Lead Engineer Embedded Software Development, expert

Role overview

A freelance lead engineer role focused on embedded software development for hardware-adjacent systems, ideally suited to a senior practitioner ready to drive technical direction. The position spans firmware architecture, low-level C development, embedded cybersecurity, and CI/CD pipelines, with active hands-on debugging alongside leadership responsibilities. It is set up as a long-term engagement for someone comfortable guiding a team while contributing deep individual expertise.

Responsibilities

- Shape firmware architecture, modular design patterns, and component decomposition for resource-constrained devices. - Develop and maintain low-level C code covering memory management, concurrency, interrupts, and performance optimisation. - Build and maintain bootloaders, BSPs, device drivers, and secure firmware update mechanisms. - Apply embedded cybersecurity practices including secure boot, code signing, threat modelling, and vulnerability management. - Set up embedded CI/CD pipelines, automated test suites, and hardware-in-the-loop testing. - Lead technical direction, mentor engineers, and review designs for fault handling, deterministic timing, and power management.

Requirements

- Expert-level C programming, including memory management, concurrency, and low-level debugging. - Hands-on experience with protocols such as SPI, I²C, CAN, UART, and Ethernet, plus use of oscilloscopes and logic analysers. - Ability to read schematics and work close to hardware on real-time, resource-constrained systems. - Practical knowledge of bootloaders, BSPs, device drivers, watchdogs, and deterministic timing. - Familiarity with embedded security, secure firmware updates, and threat modelling. - Demonstrated experience leading engineers technically and owning architectural decisions.

Benefits and work setup

- 12-month freelance contract with extension potential. - Start date around 1 October 2026. - Preferably Germany-based or remote within Europe, with occasional travel to a site in Neumünster, Germany. - Day rate dependent on experience.