Firmware Engineer - Battery System

JOB SUMMARY:

The Firmware Engineer (Battery Systems) will develop, implement, and validate embedded firmware algorithms for battery management in Single Phase UPS products. This hands-on role focuses on battery monitoring, charge management, state and runtime estimation, diagnostics, and protection for VRLA and lithium-ion battery systems.

The engineer will turn battery models and real test data into reliable embedded firmware, taking algorithms from offline simulation through real-time HIL and laboratory validation. Working with global firmware, hardware, and power electronics teams, the engineer will improve battery performance, reliability, and service life in new and existing UPS products.

PRINCIPAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Develop, debug, and optimize embedded C firmware for battery-management functions running on DSP/MCU-based Single Phase UPS platforms.

• Implement and calibrate algorithms for battery state of charge (SoC), available capacity, remaining runtime, and battery-health diagnostics using voltage, current, temperature, and operating history.

• Develop battery self-test and weak-battery detection logic; assess battery aging and degradation using charge/discharge behavior and measured battery response.

• Implement battery charging strategies and control interfaces, including charge-current limits, charge profiles, and temperature compensation appropriate to the battery chemistry.

• Develop battery protection and operating-limit logic, including low-battery alarms, discharge cutoffs, abnormal temperature, voltage limits, and recovery behavior.

• Integrate lithium-ion Battery Management Systems (BMS), including battery status, charge/discharge permissions, operating limits, communication faults, and safety interlocks.

• Support detection and management of internal batteries, external battery cabinets, and modular battery strings, including changes in capacity, availability, and runtime.

• Create and calibrate offline battery models and algorithm simulations using MATLAB/Simulink, Python, or equivalent tools, informed by measured data.

• Validate algorithms through real-time Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) and laboratory tests covering charging, discharging, load changes, aging, temperatures, and fault conditions.

• Perform hands-on testing and troubleshooting using battery test equipment, data acquisition, and voltage/current/temperature measurements; correlate predictions with actual behavior.

• Work with charger, power-conversion, hardware, and system engineers to coordinate battery operation, UPS transitions, fault handling, and safe system integration.

• Document assumptions, algorithm behavior, calibration, and test results; support design reviews, new product development, and sustaining investigations.

REQUIREMENTS:

• Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Electronics, Control Systems, or a related field preferred; a bachelor's degree with strong relevant experience will be considered.

• At least 5 years of hands-on embedded firmware or embedded controls development, including practical battery-related work;

• Strong embedded C programming skills and demonstrated experience implementing algorithms on microcontrollers or DSPs (C++ is a plus).

• Practical knowledge of battery behavior during charging and discharging, including the effects of load, temperature, available capacity, and aging.

• Experience implementing or improving battery-related firmware such as state estimation, runtime prediction, charge management, battery tests, protection, or diagnostics.

• Working knowledge of VRLA or lithium-ion battery systems; direct experience with both chemistries is not required.

• Ability to use measured voltage, current, and temperature data to develop, debug, calibrate, and validate battery algorithms.

• Experience with offline modeling or simulation using MATLAB/Simulink, Python, or similar tools, and real-time HIL or comparable system-level validation.

• Hands-on laboratory experience with embedded hardware, batteries, measurement instruments, troubleshooting, and test-data analysis.

• Relevant experience may come from UPS, battery energy storage systems, battery management systems (BMS), electric vehicles, or industrial battery applications.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Experience with UPS battery operation, charging, backup runtime prediction, battery self-tests, or external battery cabinets.

• Experience with VRLA battery-health assessment, internal-resistance or voltage-transient measurements, and aging or remaining-capacity estimation.

• Experience integrating lithium-ion BMS interfaces, diagnostics, communication protocols (such as CAN), or charge/discharge limits.

• Familiarity with battery modeling or state-estimation methods such as equivalent-circuit models, coulomb counting, OCV-based estimation, or Kalman filtering.

• Hands-on experience with Typhoon HIL, dSPACE, OPAL-RT, or other real-time HIL tools for battery and UPS scenarios.

• Exposure to modular, redundant, or hot-swappable battery systems, including battery-module and external-cabinet detection.

• Experience using TI C2000, STM32, NXP, or similar embedded platforms, and data analysis or test automation with MATLAB or Python.

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