Roles we place
Embedded C firmware engineers
Bare-metal and RTOS firmware on Arm Cortex-M and Cortex-R parts, peripheral drivers, low-power design and MISRA C. More on firmware and BSP.
BSP and bootloader engineers
Board bring-up, U-Boot, device trees, secure boot and BSPs for Arm Cortex-A SoCs.
Embedded Linux and Yocto engineers
Yocto layers and recipes, kernel configuration, build reproducibility and OTA update frameworks. More on embedded Linux and Yocto.
Device driver developers
Linux kernel drivers for I2C, SPI, PCIe, USB, camera and display interfaces. More on device drivers.
IoT and edge AI engineers
Connectivity stacks, cloud device management and on-device inference on NPUs and GPUs. More on IoT and edge AI.
Embedded test engineers
Unit and integration testing, hardware-in-the-loop rigs and CI for firmware. See hire test engineers.
Embedded roles, skills and tools
| Role | Core skills | Typical tools and standards |
|---|---|---|
| Firmware engineer | Embedded C, interrupts, DMA, low power, bootloaders | SEGGER J-Link, STM32CubeIDE, FreeRTOS, MISRA C |
| BSP engineer | Board bring-up, U-Boot, device tree, secure boot | U-Boot, Lauterbach TRACE32, Linux kernel |
| Embedded Linux / Yocto engineer | Layers and recipes, kernel config, SDKs, OTA | Yocto Project, BitBake, Jenkins |
| Device driver developer | Kernel subsystems, I2C/SPI/PCIe/USB, debugging | Linux kernel, ftrace, Lauterbach TRACE32 |
| RTOS engineer | Scheduling, memory protection, real-time analysis | Zephyr RTOS, FreeRTOS, Wind River VxWorks |
| IoT / edge AI engineer | MQTT, BLE, Wi-Fi, model deployment on edge hardware | Zephyr RTOS, TensorFlow Lite, IEC 62443 |
| Embedded test engineer | Unit tests, HIL rigs, coverage, CI pipelines | Unity or GoogleTest, Python, Jenkins, Polyspace |
How hiring works
01
Role brief
We confirm the processor and board, RTOS or Linux, interfaces, safety or security standards, location and the engagement model.
02
Technical screening by practising engineers
Practising embedded engineers interview on hardware-level problems such as a driver bring-up, an interrupt race or a Yocto build failure, matched to your platform. The method is set out on how we vet engineers.
03
Shortlist with written assessment
The shortlist includes a written assessment per candidate: processors and boards used, products shipped, standards exposure, notice period and joining date.
04
Your interviews
You interview the shortlisted engineers and choose. We coordinate panels and feedback.
05
Onboarding and follow-up
We handle contracts and onboarding, including lab and hardware access, then check in regularly after the start.
Engagement options
- Staff augmentation: embedded engineers on contract inside your team
- Contract-to-hire: convert to your payroll on terms agreed in the contract
- Permanent recruitment: firmware leads and architects you employ directly
- Dedicated engineering teams: a BSP, Linux or firmware pod working on your roadmap
- Managed testing services: firmware and integration testing as a scoped service
Embedded hiring market and buyer risks
The EU Cyber Resilience Act requires reporting of actively exploited vulnerabilities and severe incidents from 11 September 2026, with most other obligations, including conformity assessment, from 11 December 2027. That creates work on SBOMs, secure updates, vulnerability management and fuzzing for every connected embedded product sold in the EU. nasscom puts India's ER&D services revenue at about $63 bn in FY26 and names Physical AI, meaning robotics and autonomous platforms, as a growth area, which adds demand for edge AI and real-time engineers.
Embedded engineers move between automotive, industrial, medical and defence work, so buyers across sectors compete for the same people. Aon puts India-wide attrition at 16.2% in 2025, and senior engineers commonly serve 60 to 90 days' notice. Contract-to-hire bridges the gap and lets you confirm fit before converting. For regulated products, see compliance and certification and, for safety roles, hire functional safety engineers.
Need testing as well as engineers?
- Scope firmware and integration testing through embedded software testing
- Automate regression with test automation
- Move legacy platforms with porting and upgrades
- See the delivery side on the embedded and industrial pillar
Frequently asked questions
Which embedded roles do you staff?
Embedded C firmware, BSP and bootloader, embedded Linux and Yocto, device drivers, RTOS, IoT and edge AI, and embedded test engineers. We also place safety-software engineers for IEC 61508 and IEC 62304 products. Screening follows the processor, operating system and interfaces in your brief.
How long does it take to hire an embedded engineer in India?
Notice period is the main variable: commonly 30 days for juniors and 60 to 90 days for senior engineers, with many GCCs enforcing 90 days. We state notice and joining dates on the shortlist, and an engineer available on contract can start while a permanent hire serves notice.
How do you vet embedded experience?
Practising embedded engineers set problems at hardware level: reading a schematic, bringing up a peripheral, debugging an interrupt or fixing a Yocto build. The written assessment states which processors, boards and operating systems each candidate has shipped products on, not just used in training.
What is the difference between staff augmentation and a dedicated team?
With staff augmentation the engineer works inside your team and process and you direct the work. With a dedicated team we employ a pod that works on your roadmap and we handle hiring, retention and infrastructure. Many buyers start with augmentation and move to a team as scope grows.
Can embedded engineers work onsite with our hardware?
Yes. Bring-up and driver work usually needs onsite access to boards and lab equipment, while Yocto and application work can often be remote. Location is agreed per role: onsite at your facility in Bengaluru or another Indian city, remote or hybrid.
Who owns the firmware our contract engineers write?
IP ownership and confidentiality are written into the contract before work starts, normally assigning work product to you. Engineers sign your NDAs and work in your repositories, under your licences for any third-party stacks.
What if the engineer leaves mid-project?
Replacement terms are agreed in the contract before the engagement starts. Regular check-ins aim to surface problems early, and if a replacement is needed we restart the search with a sharper brief and a written assessment already on file for the role.
Tell us the roles, seniority and start date. A practice lead replies with matched profiles.