Embedded Systems: How to become an Industry Expert
Writing is the best way to document one’s experiences, challenges and the solutions, so that the readers can always learn from it in order to rapidly make them grow faster and better. I explained most of the problems I encountered and lesson learnt when starting a career as an embedded engineer in my article 7 ways to become a Full Stack Embedded Software Engineer. I also explained how you can get more experience as an embedded engineer or how to hire an experienced engineer as a recruiter in my article Embedded Systems: Why Experience Matters. I’m overwhelmed with the emails I get daily on how my articles has been helping thousands of people around the world. “The greatest act of leadership is mentoring. No matter how much you may learn, achieve, accumulate, or accomplish, if it all dies with you, then you are a generational failure.” I hope you will find this helpful too.
In this article, I won’t talk about technical things but rather I will be sharing my knowledge and general overview on roles and operations of an embedded software engineer in various industries.
In November 2019, I decided to join an Automotive Electric Vehicle (EV) manufacturing company in New Delhi, India as a Snr. Embedded Software Engineer, where I had the opportunity to work and learn from one of the world’s best CEO (Saurav Kumar) and Engineering Manager(Poorvak Kapoor).
I will like to share my own perspective on how to become industry expert in Embedded system.
- Skills: Yes, this will always be on top of my list because you can’t be an expert without having the necessary skills. Irrespective of your certificate or qualification, your skill capacity needs to be very high in order to fit into the system but the truth is that it takes time to become an expert. Many engineers claim to know everything even with just 3–5years of experience.
As a senior engineer, you should be able to use more than one microcontroller from different vendors and know which one best fit for your application. For example, When developing for non-OS devices, I code 8-bit and 16-bit processors using Microchip Technology MCUs (PIC series) and when coding for 32-bit applications, I use STMicroelectronics(STM32 series) or Texas Instrument MCUs (TI MSP430 series).
An embedded system expert must be very good and vast in circuit design, PCB design, embedded programming, code review, debugging and troubleshooting.
You must be able to use the best and simplified approach for your hardware design, code and selecting the best components that perfectly fit your design. For example, if you are designing for automotive industry, all components used in your design must be automotive certified. Many engineers usually make a lot of mistakes when designing PCBs. My next article would focus on how to become a better and professional PCB designer. This will enable you to know how to select the right components for your project, positions to place, MCU filters and professional routing for EMI/EMC test.
2. Time: I learnt this from the CEO that time and money are directly proportional. The more the time you waste, the more the money the company loses, It’s important that you attach value to your time. How you use your time has a huge impact on your ability to succeed. Your ability to get advanced designs done with limited amount of time determines your level of expertise, therefore, it is very important to draw a timeline to every project assigned to you.
3. Continuous Learning : To grow rapidly for industry standard, You must be addicted to learning, reading application notes, datasheets, reference manuals, new programming features for Processors, memory management, code optimizations, RTOS etc. Thanks to the Internet, you can easily find a website that will provide you all details that a whole book will offer, so I recommend spending more time online learning latest approaches to becoming a better embedded software engineer. Also consider asking for suggestions in industry forums or through reference from individuals in your connection. I have met people who were experts 10 years ago and now they hardly fit into any industry because their skills became obsolete. You need to keep updating yourself as technology changes in order to remain relevant in embedded industry.
4. Follow your Niche : Build a network! Corporate social media platforms like LinkedIn is one of the best place to learn how to become an expert, It was developed for professional networking and with the help of LinkedIn (Twitter is also a good place if you know how to follow the right people or page), I was able to connect with many senior embedded engineers in various industries. In 2018, I built a connection with people like Anantha Kancherla, VP Engineering, Level 5 at Lyft building next generation autonomous vehicles and I’ve been able to learn a lot from his presentations on the roles of an embedded engineer in automotive industry. “Following people ahead motivates and gives you greater picture of what more you can achieve.”
5. Teamwork: Embedded systems plays a very important role in industries, so therefore you must learn how to work with other people in your team such as Machine learning engineers, Software engineers, Mechanical engineers, Supply team etc. “It is amazing what we can accomplish when it doesn’t matter who gets the credit.”
No matter how good or professional your design is, it still have to be reviewed by your fellow senior engineers, this will help to avoid any delay and reduce the risk of any possible mistakes that may affect the company’s product release date. “Being open to correction means making ourselves vulnerable, and many people are not willing to do that.”
6. Vision: You can’t grow in a company where you don’t share same vision; The first thing I did was to make the company’s vision my own vision so that I can give my best on every given task and eliminate distractions. Therefore, “If you are an embedded engineer without any industry of interest (IoT, Robotics, Automotive, Education etc.), then you’re just a hobbyist.”
7. Git: I added this because 65% of embedded engineers don’t use version control system to handle their small to very large projects. I advise that you learn how to use this platform so that you can manage and secure your hardware designs and codes properly. It also helps you to understand how to work efficiently and remotely with other engineers which makes it one of the core platforms that promotes teamwork.
I hope you find this article helpful, if you have any other doubts, you can reach me on LinkedIn.