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

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

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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.

You will be mainly accountable for:

• 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

+49 (0) 621 381 3500

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