5 Key Skills You Need to Build an Embedded Systems Career5 Key Skills You Need to Build an Embedded Systems Career

The embedded systems industry is constantly evolving. In my 20 years in the industry, embedded devices have gone from resource-constrained monolithic designs running on 8-bit microcontrollers to today’s microservice-based architectures running on 32-bit multicore processor devices. (Let’s not even mention how AI is transforming the industry!)

What can you do to have a long-term, prosperous career in an industry that evolves so rapidly? 

Today’s post will examine the skills needed to build an embedded systems career. We’ll focus mainly on the technical aspects, though a successful career will require you to learn skills such as marketing yourself and negotiation. 

Skill #1: Mastery of the embedded software development lifecycle

No matter where the industry goes, if you understand and master the embedded software development lifecycle, you can go far in your career. The development lifecycle describes how a system is specified, developed, and deployed. While the nitty gritty details change based on methodologies, they can be summed up pretty simply:

The lifecycle is obvious, yet few teams master it and get it right! If you take the time to dig deep into the lifecycle and the required processes at each stage, you’ll find that you have the skills to work at nearly any company. 

Related:Will AI Replace Embedded Software Developers?

A significant challenge that teams encounter, whether they use Waterfall or Agile, is managing the transitions between these stages. Focus on understanding these areas, and you’ll find no matter what changes, you’ll have a skill set that is in high demand. 

Consider reading the IEEE Computer Society's Software Engineering Body of Knowledge (SWEBOK) for a good overview. 

Skill #2: System-level design and architecture skills

Several modern methodologies suggest software architectures are emergent. These methods imply that elegant, beautiful architecture will miraculously appear without much effort in designing your software or writing your code. While this may appeal to many, the only emergent architecture I’ve ever seen is a giant ball of mud!

The software architecture is the roadmap teams use to guide their development efforts. It outlines the major components, the inputs and outputs, and how they interact. Without that map, teams get lost! They meander and spin their wheels, getting very little accomplished. What does get done often has to be redone, too! 

Gaining skills in software architecture design is a great way to ensure long-term success in your career. Learning how to architect a system, common design patterns, and pitfalls would help. 

Related:3 Modern Embedded Techniques Every Developer Should Adopt

For a good overview of architectural patterns that are used in modern software engineering, consider reading Building Evolutionary Architectures by Neal Ford, Rebecca Parsons, and Patrick Kua. 

Skill #3: Proficiency in programming languages like C/C++ and Rust

Even as AI develops more code for us, developers will always need a foundation in programming languages. For embedded systems, that means understanding the C language at a minimum. The popularity of C has been slowly decreasing over the last decade, and I suspect it will continue to do so. 

The good news is that a programming language is just a tool. Beyond C, I highly recommend learning Rust and using “C like C++.” C++ is already used in nearly 25% of embedded systems. While promising, Rust hasn’t had many significant wins to date. However, it’s an intriguing language that will play an essential role in the industry, especially as teams focus more on security and reliability.   

Skill #4: Knowledge of debugging and testing techniques

Nothing that blends software and hardware together ever works on one try. You can get close, but systems today are so complex that it’s easy to overlook a minor detail. When you overlook a detail, you end up with a defect (bug) in your system that you need to find and correct. 

Related:5 Embedded Software Trends to Watch in 2024

While you should strive to minimize the chances for defects, you also need to have the skills to identify the ones that do get through. For embedded systems, there are a lot of techniques you can master that will help you to find defects quickly. For example, you might consider:

These are just a few of the possible skills that can help you resolve defects in a system quickly. 

Many of the above techniques are reactive. The best thing you can do is take a proactive approach to prevent bugs. A few methods you can use to avoid defects proactively is to adopt processes like:

You might consider reviewing James Grenning's book Test-Driven Development for Embedded C to gain some life-long skills in software development. 

Skill #5: Continuous practice, experimentation, and refinement of your skills

No matter your career path, you need to have an unyielding passion for learning. Very few technology-oriented industries are unchanging. Even accounting, which you would think would be nothing more than balancing books, constantly changes.  

I always highly recommend that you design and experiment with new technologies and techniques to stay current. For example, I’ve designed, built, and experimented with two to three devices: a weather station and a temperature monitor/controller. 

I’ve built these devices on different development boards, with different sensors, in simulators, using C, C++, and more recently Rust. I’ve built them in bare metal ways, with an RTOS, connected and disconnected. 

You might think I’m crazy for creating the same things over and over in different ways. There is an advantage, though. I already understand the devices and the problems they solve. That means I can jump straight into what I want to learn without getting sidetracked. My learning efficiency increases, which helps me learn more in shorter periods. After I’ve learned the new techniques, I can apply them to customer projects or other work areas. 

Conclusions

Building a successful career in embedded systems demands a blend of technical acumen and a proactive approach to professional development. By mastering these five skills, you position yourself to not only navigate the complexities of current technologies but also adapt to future innovations in the field. Embrace a lifelong learning mindset, and you will continue to grow and succeed in this exciting and ever-evolving industry.