Firmware Engineer

Who is a Firmware Engineer?

The industry specific softwares which merely focus on firmware systems are developed, integrated and implemented by a person who is called a firmware engineer.  Just as a normal software engineer uses his knowledge and skills to embed that into the implementation of softwares, the firmware systems are designed, planned and implemented by the firmware engineer. His duties may range from the zero-level project planning to final decision of allocation of overall budget and resources for the software. 

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The main duty of a firmware engineer is to make sure the software he develops follows all the requirements completely and is developed according to the initially denoted deadline and cost, in short, making short the software develops full functionality without exceeding the budget. Manuscripts of technical type in the industries for the proper functionality of the firmware is a genuine task assigned to a firmware engineer. This job isn’t complete with only the development, the firmware engineer also has to make sure the firmware implemented by them is deployed without any errors and runs bug free on the local machine of the client, all the prototypes are installed and managed with a proper maintenance check provided.

A firmware is a sub type of software which refers to the programs and processes which are embedded into specific type of hardware devices for them to function properly and merely help them ‘tick’. Basically, without the firmware being embedded in hardware devices, these devices are functionless and won’t know what to do exactly and how to operate.  The hardware systems are connected with softwares such as firmware to make sure correct functioning and these are developed by firmware engineers.

What type of projects does a firmware engineer work with?

The hardware devices specific to operate on basis of embedded firmware softwares require a firmware engineer to make it possible. The algorithms are designed by him and inputted into the device for proper functioning. The devices these engineers work with can be remote controls, mobile phones, medical devices and as common devices as traffic lights. The most common firmware devices and their basic functioning is discussed below. 

• Traffic lights: The traffic lights are the best examples of firmware embedded hardware devices. The firmware engineer develops the programs embedded in these devices which ensure the color management and change according to the rate of change of traffic for better traffic management. Specific time with rest respect to duration of time is specified in these and they work accordingly at regular intervals. Without the embedded software firmware, these traffic lights wouldn’t have a function to perform and generally be as useless as they possibly can be. 
• Laundry Washing machines: The most crucial hardware electronic machine which is available in every home merely depends on the underlying c/c++ coded firmware which enables it to function. The algorithms which define how and when to wash the clothes when the start button is pressed and how long to wash, is all dependent upon the algorithm specified.  Without this low level programming being done, the washing machine would just be a storage box without a specific functionality. 
• Surveillance Cameras: The CCTV cameras are embedded with firmware softwares which are designed by firmware engineers which enable it to start operation once activated and record the video of whatever happens at the location of installation. The firmware engineer specifies these underlying algorithms and embed these into the specific hardware.

Some other common projects which are managed by the firmware engineer are the types which fall under the controlling softwares, card machines, TVs and operating systems etc.

How much time does it take to become a Firmware Engineer?

The way one would become a specific type of engineer in the technical field basically depends upon the type of degree he opts for. A person wanting to become a firmware engineer shall mostly follow the four years bachelors program, followed by a two years masters to increase their chances of landing onto a job but it is not necessary. Because most of these jobs prioritize a masters and a wholesome amount of experience in order for any firmware engineer to be registered onto a high-paying job. 

Most importantly, if the firmware engineer doesn’t have resources to follow a long six years and lacks the resources, specific courses can be done with a handsome amount of hand-on experience for them to be considered among the highly rising talent and stand among the potential candidates.

The skills that a firmware developer shall focus on are C/C++ programming, microelectronics course, the architecture of computer, circuit analysis, real-time operating systems.  

Other than the basic bachelors’ degree, and how it is harder to become a firmware engineer at an industry, it is always considered a plus point when the person has an initial experience of being a computer or hardware engineer at a firm. So this all adds up to the answer that no exact ‘time’ is specified to become a firmware engineer, it all depends upon the capability and individual potential of a person and how much time He takes to learn the skills and master it.

What type of projects does he handle?

The type of projects that firmware engineers develop and maintain refer to the specific hardware devices which have no meaning without the underlying firmware being embedded in it. We take the example of regular everyday laptops which are just a piece of hardware connected together and are completely useless if an operating system is not installed as an intermediary. In this case, the OS such as windows, linux Ubuntu, apple Macintosh and etc. 

The other most common project the firmware engineer would work on is the handheld mobile phones in our hands which would just work as a box of hardware if it’s not embedded with a firmware. This process of interconnecting the Android OS or Apple iOS with the smartphone falls under the category of the projects a firmware engineer would plan, design, implement, test and maintain.

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