With hardware products, the idea is rarely the bottleneck. The bottleneck is people who can write the firmware and drivers on time. Embedded is one of the rarest skills on the market, and the product window, certification schedule and launch dates do not move.
In our experience, embedded software development outsourcing solves this faster than permanent hiring. For a global electronics manufacturer we recommended more than 200 engineers, and over 20 were hired long-term, delivering driver programming and motor-control applications, among other things. Below we show when this model makes sense and how we run it.
Why is it so hard to hire embedded engineers?
Because it is a narrow, hard-to-find specialisation where demand keeps outstripping supply:
- a small pool of specialists in C/C++, RTOS and hardware protocols,
- slow recruitment that cannot keep up with the product window,
- strong competition for the same people among hardware companies,
- firmware often requires experience with specific hardware, not just language knowledge,
- after a project, narrow specialists are hard to retain between products.
As a result, the “build or buy” decision is really a question of not cost, but whether you can get the right people in time.
What is embedded outsourcing (staff augmentation) and how does it work?
It is a model in which we provide vetted embedded engineers to work under your team’s management (body leasing, also known as staff augmentation). We verify skills before the start, so the people joining are genuinely ready to work with hardware, not just with documentation.
In this model:
- you keep full control over architecture, priorities and code quality,
- you scale the team with the project, without the cost of permanent headcount in narrow specialisations,
- you pay for the experts’ availability, not for keeping rare skills around “just in case”.
Which embedded skills do we provide?
On projects for electronics manufacturers and industry, we have staffed, among others:
- driver programming and motor-control applications (C++ 11-17, C#),
- real-time systems (RTOS, FreeRTOS) and Embedded Linux / Yocto,
- programmable logic and electronics (VHDL, Verilog, FPGA),
- PCB design (Altium, Cadence, Eagle),
- simulation and modelling (MATLAB, LTSpice, ANSYS HFSS),
- testing and quality (unit and integration tests, GTest, TDD/BDD, CI/CD).
Which protocols and connectivity do our embedded engineers handle?
A modern embedded product rarely runs in isolation, so communication with sensors, buses and the cloud matters. Our engineers work with, among others:
- hardware buses: UART, SPI, I2C, CAN,
- wireless connectivity: BLE, Wi-Fi, Zigbee, and standards such as Matter in IoT devices,
- cellular connectivity for field devices (e.g. LTE-M),
- cloud and mobile-app integration for connected products.
This lets us join the hardware layer to the rest of the product, instead of leaving a “firmware island” that is never wired into the system.
Real time, low power and safety: what do we keep in mind?
Embedded is not just “code that works”, but code that works deterministically and within the constraints of the hardware. On our projects we watch for:
- determinism and response time in real-time systems,
- power optimisation in battery-powered devices,
- stability and robustness of the firmware across a long product life cycle,
- testing on real hardware, not just in a simulator.
These requirements are exactly why an experienced engineer matters, not a generic “jack-of-all-trades” developer.
Which projects do we most often support with embedded?
Our embedded skills fit a few recurring contexts:
- connected products (smart home, appliances, devices with a mobile app and cloud),
- HVAC systems and device control,
- Industry 4.0: drivers, motor control, automation,
- electronics and power electronics: power sources, semiconductors, high-frequency circuits.
How fast can embedded engineers join your team?
Speed and fit are the point. Because we verify skills before the start, the people who join are ready to work, not candidates to be trained. As a nearshore partner from Poland we work in a close time zone, so engineers genuinely join your working rhythm, code reviews and technical meetings, without the multi-hour lag typical of offshore models.
Embedded outsourcing or your own team: what pays off?
This is not a “cheaper or more expensive” choice. It is a question of whether you can get the right people in time for the product window. An in-house team takes months to build, and narrow specialists are hard to retain between projects. Embedded outsourcing gives you fast access to rare skills exactly when you need them, without the cost of keeping them on permanently. On longer programmes we combine both: a permanent core, with narrow skills added at the peaks.
How do we do it at RITS?
We do it as a nearshore partner from Poland with a real track record in embedded and electronics:
- for a global electronics manufacturer we recommended more than 200 engineers, and over 20 were hired long-term,
- we delivered driver programming and motor-control applications in an Industry 4.0 context,
- we worked on power sources and semiconductor solutions,
- we verify skills before the start, not from a CV.
Most often we do this as team augmentation (our engineers under your management) and, where it makes sense, we build a dedicated team for a longer programme. Where the project calls for it, we add an AI layer on device data, always with people in the decision loop.
Where to start when sourcing embedded engineers?
Start from a precise description of the roles and the hardware platform, and from the project’s time window. The clearer you are about what you need (drivers, RTOS, FPGA, PCB, specific protocols), the faster we deliver the right people. We covered the differences between engagement models in our article on IT engagement models.
Need embedded or firmware engineers for your project? Let’s talk - we’ll match specialists to your hardware and schedule.