10skillsembeddedengineersneednow

KarenFieldFebruary09,2015
Fromgettingfamiliarwithopensourcesoftwaretodevelopingapps,industryprofessionalsareurging
embeddedengineerstogetoutoftheircomfortzoneandacquirenewskillstostayrelevant.
Backintheearlydaysofembeddedinthe1980s,theguy(anditwasmostlyguysthen)whodesigned
themixedsignalcircuits,theguywhoconnectedthemicrocontroller,theguywhowroteabunchof
lowlevelassemblycode,andtheguywhogottheprototypeoutthedoorwell,itwasallthesame
guy.
Oneengineerprettymuchdiditall.

Then,asembeddedsystemsbecamebiggerandmorecomplexmillionsoflinesofcodenowship
withdevicesembeddedskillsetsbecamepartitionedbydiscipline:hardwaredeveloper,firmware
developer,softwaredeveloper.
Inmanybigcompaniesthatisstillthecase.Butthependulumappearstobeswingingback,asmore
andmorecompaniesareconsolidatingengineeringroles,lookingfordeveloperswhoarefluentin
bothhardwareandsoftware,andtryingtoaccomplishmorewithless.Certainlyabiggerpercentof
engineerssaytheyworkonbothhardwaresoftware,ascomparedtothegroupthatonlydoesoneor
theother.
Giventhatitsnotpossibletokeepupwitheverythingembedded,howdoyoumakesurethatthenew
skillsyouacquirearethemostrelevant?
EETimesturnedtonineembeddedprofessionalsandarecruiterandaskedthemtotelluswhatthey
thinkarethemostimportantthingsengineersshouldlearnnow.
Thoughopinionsdifferedonthespecificskillsthataremostimportant,theyallagreedononething
allengineersshoulddo:Neverstoplearning.
Joinover2,000technicalprofessionalsandembeddedsystemshardware,software,
andfirmwaredevelopersatESCBostonMay67,2015andlearnaboutthelatest
techniquesandtipsforreducingtime,cost,andcomplexityintheembedded
developmentprocess.
PassesfortheESCBoston2015TechnicalConferenceareavailableattheconferencesofficialsite

withdiscountedadvancepricinguntilMay1,2015.MakesuretofollowupdatesaboutESCBostons
othertalks,programs,andannouncementsviatheDestinationESCblogonembedded.comandsocial
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TheEmbeddedSystemsConferenceandEETimesareownedbyUBMCanon.
Page2
1.LearnthetechnologiesthatmaketheInternetpossible.
Byandlarge,ifyoucandomixedsignaldesignandcodeinCorC++,youareprettymuchgoodto
gointheembeddedworld.Infact,justknowinghowtowritecodeinCorC++maybeenoughin
manycases.
ButIwouldadvocatethatlearningthetechnologiesthatmaketheInternetpossibleisabigplusforan
engineerscareer.Asamatteroffact,Iamcurrentlyworkingonseveralinitiativesthatinvolve
embeddingavirtualXMLintoembeddedsystems.Weareusingthistechnologytoallowfor
autonomousmetadatatransactionprocessingwithdisparatedevicescommunicatingusingdifferent
lowlevelstandardandproprietaryprotocolstoaffectanetworkabstractionlayer.
IsupposethatonecanthinkofthisasthePlugandPlaymodelforsmalldevicesontheInternet.
Source:KenWada
Title&Company:President,AuriumTechnologies,anindependentproductdesignandconsulting
firm
WhatIdo:Ihave30yearsexperienceinthefield.NowIarchitectanddesignproductsandsystems
forvarioushightechindustries.IamuniqueinthatImsplitbetweenbeingageneralistanda
hardcoretheoreticaltype.
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2.You'vegotasearchengine.Knowhowtouseit.
Dontwasteyourtimereinventingthewheel,takeadvantageofalloftheopensourcestuffthatisout
there.Isuspectthatsomeoneelsehasalreadywrittenjustaboutanypieceofcodeyoucouldever
want.
Thereareexceptions,ofcourse,whenyou'redoingthingslikebleedingedgeresearch.Butmostofus
worktosolveeverydayproblems.Sotakeadvantageofallofthecodeandallthebrilliantfolks
availableviatheInternet.
Don'tsitinyourcubbyholetryingtopuzzlethroughtheissue(unlessthat'syour"thing").Youshould
becomeamemberofthecommunity.Helpfolksoutwhenyoucan,andthey'lllikelydothesame.
Opensourceisawonderfullypowerfultoolthatonlyworksifpeoplecooperate.
Source:MichaelAnderson:
Title&Company:ChiefScientist,ThePTRGroup
WhatIdo:Ivebeenanengineerfor35years.Idescribemyselfasasoftwareguywhocanread
schematics.Iworkonlowleveldevelopmentprimarilyportingoperatingsystems,devicedrivers,
kernellevelwork,etc.Thatunderstandingnowhelpsmeasasystemsarchitectwhocanseehowa
wholeprojectfitstogether.

Page4
3.Learnsomethingnewoutsideofyourcomfortzone.
Althoughspendingsometimechasingthelatestfadisusefulandfun,thebiggestbenefitscomefrom
eitherdeepeningorexpandingyourdomainofexpertise.Challengeyourselftolearnsomething
outsideyourcomfortzonesuchashardware,yourcompany'sorcustomers'domainexpertise,or
projectmanagement.
Atthesametime,focusonimprovingyourfundamentalskillsandinherentstrengths.Workhardto
developapoliticalsensethatwillhelpyouunderstandthemotivationsofthepeoplearoundyou.
Engineeringisfundamentallyahumanendeavor,andthekeyistomaintainthatbalance.Toomany
youngengineersfocustooheavilyonpeopleortooheavilyonengineering.Iknowthatitisnoteasy,
butyoureallybenefitbyworkingonbothsetsofskills.
Source:MattLiberty
Title&Company:FounderofJetperchLLC,acompanythatprovidesDSPandembeddedsoftware
consultingservices
WhatIdo:Ivebeenanengineerfor18years.Ithinkofmyselfasageneralistwhounderstandsthe
businessofengineeringandsystemsengineeringwhilestillbeingskilledatembeddedsoftwareand
DSPalgorithmdevelopment.

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4.Becomeexperiencedwitharealtimeoperatingsystem.
Engineerswholearnaformalstructureddevelopmentprocesseswhileworkingwitharealtime
operatingsystem(RTOS)areinhighdemandtodayandcommandbiggersalaries.Thatsbecause
theyhaveacquiredthenecessarydisciplinetodevelopanykindofsafetycriticalproductandtheyalso
understandtheideaofconcurrency:GiventhatatanygivenpointtheCPUcanbecalledtoruna
differenttask,theyknowhowtomakesurethattheresourcetheyarecurrentlyusingisnotgoingto
betrampledon.Inshort,theyknowhowtoprotectresourcesfromothertasksusingtheservice
unexpectedly,whilemaintainingperformance.
SoIwouldencourageengineerswhoareworkingwithsmallerdeviceswhohadnotworkedwithan
RTOStogetsomehandsondevelopmentexperiencewhetheritsVxWorksorGreenHills
INTEGRITYorMicriumsC/OS.IamalsostartingtoseeacallforalotofembeddedLinux.Thats
becauseLinux(ingeneral)isaveryscalableoperatingsystem.Youcanstripitdowntothebare
operationfortimingandschedulingandthenloaditontowhateverhardwareyouwantanddokernel
developmentforgreateroptimizationandcontrol.
Source:HenryWintz
Title&Company:SolutionsManagerfortheEmbeddedIndustryPracticeatRandstadTechnologies,
anengineeringandemploymenthiringservicesfirm
WhatIdo:Simplyput,Iminthebusinessofmakingthingshappen.
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5.Diversifyyourskillsandmoveupthestack.

IfyouarestillworkingbarebonesoronsmallerMCUs,IadvisetakingaLinuxdriverclass.Itwill
makeiteasiertomovetoAndroidlater.Andalthoughthereispossiblylessvalueifyouareusedto
workingonlargesystems,tryworkingbarebones.
Moveupthestack:Makeamobileapporlearnsomebackendserverstuff.Itwillgiveyouanew
vocabularyandperspective.
Andbecomefamiliarwithopensourcehardware.TheprojectsIdid8yearsagorequiredmetospin
myownHWandsoon,soIcouldnotfocusonthealgorithmdevelopment.Today,thereareplentyof
offtheshelfboardsthatallowmetofocusonthehard,uniquestuff.
Sure,itcanmakemefeellikemywholeexistenceoffirmwarehasbeennullifiedandinmanyways
thefunofboardbringuphasbeentakenawayfromme,butsometimes,wehavetofocusontheend
game.Unfortunately,thismeansImeetfewerandfewerpeoplewiththoseparticularskills,andthose
whodoareliterallyadyingbreed.
Source:JenCostillo
Title&Company:Consultant,Rebelbot
WhatIdo:Ivebeenanengineerforalmost20years.Iconsidermyselfajackofalltrades,inthatI
haveexperienceinsomanydifferentareas.Iveworkedaslowasacircuitdesignerandashighas
makingappsonAndroidorWindows.IvealsoworkedinbroadtechsupportandasanR&D
engineer.
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6.Knowyoursoftwarewellbutalwaystinkerwiththenewestprocessors.
Itisgoodtoknowafewlanguages,somepeoplerecommendlearningonenewlanguageayear.
However,whilepuresoftwareengineersneedtolearnlanguagestofitspecificneeds,embedded
engineersneedtolearnchips.AdeepunderstandingofCorC++iscriticalbutthenewesttrendy
languageisnotasimportantasthenewest,trendyprocessortechnology.
Itsimportanttoknowaboutprocessors,thatsjustthenatureofembedded.Becausewehave
resourcelimitedsystems,weneedtounderstandthoseresourceswehaveavailable.Anewandnifty
languagelikeGomightbeincrediblypowerful,butitsverylikelythatitdoesntruninourresource
limitedenvironment.
Intheend,youshouldacquirelotsofshallowbreadthandafewareasofdeepdepth.Keepingcurrent
isimportantbutlearningallyoucanaboutafewareasmakesyouanexpert.
Source:EleciaWhite
Title&Company:EmbeddedSoftwareEngineer,Embedded.fm
WhatIdo:Ihavebeenanembeddedsoftwareengineerforover15years.Ididnormal(server)
softwarebefore.I'vedonesomemanagementovertheyearsbutIenjoythehandsontechnicalaspects
more.
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7.Getcomfortablewithopensourcesoftware.
Thereareliterallythousandsofsoftwarepackagesthatcustomerswantintegratedintotheirsystems,
sothisisanareawhereallembeddedengineersneedtofeelcomfortable.

Iwouldalsostressthatyoushouldavoidpigeonholingyourselfintoonearea,astheskillsyouhave
willalmostinevitablybecomeobsoleteand/orpreventgrowth.
Andmakesurethatyouunderstandbothhardwareandsoftwareengineerswhoknowbotharethe
mostvaluable.
Source:RobOshana
Title&Company:DistinguishedMemberofTechnicalStaffandDirectorofGlobalSoftwareR&D
forDigitalNetworking,FreescaleSemiconductor
WhatIdo:Ihavebeenanengineerfor31years.IwaseducatedasaEE,butIhavebeendoing
softwareengineeringmostofmycareer.
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8.Developasystemsengineeringmindset.
Itscriticalforembeddedengineerstohaveasystemsorientation.Ihaveseenanumberofprojects
sufferbecausethingslikeacleardefinedrequirementbaseline,verificationstrategyandaplanfor
demonstratingcompliancewasnotconsideredtheseearlyenoughintheproject.Andeveryengineer
shouldacquiregoodprojectmanagementskillsasyouwillbeaskedtocommittoachievingdeadlines.
Havingtheabilitytosensiblyexplaintheriskintermsoftechnicalandprojectriskwillserveyouwell
inyourcareer.
Source:AdamTaylor
Title&Company:ChiefEngineerElectricalSystems,E2V
WhatIdo:Ihavebeenanengineerfor15years.IfIhadtopigeonholemyselfIwouldsaythatIama
highreliabilityembeddedsystemspecialist.However,Ihavebeenveryluckyinmycareerandhave
hadtheopportunitytodesignforanumberofapplications.
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9.Becomeskilledatexpressingyourself(bothinwordsandgraphics).
Engineersofalltypesneedtobeabletoeffectivelyexpressthoughtsandideasandoftenthebestway
todothatisgraphically.ToooftenIhaveaskedjuniorengineerstoexplainaconcept,onlytocringe
astheyrambleonwithoutbeingabletofocusonexactlywhatitisthattheyaretryingtoexplain.
Weusedtouseflowchartstoexplainconcepts.Maybethosearesomewhatobsoletetoday,butevery
engineershouldhaveasafundamentalskilltheabilitytouseblockdiagrams,statemachinediagrams,
picturesorcloudsorlightboxesorwhatevertoolcanaidinconveyingconcepts.Particularlyifthey
aretryingtoexplainhowsomethingworks.
Canyouimaginetryingtoexplaintoadeveloperwhoiswritingthesoftwareforacontrollerhowthe
machineworksusingatextbaseddocument?
Mindmappingisoneofmyfavoritetechniquesforcapturingandvisuallyorganizingmyideaand
thoughts.IuseiThoughts,amindmappingappfortheiPad,almosteveryday.
Source:JeanLaBrosse
Title&Company:President,Micrum

WhatIdo:IamanEEbytrainingandIhaveamastersincomputerscience.Asanengineer,Iliketo
lookatthingsthatarecomplicatedandsimplifythem.
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10.Learnwirelessconnectivity.
TheonethingIwouldrecommendembeddedengineerslearninthenext13yearsiswireless
connectivity,specificallywifiand/orBluetoothlowenergy(BLE).
Theprimary(andsometimesonly)waytointeractwithembeddeddevicesismovingtotheenduser's
smartphones,atleastinconsumerelectronics.Consumerelectronicscompaniesknowthatasmart
phoneisamuchbetteruserexperiencethanmostembeddedsystemscanhopetoprovideontheir
own.Andotherindustriesandproductcategoriesarefiguringitouttoo.
Ourembeddedsystemsaregoingtoneedtototalktoanapponasmartphoneoraninternetbased
serviceinordertodoanythingcommunicatewiththeuser,getfirmwareupdates,troubleshoot
problems,etc.
ItmightbegoingabittoofartosaythatwifiandBLEwillsoonbeascommonastheUARTistoday,
butit'snottoofarfetched,andit'sagoodtooltohaveinyourtoolbox.
Source:ChrisSvec
Title&Company:SeniorPrincipalSoftwareEngineer,iRobot
WhatIdo:Ivebeenanengineerfor13years.Ithinkofmyselfasalowlevelembeddedengineer.
Ilikelivingatthehardware/softwareinterface.ButImalsoabigpicturekindofguy,whichmeans
thatIneedtounderstandthefullcontextoftheproductImworkingontoreallyenjoymywork.

Joinover2,000technicalprofessionalsandembeddedsystemshardware,software,andfirmware
developersatESCBostonMay67,2015andlearnaboutthelatesttechniquesandtipsforreducing
time,cost,andcomplexityintheembeddeddevelopmentprocess.
PassesfortheESCBoston2015TechnicalConferenceareavailableattheconferencesofficialsite
withdiscountedadvancepricing.MakesuretofollowupdatesaboutESCBostonsothertalks,
programs,andannouncementsviatheDestinationESCblogonembedded.comandsocialmedia
accountsTwitter,Facebook,LinkedIn,andGoogle+.
Embedded.com,theEmbeddedSystemsConference,andEETimesareownedbyUBMCanon.