🎁 Before you apply, rehearse this interview. Create your free WorkMundi account and get an Interview Training on HelpsYouSpeak — no cost, no card. I want my training →
Role & responsibilitiesRole SummaryWe are looking for a hands-on IoT Hardware & Firmware Product Engineer to own the technical bridge between customer requirements and our product line of IoT-level sensors, pump controllers, solenoid valves, and water meters. This person will understand hardware components and board-level design, work through the firmware/BSP layer, run rapid proof-of-concepts independently, and collaborate with external vendors and internal teams to design end-to-end products that are cost-effective and scalable to high production volumes. Key ResponsibilitiesRequirements & Use-Case Discovery: Engage directly with customers and internal stakeholders to translate field/use-case requirements into clear, testable technical specifications.Proof-of-Concept Ownership: Independently build rapid proof-of-concepts using dev kits (Arduino, ESP32, STM32, etc.) and off-the-shelf sensors/modules to validate use cases before committing to custom hardware.Hardware Component Evaluation: Evaluate and select sensors, actuators (solenoid valves, pump drivers), power systems, and connectivity modules (LoRa, NB-IoT, GSM/4G, BLE) suited to field deployment conditions.Firmware & BSP Development: Own or closely guide board bring-up, driver development (I2C/SPI/UART/analog), and BSP-level firmware; work with RTOS or bare-metal firmware for sensing and actuation logic.Embedded Systems Design: Design edge logic (calibration, threshold-based actuation, fail-safe behavior), OTA update strategy, and communication resilience for intermittent-connectivity field environments.Vendor Sourcing & Management: Identify, evaluate, and negotiate with component and module vendors; read and critically compare datasheets for cost, power, accuracy, and lead-time trade-offs.End-to-End Product Design: Partner with PCB design, mechanical/enclosure, and contract manufacturing vendors to take a validated PoC to a production-ready, cost-optimized, IP-rated product.Cost & Scale Optimization: Make explicit cost-vs-performance trade-off calls (BOM cost, battery life, connectivity range, accuracy) with production-volume economics in mind.Cross-functional Collaboration: Work cross-functionally with product management, QA, and manufacturing to ensure designs are testable, certifiable (IP rating, EMI/EMC, regional certifications), and scalable.Required Skills & ExperienceHardware FundamentalsWorking knowledge of sensors (flow, pressure, level, moisture) and actuators (solenoid valves, pump/motor drivers). Ability to read schematics and BOMs; can evaluate a vendor's reference design without being the PCB designer. Power system design/sizing for field-deployed, battery or solar-powered devices. Awareness of enclosure/mechanical basics and IP-rating requirements for outdoor/underground deployment. Familiarity with certification requirements (BIS/CE/FCC, IP ratings) sufficient to brief vendors correctly. Firmware & Embedded Software Board support package (BSP) level experience board bring-up, driver development over I2C/SPI/UART/analog, bootloader fundamentals. Firmware development using RTOS (e.g., FreeRTOS) or bare-metal, including power management (sleep/wake states). Experience integrating communication stacks such as MQTT/CoAP over LoRaWAN, NB-IoT, or GSM, including offline buffering and reconnection logic. Understanding of basic embedded security: secure boot, firmware signing, device provisioning. Product & Systems Thinking Proven ability to convert ambiguous customer requirements into a concrete technical spec. Comfortable owning cost/performance/reliability trade-off decisions independently. Understands design-for-cost-at-scale (BOM sensitivity at production volumes, not just prototype volumes). Vendor & Sourcing Experience Comfortable evaluating and negotiating with component/module vendors (e.g., connectivity module suppliers, sensor manufacturers). Some exposure to design-for-manufacturing (DFM) discussions with contract manufacturers or EMS partners. Hands-on Prototyping Demonstrated ability to independently build and demo a working PoC (e.g., Arduino/ESP32 + sensors) within days, not months. Comfortable iterating on breadboard/dev-kit setups before committing to custom PCB design. Preferred / Nice to HavePrior experience in an early-stage hardware startup or hardware product incubation environment.Domain exposure to agritech, water/utility management, or irrigation/flow-control systems.Experience taking a product from PoC through pilot to production at meaningful volumes (1,000+ units).Familiarity with PCB layout tools (KiCad/Altium) sufficient to review, even if not personally laying out boards.What Success Looks Like in the First 6 MonthsIndependently scoped and validated at least one new customer use case via a working PoC.Established relationships with 23 component/module vendors relevant to the product line.Contributed to at least one design decision that measurably reduced BOM cost or .
Here's how to pick the right one and stand out in your application.
144.883Jobs
31.687IN
81%EN
That number is real. WorkMundi's database shows 144,883 open engineer roles across the world. India has the most with 31,687 jobs, followed by the United States with 30,084. If you just finished reading one job ad and felt paralyzed by choice, you're not alone—but this scale is actually an advantage. It means you can afford to be selective.
Start by geography and language. The majority of engineer ads—117,837 of them—have the job posting text written in English. Use that as one filter, but remember: the ad text language tells you nothing about whether the role actually requires you to speak English day-to-day. Read the job description carefully. Then check which countries have the volume you're targeting. Singapore, Poland, and Australia round out the top five after India and the US.
Next, learn who's hiring. Accenture has posted 2,801 engineer roles. andurilindustries, speechify, and jobgether are also actively recruiting. If you're applying to one of these names, research their hiring patterns and interview style before you apply. That homework pays off.
When you interview, expect the question every engineer hears: 'Tell me about a time you had to debug a problem that wasn't in your job description.' Have a specific story ready—not a general one. Name the tools, the deadline pressure, and what you learned. Hiring managers listen for whether you see problem-solving as part of the role itself, not a favour.