Senior R&D Firmware Engineer (m/f/d)

ABB; Heidelberg; Hybrid; EUR 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Canteen

Employee Assistance Program

Flexible Workpractices

Employee Share Acquisition Plan

Job summary

ABB is hiring an experienced firmware engineer to join the Smart Power team in Heidelberg. You will design and develop embedded firmware for monitoring relays and motor protection devices, working in a hybrid R&D environment.

The role emphasizes architecture decisions, secure coding practices, and collaboration within an agile team. English proficiency is required, German is a plus, and the team focuses on scalable, robust software for power systems.

Qualifications

• Degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a comparable field.
• At least 5 years of professional experience in embedded/related engineering.
• Strong proficiency in C/C++ and ARM microcontrollers.
• Experience with RTOS, bare-metal development, and debugging tools.
• Knowledge of security practices, threat analyses, and functional safety standards.
• Business‑fluent English; German language skills are a plus.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop embedded firmware for monitoring relays and protection devices.
• Define firmware architecture, module boundaries, and abstraction layers for new features.
• Implement monitoring and protection algorithms for three-phase systems.
• Ensure code quality with scalability, maintainability, testability and robustness.
• Provide technical guidance and conduct code reviews for junior engineers.
• Drive R&D activities and identify new technical solutions.

Skills

C/C++

Embedded development

ARM microcontrollers

Software testing

Threat analysis

Security concepts

English fluency

Code reviews

Education

Degree in Computer Science or Electrical Engineering

Tools

Git

Build systems

Debugging tools

Job description

At ABB, we help industries run leaner and cleaner—and every person here makes that happen. You’ll be empowered to lead, supported to grow, and proud of the impact we create together. Join us and help run what runs the world.

This position reports to:

R&D Team Lead

The work model for the role is: hybrid/

Key Responsibilities

In this role, you contribute to ABB’s success through technology, software, product, and system development. You will join the Smart Power team in Heidelberg, which develops monitoring relays and motor protection devices. Working both independently and within an R&D team, you identify and implement solutions to complex technical challenges and bring in your own ideas.

• Design and develop embedded firmware monitoring relays and motor protection devices, covering hardware abstraction, device drivers, application logic, and fieldbus integration in bare-metal and RTOS environments.
• Develop and implement monitoring and protection algorithms for three-phase systems, including motor protection and management, overload protection, current and voltage measurement.
• Define and drive firmware architecture decisions, including module boundaries, abstraction layers, and implementation strategies for new features and product generations.
• Ensure high software quality with a strong focus on scalability, maintainability, testability, and long-term product robustness, while contributing to agile engineering practices.
• Build security and safety into the firmware, apply secure coding practices, contribute to threat analyses, and follow our functional safety process.
• Provide technical guidance and conduct code reviews for junior engineers, supporting their growth in software quality, technical judgment, and independent problem‑solving.
• Take responsibility for firmware development projects, either as a senior technical contributor and, depending on the project, as technical
• Drive innovation by identifying, developing, and validating new technical solutions and initiating R&D activities.

Qualifications For The Role

• Degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a comparable field, combined with at least 5 years of professional experience in a relevant engineering environment.
• Strong proficiency in C/C++ and solid fundamentals in computer science and software engineering.
• Hands‑on experience in embedded development, including ARM microcontrollers on, bare‑metal and RTOS environments and confident use of development tools and processes such as version control, build systems, testing, and debugging.
• Ability to independently analyze complex technical problems and derive requirements from datasheets, standards, and technical specifications.
• Experience in implementing signal processing, protection, or monitoring algorithms for electrical or power systems, such as current and voltage measurement or overload detection.
• Experience with threat analysis and secure coding practices for embedded software, and the ability to explain and justify design decisions in technical and security reviews.
• Business‑fluent English, both written and spoken; German language skills are a plus.
• Knowledge of functional safety and cybersecurity standards, such as IEC 61508, ISO 13849, or IEC 62443, is a plus. We provide training where needed.
• Experience with industrial communication protocols such as PROFINET, PROFIBUS, Modbus, or EtherNet/IP, and with bootloaders, is a plus.

Benefits

• Canteen
• Employee Assistance Program
• Flexible Workpractices
• Employee Share Acquisition Plan

Please note: in the case of equal suitability, people with severe disabilities and their equals are given preference.

ABB AG

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Building a cleaner, smarter future takes all kinds of minds: the curious, the courageous, and the creative. That's why we welcome people from all backgrounds and experiences.

Ready to make an impact? Apply today or visit https://www.abb.com to learn more about the impact of our solutions across the globe.