Embedded Hardware Engineer (Robotics)

About the role
We are an early-stage robotics company developing a mobile manipulation platform for domestic environments. The hardware is designed and built in-house.
We are looking for an Embedded Hardware Engineer to own the electronics across the platform — custom PCBs, embedded firmware, sensor integration, communication, power distribution, interconnect and safety hardware. This is a foundational engineering role with end-to-end responsibility, working closely with our mechanical and simulation engineers.
The architecture is still being defined. You will have significant influence over decisions that shape the platform for years.
Responsibilities
Own the robot's power system end to end — battery pack and BMS selection, distribution, precharge and soft-start, protection, current sensing, charging dock interface, fault handling in firmware, and thermal budget
Design custom PCBs from schematic capture through layout, fabrication and bring-up — sensor carriers, power distribution and safety boards
Develop embedded firmware on STM32-class microcontrollers for sensor acquisition, safety functions and system coordination
Specify and implement the real-time communication architecture between actuators, sensors and the compute platform
Integrate vision, depth, position and force sensing into space-constrained assemblies
Establish sensor timing and synchronisation across subsystems operating at different sample rates
Design the safety hardware layer, including independent power-cutoff authority and interlocks
Specify interconnect and harnessing for continuous-motion applications, including flex life, strain relief and routing
Develop test rigs and automated validation for electronic subsystems
Support EMI, thermal and reliability characterisation through integration and test
Manage component selection, vendor relationships and the transition from prototype to production hardware
Maintain schematics, BOMs, firmware repositories, test records and engineering change documentation
Requirements
BE/BTech or ME/MTech in Electronics, Electronics & Communication, Instrumentation, Mechatronics or a related discipline
3–4 years of professional experience in electronics hardware development — robotics, medical devices, automotive, aerospace, instrumentation or consumer hardware
Demonstrated PCB design experience end to end in Altium, KiCad or equivalent, including boards you have personally taken through layout, fabrication and bring-up
Embedded firmware development in C/C++ on ARM Cortex-M, with hands-on experience on STM32 (F4, G4, H7 or L4 families) or comparable platforms such as NXP i.MX RT, TI C2000 or Microchip SAM
Working knowledge of STM32CubeMX/CubeIDE, HAL and LL drivers, or equivalent vendor toolchains, and comfort dropping to register level when required
Practical use of peripherals — timers, PWM, ADC, DMA, interrupt priorities and clock tree configuration
Debugging with SWD/JTAG probes (ST-Link, J-Link), alongside oscilloscopes, logic analysers and bench instrumentation
In-depth working knowledge of at least one serial communication protocol (CAN, SPI, I²C, UART)
Practical grounding in DC power distribution — rail design from vendor reference designs, current sensing, protection, inrush management, and layout for thermal and EMI performance
Comfortable in a hands-on laboratory environment: assembly, rework, instrumentation and test
Preferred
CAN-FD and real-time distributed control systems
FreeRTOS, Zephyr or bare-metal scheduling for deterministic control loops
Custom bootloaders and firmware update mechanisms (DFU, CAN or OTA)
Experience integrating battery management systems and working to lithium pack safety requirements
Integrated actuator modules and BLDC motor interfaces
Camera and sensor interfaces (MIPI CSI, USB3 Vision)
Embedded Linux platforms, including NVIDIA Jetson
EMC and EMI mitigation
ROS 2 or micro-ROS; Python-based test automation
Version control and CI practices applied to firmware
Design for manufacture and assembly
Not required
Power converter or BMS design from first principles, formal safety certification (UL / IEC / CE), functional safety qualification, or high-volume manufacturing experience. We place greater weight on engineering fundamentals and analytical depth than on domain-specific precedent.
What we offer
Full ownership of a core subsystem at an early and consequential stage
Hardware you design running in deployed systems within the first year
A small, technically deep team with direct access to every part of the platform
Competitive compensation and meaningful equity
Application process
Portfolio review — a walkthrough of hardware you have designed
Technical discussion on embedded systems, power integration and debugging methodology
Design exercise
Team and culture conversation
To apply, send your CV along with a brief portfolio: schematics, board photographs or project documentation for work you have personally designed and brought up. We would particularly like to see a board you designed yourself and the firmware that runs on it. We are more interested in the depth of one project than in the breadth of many.
Email: pk@syky.ai

Work arrangement
No