Staff Engineer Embedded Firmware

Department: Enterprise

Location: Chennai, India

Employment Type: FullTime

Role Overview

We are seeking an Embedded Linux Firmware Engineer to develop next-generation Intelligent PDUs (Power Distribution Units) used in Audio/Video racks, enterprise IT racks, and edge infrastructure environments.

This role focuses primarily on embedded Linux application firmware, middleware services, backend feature development, and embedded web UI integration. The engineer will build customer-facing PDU functionality such as outlet scheduling, monitoring, telemetry, configuration management, sensor integration, and network management services by leveraging BSP and Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) APIs.

The ideal candidate has strong experience in embedded Linux systems, C/C++ development, networking protocols, and feature-level embedded application development.

Responsibilities

Embedded Linux Application & Middleware Development

• Develop embedded C/C++ applications and middleware services on Linux-based PDU platforms

• Implement customer-facing features such as:

  • Outlet scheduling

  • Outlet grouping and sequencing

  • Power event monitoring

  • Threshold configuration

  • Sensor monitoring

  • Alerting and notifications

• Design and maintain backend service architecture for long-running embedded applications

• Integrate and utilize BSP/HAL APIs for hardware operations such as:

  • Outlet on/off control

  • Sensor access

  • Power telemetry retrieval

Networking & Remote Management

• Implement and maintain:

  • SNMP (v1/v2c/v3)

  • Modbus TCP

  • MQTT

  • HTTPS/REST APIs

  • WebSocket or embedded web communication interfaces

• Develop network configuration and management features:

  • DHCP/static IP

  • DNS/NTP

  • Remote/Cloud access

  • Device discovery

• Ensure reliability and stability of long-running network services

• Implement secure communication using TLS/certificate-based authentication

Embedded Web UI & System Integration

• Collaborate with frontend/UI teams to integrate embedded web interfaces with backend services

• Develop APIs and middleware supporting web-based monitoring and configuration

• Implement persistent configuration storage for:

  • Outlet names

  • Schedules

  • Thresholds

  • Network settings

• Support OTA/FOTA firmware update workflows and rollback mechanisms

Diagnostics, Logging & Reliability

• Implement:

  • Event logging

  • Diagnostics

  • Power history

  • Fault/alarm reporting

• Debug runtime issues involving:

  • Networking

  • Memory leaks

  • IPC

  • Long-running service stability

Sensor & Peripheral Integration

• Integrate environmental and external sensors:

  • Temperature

  • Humidity

• Work with communication interfaces such as:

  • UART

  • I2C

  • SPI

  • RS485

  • Ethernet

Collaboration

• Work closely with BSP team, hardware team, QA, and cloud teams

• Support system integration, validation, and production issue debugging

• Participate in architecture discussions, code reviews, and feature planning

Required Skills

• 10+ years of relevant experience

• Strong proficiency in C/C++ for embedded systems

• Strong Linux/Embedded Linux development experience

• Experience with embedded application or middleware development

• Experience with networking protocols:

  • TCP/IP

  • MQTT

  • HTTP/HTTPS

  • SNMP

  • Modbus

• Experience with multithreading, IPC, synchronization, and long-running services

• Experience debugging embedded systems using logs, gdb, logic analyzers, or oscilloscopes

• Experience with UART, SPI, I2C, Ethernet, or RS485 interfaces

• Familiarity with OTA/FOTA update mechanisms and persistent storage management

• Experience with Git and Linux development environments

Preferred Skills

• Experience with embedded web servers or embedded web UI integration

• Experience with Yocto or Buildroot

• Experience with device management platforms or remote monitoring systems

• Experience with power infrastructure products, industrial devices, or networked appliances

• Experience with REST APIs

Company Statement/Values:  

At NETGEAR, we are on a mission to unleash the full potential of connectivity with intelligent solutions that delight and protect. We turn ideas into innovative networking products that connect people, power businesses, and advance the way we live.

We're a performance-driven, talented and connected team that's committed to delivering world-class products for our customers. As a company, we value our employees as the most essential building blocks of our success. And as teammates, we commit to taking our work to the Next Gear by living our values: we Dare to Transform the future, Connect and Delight our customers, Communicate Courageously with each other and collaborate to Win It Together. You’ll find our values woven through our processes, present in our decisions, and celebrated throughout our culture. 

We strive to attract top talent and create a great workplace where people feel engaged, inspired, challenged, proud and respected. If you are creative, forward-thinking, passionate about technology and are looking for a rewarding career to make an impact, then you've got what it takes to succeed at NETGEAR. Join our network and help us shape the future of connectivity. 

NETGEAR hires based on merit. All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment. All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.