As an embedded system engineer or developer, your duty is to solve human problems using electronic devices. These devices comprise of hardware and software to control its operations. So, you wish to get into the field of embedded system or you’re already
into it, then you should possess the following skills listed below. Although the skills listed comprises of both hardware, software and soft skill; having knowledge of as many of the skills as possible gives you an edge over other engineers in your career.
1. Circuit design:
Having a good knowledge of circuit design is like the most basic knowledge you should have to work with embedded hardware. Having a good knowledge will be of great use in designing custom devices, PCBs and even debugging designs and devices made by others as these are the main duties of an embedded hardware engineers.
2. Schematic design:
Schematic design is the first phase of the project design. In this step, the Engineer talks with the client to determine the project requirements and goals. The architect usually starts with rough study drawings that illustrate the basic concepts of the design. Having a understanding of schematic design will help in project design and implementation.
3. PCB design:
Printed Circuit Board (PCB) designing skill is an important skill to have if you’re working with embedded hardware devices. The circuit board is where all the electronic components in your devices are mounted and connected, so, a good knowledge of PCB design will help you know where which component will be and even determine the final size of your device.
4. Microcontrollers:
Microcontrollers as we all know is the brain of an embedded system, so, having a deep hands-on knowledge with microcontrollers is inevitable. As an embedded system engineer you should be comfortable working with different families of microcontrollers such as PIC, ARM and AVR. As a beginner, try working with Arduino and other development boards; to learn how microcontrollers work and how they can be interfaced with other peripherals in projects.
5. Sensors:
Most embedded system applications involve the use of sensors to monitor our environment such as in home automation. Having hands-on knowledge with sensors such as motion sensor, temperature sensors, light sensors etc. is a good skill to have.
6. Firmware:
Firmware is a computer program (software) that tells the microcontroller or microprocessor what to do. Without the firmware, the microcontroller doesn’t function. So, knowing how to write optimized and efficient firmware for your devices is a very good skill to have in the embedded system field.
7. Device drivers:
Device drivers are softwares that controls the operation of peripherals interfaced with your embedded devices. Device drivers helps to handle the new peripheral linked to your device without having to rewrite your entire firmware to accommodate the new peripheral. Knowing how to write optimized drivers is a good skill to have in this field.
8. Linux:
Linux is an open-source Operating System. There are different flavor of Linux made specifically for embedded system applications. In case you don’t want to write your embedded software from scratch, you can pick a Linux flavor of your choice and edit it to suit your need. Embedded development board such as Raspberry Pi and Arduino Yun run Linux OS. Being good at Linux is a good skill to possess.
9. Communication protocols:
Through your projects on embedded devices, you will want to connect your devices with other peripherals such as sensors, displays and even with other devices. Knowing the different communication protocols both wired and wireless such as UART, USB, Serial, I2C, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, etc. is a need in this field.
10. Software development:
Good knowledge of software development techniques is a needed skill in an embedded system career. For example, if you want to go into IoT, you will have to write more than just firmware; you will have to understand Cloud computing, Database, and web technologies. So, a good software development skill is a must have.
11. Programming skills:
As we said earlier, embedded system is made up of hardware and software. To write software, you need to know the various programming and their syntaxes and knowledge of different IDEs and text editors. Popular programming languages and IDEs for embedded system include: C/C++, Python, Java, Assembly Language etc. and Arduino IDE, Sublime Text, CodeBlocks, Keil uvision, etc. respectively. Check out my post on Top 5 Programming Languages for Embedded System Development.
12. UI/UX:
One of the popular applications in embedded is home automation. This has led to us controlling our embedded devices with our computers and mobile devices. In order to make user friendly applications, you need to have a good knowledge of User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX) design to give your end user that satisfaction.
13. CAD tools:
Knowledge of various Computer Aided Design (CAD) skill is a must have skill in your embedded system career. Knowledge of this skills help in fast and efficient prototyping. Some CAD software I use are: Proteus and Fritzing for circuit design and simulation, KiCad for PCB design, Autodesk 123D design for 3D designs.
14. Team work:
Through your embedded system career, most of your project will be done as a team. You need to be good with team members in order to be able to work efficiently.
15. Communication skills:
As an embedded system developer, you need good communication skills in order to be able to share your thought on projects with your team member or to communicate your product capabilities to the end user. This is a vital skill because, without proper communication with the end user, you might just be the only one using your products.
16. Keep your skills updated:
The technology world is rapidly growing. So, in order to keep up with the trend, you need to keep updating your skills to remain valuable. The eagerness to learn the new trends in this field is a great skill to possess.