Hardware Engineer

Remote Robotic; Ottawa; On-site; CAD 110,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity participation

Benefits

Job summary

Remote Robotic Systems in Ottawa (Kanata) seeks a senior Hardware Engineer to own embedded electronics from requirements to production-ready hardware. You’ll design compute-dense boards, SoC/SOM carriers, and high-speed interfaces, writing firmware to validate and bring up in the lab.

You’ll work across architecture, layout, and bench validation, collaborating with software and manufacturing to ensure DFM/DFT, production handoff, and robust test procedures.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in Electrical/Computer Engineering.
• 5+ years of professional electronic hardware design experience.
• Hands-on ownership of dense digital boards such as SoC or SOM carriers.
• Strong high-speed layout skills across memory/serial interfaces.
• Experience with DFM/DFT and production handoff.

Responsibilities

• Own major parts of each board design including compute, power, high-speed interfaces, components, connectors, constraints, and validation strategy.
• Route high-speed interfaces with controlled impedance and proper return paths.
• Write firmware and Linux tooling for board bring-up and validation.
• Bring up boards in lab, isolate faults, and feed design improvements.

Skills

Hardware design

SoC carrier boards

High-speed layout

Embedded firmware

Lab bring-up

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering

Tools

Altium

KiCad

Job description

About Remote Robotic Systems

Help build advanced systems operating at the intersection of aerospace, robotics, and defence technology.

Remote Robotic Systems (RRS) is a Canadian robotics and defence-tech company helping organizations deploy enterprise-grade drones, uncrewed aircraft, robotic platforms, sensors, payloads, and remote operations technologies for mission-critical applications. Our solutions support customers across defence, public safety, security, industrial, infrastructure, energy, and government sectors.

Through our Airmetal team, we develop advanced aerospace, communications, and autonomous systems designed for demanding real-world environments.

We're a small, fast-moving engineering team that values ownership, technical depth, practical problem solving, and the ability to turn ambitious ideas into working hardware.

The Role

Airmetal is looking for a Hardware Engineer to design complex embedded electronics from requirements through production-ready hardware.

You will work on compute-dense boards at the centre of our platforms, including SoC or SOM carriers, high-speed digital interfaces, multi-rail power systems, sensors, and mixed-signal circuits. You will capture schematics, lay out boards, write enough firmware to validate them properly, and personally bring them up in the lab.

This is a senior, hands-on role on a small hardware team. You will have meaningful ownership over architecture decisions and work across the full lifecycle from the first block diagram through fabrication, validation, and production handoff.

We're looking for an engineer who combines strong board-design fundamentals with a practical build-test-iterate mindset.

What You Will Work On

Board Architecture & Design

• Own major parts of each board design including compute, power, high-speed interfaces, components, connectors, constraints, and validation strategy.
• Design SoC or SOM carrier boards with high-pin-count BGA fanout, pin-mux planning, boot and reset strategy, and multiple logic or power domains.
• Route high-speed interfaces such as LPDDR or DDR, MIPI CSI-2, USB, PCIe, and Ethernet with controlled impedance, length and skew matching, and intact return paths.
• Define stackups for dense designs, including HDI, microvia, or via-in-pad approaches where justified.

Power, Sensors & Interfaces

• Design multi-rail power architectures from battery input through sequencing, protection, regulation, PDN, and decoupling.
• Perform or guide signal- and power-integrity analysis before and after layout.
• Integrate sensors and mixed-signal peripherals over SPI, I2C or I3C, UART, CAN, and related interfaces with appropriate protection and conditioning.
• Capture schematics and complete PCB layout in Altium, KiCad, or an equivalent tool.

Bring-Up, Validation & Production

• Write firmware and Linux-level tooling for board bring-up, peripheral validation, device-tree work, and automated testing.
• Bring up boards in the lab, isolate faults to the component or net, and turn findings into design improvements.
• Own DFM and DFT inputs, test procedures, documentation, and the transition through fabrication, assembly, and production test.
• Review board-level designs and share practical hardware knowledge across the team.

Core Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related technical discipline, or equivalent demonstrated experience.
• Five or more years of professional electronic hardware design experience, with complex boards taken from concept through validated hardware or production.
• Hands-on ownership of dense digital boards such as SoC or SOM carriers, high-pin-count BGA designs, or similarly complex embedded systems.
• Strong high-speed layout skills across memory or serial interfaces, including stackup, impedance, length matching, skew, and return-path discipline.
• Deep experience with multi-rail power design, sequencing, protection, PDN, and decoupling.
• Direct schematic-capture and PCB-layout experience in Altium, KiCad, or a comparable tool.
• Working knowledge of signal- and power-integrity analysis.
• Enough C or C++ and embedded firmware depth to validate your own hardware at register, RTOS, driver, or embedded Linux level.
• Fluency with oscilloscopes, logic and protocol analyzers, electronic loads, and related laboratory tools.
• Experience with DFM and DFT and board fabrication, assembly, and production-test handoff.
• Able to work on-site in Kanata, Ontario.

Nice to Have

• HDI or rigid-flex design experience.
• LPDDR4 or LPDDR5, MIPI D-PHY, PCIe, USB 3, Ethernet, or camera-system product experience.
• FPV, drone, UAS, robotics, aerospace, automotive, or rugged embedded-product experience.
• RF coexistence, desense mitigation, and layout around radios or video links.
• Motor control, battery systems, or high-current power electronics.
• Automated hardware-test development and production-test strategy.

What Will Make You Successful

• You enjoy moving between architecture, layout, firmware, and bench validation.
• You challenge assumptions with measurements and can explain why a board failed.
• You value design quality while keeping hardware manufacturable and testable.
• You take ownership from the first block diagram to production handoff.
• You collaborate effectively across hardware, software, mechanical, and manufacturing disciplines.

What We Offer

• Meaningful ownership of technically challenging work from architecture through validation and production.
• Direct access to the hardware, lab equipment, and teammates needed to solve problems quickly.
• A small, multidisciplinary environment where your work is visible and your technical judgement matters.
• Competitive compensation, benefits, and equity participation.

Employment Details

Type: Full-time. This posting is for an existing, open vacancy.

Location: On-site in Kanata, ON

Compensation: $110,000-$130,000 plus equity and benefits, based on experience and fit for the role.

Security clearance: Some roles are conditional on the ability to obtain and maintain the required security clearance.

Use of AI in hiring: We may use AI tools to help with parts of our hiring process, such as reviewing applications, screening resumes, and evaluating candidate responses. These tools support our team, but people make all hiring decisions. AI is used to assist, not replace, human judgment.

Application Process

Remote Robotic Systems is an equal opportunity employer. If you require accommodation during the recruitment process, please let us know.