Firmware Engineer Contractor
About the job
- At least 5 years of embedded firmware experience.
- Strong C/C++ experience for microcontrollers and/or embedded systems.
- Experience with low-power, battery-operated products and power budgeting.
- Hands-on experience with general-purpose input/output (GPIO), analog-to-digital converters (ADC), interrupts, timers, and debouncing.
- Experience implementing secure connectivity, including Wi-Fi provisioning patterns such as access point mode, captive portal, or Bluetooth Low Energy assist.
- Experience with Git, code reviews, clean architecture, and testable firmware patterns.
- Develop and maintain firmware for connected embedded devices, coordinating across multiple boards or modules as needed.
- Implement reliable sensor handling and event-driven state logic.
- Support wireless connectivity features, including provisioning/setup workflows and basic network health reporting.
- Ensure secure communications and define retry, buffering, and recovery behaviors when connectivity is unavailable.
- Deliver periodic device state reporting and time-sensitive event notifications aligned to service targets.
- Optimize low-power operation through effective sleep/wake strategies and battery-aware behaviors.
- Partner with hardware, mechanical, and software/cloud teams to support integration, troubleshooting, and validation.
- Create and execute test plans for key functional and integration scenarios.
- Produce clear documentation, including firmware design notes, configuration details, and test evidence for acceptance readiness.
- Experience with an RTOS such as Zephyr or FreeRTOS.
- Experience with Wi-Fi positioning or location inference workflows.
- Familiarity with regulatory-minded development (FCC/UL) and privacy/security standards.
- Experience bringing products through integration testing and production readiness.
- Python scripting for test automation or tooling.
About the company
MistyWest is an engineering design consultancy that creates full-stack hardware solutions, focusing on technically complex, intelligent connected devices for Mining, Clean Tech and Smart Infrastructure. Its work combines physics, engineering and manufacturing know-how to turn concepts into production-ready hardware, covering concept, prototyping and manufacturing. The company’s core capabilities are Embedded Intelligence, Deep Tech and Connected Sensors, enabling data-collecting, decision-making devices that work in harsh or remote environments. MistyWest aims to accelerate the world’s transition to a sustainable future by advancing the UN SDGs through inclusive, technology-enabled global growth.
Company Size
11-50
Company Stage
N/A
Total Funding
N/A
Headquarters
Vancouver, Canada
Founded
2010
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Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- MistyWest reported six openings in June 2026 and five jobs on Indeed by September.
- Its June 2026 New York HardTech Forum expanded the brand beyond Vancouver.
- The 2025 Moray Bridge sensor deployment won $100,000 from Innovate BC.
What critics are saying
- MistyWest remains a 11-50 person consultancy, limiting revenue stability and client concentration.
- Openings for marketing, mechanical, and hardware leads signal uneven utilization across projects.
- A single lost enterprise program craters the consultancy without recurring product revenue.
What makes MistyWest unique
- MistyWest combines sensor, embedded-intelligence, and manufacturing design under one Vancouver consultancy.
- Its 2024 MistySOM with Renesas targets battery-powered computer vision on RZ/V2L MPUs.
- The HardTech Awards and Forum make MistyWest a hardware-community hub in 2026.
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Benefits
- Health Insurance
- Dental Insurance
- Paid Vacation
- Flexible Work Hours
- Remote Work Options
- Professional Development Budget