Embedded Developer: responsibilities, education, skills and career path

Builds software that runs on embedded hardware: microcontrollers, sensors and IoT devices.

Entry

Intermediate

Coding

Very High

Key skills

C / C++ for embeddedMicrocontrollers (ARM/ESP)Hardware interfaces (SPI/I2C/UART)Debugging (JTAG/oscilloscope)

Common progression

C Developer
Embedded Developer
Senior Software Engineer

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Career overview

The Embedded Developer writes software that runs on microcontrollers and embedded hardware, often with tight memory, real-time constraints and direct interaction with sensors and actuators. They work with C/C++, RTOSes, debuggers and oscilloscopes. The role leads to senior software engineering, firmware engineering or systems engineering.

Main responsibilities

Develop embedded software for devices
Write, test and review production code
Write unit and integration tests
Refactor legacy code and reduce technical debt
Keep technical documentation up to date
Build and maintain CI/CD pipelines
Mentor junior team members and review their work
Prepare and execute change requests in production
Analyse application logs to identify root causes
Automate recurring tasks with scripts

Technical skills

C / C++ for embedded90%

Microcontrollers (ARM/ESP)85%

RTOS (FreeRTOS)80%

Hardware interfaces (SPI/I2C/UART)85%

Debugging (JTAG/oscilloscope)82%

Memory & timing optimisation82%

Sensors & actuators78%

Build toolchains78%

Git78%

Linux embedded70%

Technologies

CC++FreeRTOSARM CortexESP32STM32YoctoBuildrootGCCCMakeJTAGOpenOCDGitLinuxPythonI2CSPIUARTPlatformIO

Education level

Education requirements vary depending on the company, country and experience. Professional experience, certifications and technical skills can sometimes compensate for formal education.

High School / Bac

Less common

Bac+2 (2-year degree)

Less common

Bac+3 (Bachelor)

Common entry point

Bac+5 (Master / Engineering)

Common entry point