configuration
Required Skills
* Proficiency in schematic capture and PCB layout for multi-layer embedded systems boards (4+ layers)
* Solid understanding of embedded processor and microcontroller ecosystems—ARM Cortex-A and Cortex-M families, associated peripherals, and support circuitry (power, clocks, reset, debug)
* Working knowledge of power supply design for embedded systems: LDOs, buck/boost converters, load switches, sequencing, and thermal considerations
* Familiarity with high-speed digital design fundamentals: impedance-controlled routing, differential pairs, length matching, decoupling strategies, and ground plane management
* Hands-on prototyping and lab skills: soldering (including fine-pitch SMD rework), use of oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, multimeters, and bench power supplies for board bring-up and debug
* Basic proficiency in C for microcontroller firmware—enough to write bring-up code, blink an LED on a new board, read a sensor register over SPI, and validate that your hardware works
* Ability to read and interpret datasheets, reference designs, and application notes critically—not just copying a reference schematic but understanding why it is the way it is
Nice to Have
* Prior experience designing compute modules or carrier boards around SoMs (NVIDIA Jetson, Raspberry Pi CM, BeagleBone, or similar)
* Experience with DFM/DFA review processes and working with PCB fabrication and assembly houses
* Familiarity with simulation tools for power and signal integrity (LTspice, HyperLynx, or equivalent)
* Exposure to EMI/EMC design practices and pre-compliance testing
* Familiarity with environmental and military standards relevant to electronics (MIL-STD-810, MIL-STD-461, IPC standards)
* Experience with version control for hardware design files (Git-based workflows for schematics and layout)
* Prior experience designing electronics for battery-powered or mobile platforms where size, weight, and power (SWaP) matter