Firmware Test Engineer - HIL (BMS & CMS)

Exponent Energy; Bengaluru; On-site; INR 1,200,000 - 1,800,000; Full time

Job summary

Exponent Energy in Bengaluru, India is seeking a Firmware Test Engineer – HIL to design and build Hardware-in-the-Loop test rigs for BMS and CMS, and to automate firmware verification before releases.

You will derive test cases from requirements, develop automated regression suites, and work with CAN/CAN-FD, CAPL, Python, and HIL platforms to ensure robust software for EV charging and battery management. Experience 2-5 years and BE/B.Tech preferred.

Qualifications

• BE/B.Tech in Electronics, EEE, Instrumentation or Computer Science.
• 2-5 years of embedded firmware testing / validation experience in EV, automotive or power electronics.
• Hands-on experience building or using HIL test benches.
• Strong scripting in Python for test automation.
• Knowledge of CAN/CAN-FD, DBC files and tools.
• Understanding of embedded C firmware and microcontrollers.
• Familiarity with test design techniques.

Responsibilities

• Design, build and maintain HIL test rigs for BMS and CMS with emulators and CAN interfaces.
• Develop plant models and simulate cell voltages, temperatures and currents.
• Create and maintain test automation framework (Python; other tools optional).
• Integrate rigs with CI pipelines for automated firmware testing.
• Derive and run test cases covering functional, boundary, fault-injection scenarios.
• Log defects with steps and logs; collaborate with firmware team to verify fixes.

Skills

Python scripting

CAPL

CAN/CAN-FD

DBC files

CANoe/CANalyzer

PCAN

BusMaster

Embedded C

Microcontrollers

Schematic reading

Test design

HIL test benches

Git/Jenkins

Jira

MISRA ISO26262

Education

BE/B.Tech in Electronics/EE/Instrumentation/CS

Tools

NI VeriStand

TestStand

dSPACE

LabVIEW

Typhoon HIL

MATLAB/Simulink

Job description

Role: Firmware Test Engineer – HIL (BMS & CMS)

Department: New Product Development Location: Bengaluru, India Experience: 2-5 Years

Your Team:

You'll be working with New Product Development — a group that runs on coffee and an infectious passion for building products that have never been built before. Our Flexible Energy Stack consists of the e^pack (battery pack) and e^pump (charging station), which unlock 15-minute rapid charging.

Our philosophy:

Break. Believe. Build.

Break stuff, break assumptions, break the thumb rule.

Believe in the team, the process, and through failures.

Build fast, build passionately, build to simplify.

Own it like you mean it.

What you’ll own:

We are hiring two Firmware Test Engineers to build Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) test rigs and use them to rigorously test firmware running on our Battery Management System (BMS) and Charger Management System (CMS). You will design test cases that cover normal, boundary, fault and abuse scenarios – and automate them so every firmware release is verified before it reaches a vehicle or a charger.

What you’ll do:

HIL rig development

• Design, build and maintain HIL test rigs for BMS and CMS – cell/battery emulators, programmable power sources and loads, I/O and fault-injection hardware, CAN interfaces.
• Develop plant models and simulation of cell voltages, temperatures, currents, vehicle and charger behaviour.
• Create and maintain the test automation framework (Python preferred; NI VeriStand/TestStand, dSPACE, Vector CANoe or open-source stacks).
• Integrate rigs with CI pipelines so firmware builds are tested automatically.

Firmware testing

• Derive test cases from software requirements and specifications – covering functional, boundary, negative, fault-injection, timing and regression scenarios.
• Test BMS functions: SoC/SoH estimation, cell balancing, OV/UV/OC/OT protections, contactor control, insulation monitoring, fault handling, sleep/wake, CAN communication.
• Test CMS functions: charging state machine, BMS–charger handshake, current/voltage control, derating, fault and emergency-stop handling, IS 17017 / IEC 61851 communication behaviour.
• Run regression on every release, track requirements coverage and publish clear test reports.
• Log defects with reproducible steps and logs; work closely with firmware developers to verify fixes.
• Support bootloader / OTA update and diagnostic (UDS) testing.

What you’ll bring:

• Education qualification
• B.E./B.Tech in Electronics, EEE, Instrumentation or Computer Science.
• 2–5 years of embedded firmware testing / validation experience, preferably in EV, automotive or power electronics.
• Hands-on experience building or using HIL test benches.
• Strong scripting in Python for test automation (pytest or similar); CAPL a plus.
• Good understanding of CAN/CAN-FD, DBC files and tools (CANoe/CANalyzer, PCAN, BusMaster).
• Understanding of embedded C firmware, microcontrollers and reading schematics.
• Knowledge of test design techniques – equivalence partitioning, boundary-value analysis, state-transition and fault-injection testing.

Good to Have

• Domain knowledge of Li-ion batteries/BMS or EV chargers.
• Experience with dSPACE, NI (LabVIEW/VeriStand/TestStand), Typhoon HIL or MATLAB/Simulink plant models.
• Exposure to UDS diagnostics, bootloaders and OTA.
• Familiarity with ISO 26262, ASPICE or MISRA concepts.
• Experience with Git, Jenkins/GitHub Actions and requirement tools (Jira, Polarion).

What Success Looks Like (First 6 Months)

• Working HIL rigs for BMS and CMS with automated regression suites.
• Measurable requirements coverage reported on every firmware release.
• Fewer firmware defects escaping into vehicle and field testing.

What matters to us:

• Quality of work
• Structured problem-solving
• Dissatisfaction with mediocre work
• Ability to multi-task and handle a dynamic working environment
• Resilient attitude to bounce back after failing

About Us:

Exponent is building the energy stack powering commercial EVs in India. Our proprietary battery and charging technology enables safe, reliable 15-minute rapid charging while delivering a 3,000-cycle battery life warranty using standard lithium-ion cells. Today, our platform powers high-utilisation commercial vehicles - from three-wheelers to intercity buses, making electric mobility rapid, more reliable and more affordable than petroleum.

Founded by Arun Vinayak (Founding Partner & Former Chief Product Officer, Ather Energy), Exponent is a 250+ member team of passionate builders solving some of the toughest engineering challenges in energy.

If solving hard engineering problems across mechanics, thermal systems, power electronics, manufacturing, and the charging network, while staying obsessed with customer experience excites you, we'd love to build with you.