Lead Hardware Engineer in Black Forest Systems

Black Forest System is part of a new generation of defense companies that are shaping the Ukrainian defense technology sector for years to come. We specialize in the development of UAV technologies for critical application areas.

We are looking for a hardware engineer with leadership qualities who will lead the Hardware/Embedded direction and become a key participant in the development of our technology. The scope of tasks is broad, as the role involves technical leadership and working with critical details of the hardware platform. We deliberately give a detailed description to transparently show what exactly the project needs.

1. Hardware - (50-60%)

• Design of electronic modules for our unmanned systems: power, control, sensors, safety subsystems, radio interfaces.
• Development of schematic diagrams, component selection, BOM formation, modeling and simulation.
• PCB tracing (2-6 layers): analog, digital, power and high-speed sections (MCU, SoC, MIPI, USB, Ethernet, CAN).
• Work with stack-up, impedances, EMC/EMI, thermal modes, DFM/DFT.
• Preparation of technical documentation, production packages (Gerber/ODB++, PnP).
• Bring-up hardware boards, measurements, diagnostics, elimination defects.
• Manufacturability assessment and production support (PCB/PCBA).

2. Embedded / Firmware - (30-40%)

• Development of low-level firmware for MCU (STM32, ESP32, others).
• Work with sensors, drivers, interfaces (I2C, SPI, UART, CAN, USB).
• Integration with SoC (Linux side): communication protocols, HAL, IPC, boot-sequences.
• Optimization of performance, power consumption, stability.
• MCU bring-up, bootloader configuration, flashing, hardware function testing.
• Writing diagnostic/calibration tools (CLI, Python tools - optional).

3. Architecture and technical leadership - (10-20%)

• Formation of the hardware and software architecture of new products.
• Coordination of the work of HW/Embedded engineers, setting tasks, reviewing solutions.
• Selection of key technologies, components and standards for the entire platform.
• Preparation development roadmaps of the hardware and firmware part of the products.
• Interaction with the mechanics, autopilot, CV/AI, software and production team.

4. Managerial responsibilities

• Leadership of the HW + Embedded team (2-6 engineers at the start, more to come).
• Sprint planning, task execution control, risk management.
• Formdevelopment of standards: circuit engineering, PCB design, firmware guidelines, infrastructure bring-up.
• Conducting technical reviews (schemes, PCB, code).
• Hiring of engineers, mentoring of junior specialists.
• Interaction with contractors (PCB/PCBA) and integration into the production cycle.
• Creation of repeatable processes: build, testing, document flow, control quality.

We expect

• 4-6+ years in electronics and/or firmware design for embedded systems.
• Altium Designer or KiCad - in-depth experience.
• Sure knowledge of MCU (STM32 or similar), drivers, peripherals, protocols.
• Experience in tracing multilayer boards, working with high-speed interfaces.
• Experience in bring-up hardware platforms: measurement, debugging, revisions.
• Understanding EMC/EMI, protections, DFM/DFT, hardware product life cycle.

Advantage:

• Working with UAV/robotics/autopilots, SoC/Linux Embedded, power electronics.

We offer

• Complex technical tasks and full autonomy in choosing solutions;
• Work in a real R&D team on an innovative Ukrainian product with a full development cycle (needs analysis, design, software development, testing);
• Impact on the entire Black Forest hardware and software platform Systems;
• A team of engineers who create technologies of the future;
• Convenient work schedule: hybrid;
• Paid sick leave and vacation;
• Payment of 50% of the cost of courses;
• Payment for participation in conferences / meetups;
• Booking (in process);
• Opportunity to join the core team at the early stage of the startup - it is from this composition that the structure of the future company will be formed;
• Competitive salary (discussed at the interview);
• Complex lunches (very tasty);
• Additional motivation for the best (options and other bonuses);
• A small, flexible team - decisions are made quickly, everyone's opinion has weight.