Senior Embedded Systems Architect

Q-Block Computing•Ottawa, ON

33d

About The Position

Q-Block Computing is seeking a Senior Embedded Systems Architect to join our innovative team in Canada. This role offers an exceptional opportunity to shape the embedded control platform that drives a new class of advanced hardware systems. The candidate will serve as a senior technical leader defining software architecture, subsystem interfaces, and engineering standards for scalable real-time control platforms. As a Senior Embedded Systems Architect, you will lead the architectural design and technical direction of Q-Block Computing’s embedded control platform in close collaboration with the Technical Lead and senior leadership. Job duties include defining platform architecture, establishing interface specifications between control subsystems, evaluating technology trade-offs, and mentoring a growing team of engineers and technologists.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, or a related field; Master’s degree preferred.
8+ years of professional experience in embedded systems design, with at least 3 years in a system architecture or technical leadership role.
Must be eligible to obtain and maintain Government of Canada security clearance, if required for assigned projects.
Must be eligible to comply with requirements of the Controlled Goods Program, if required for assigned projects.
Must be willing to participate in background screening, documentation, and compliance processes associated with security-sensitive work.
Expert-level C/C++ for embedded systems; proven track record architecting multi-module firmware platforms.
Deep knowledge of ARM Cortex-M architecture, DMA subsystems, memory-mapped I/O, and real-time scheduling.
Strong experience designing hardware abstraction layers and reusable driver frameworks across multiple IC families.
Strong attention to detail, authenticity, and a sense of responsibility in all tasks.
Excellent written and verbal communication; ability to produce clear architecture documents and specifications.
Critical thinking and strategic problem-solving mindset.

Nice To Haves

Ability to work effectively within security, export-control, and compliance-sensitive technical environments is an asset.
Experience with precision timing, synchronization architectures, or related systems is highly desirable.
Familiarity with mixed-signal systems, including ADC/DAC integration and timing-sensitive control paths.
Experience leading or mentoring teams of embedded engineers.
Exposure to FPGA-based co-processing, high-speed serial interfaces, or hardware-in-the-loop testing is an asset.
Experience in scientific, defense, or deep-tech hardware organizations is strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

Define and maintain the firmware and embedded systems architecture for a distributed, real-time control platform.
Establish subsystem interface specifications, communication protocols, and data pipeline architectures that enable deterministic, low-latency coordination across control units.
Evaluate and select microcontroller families, peripheral ICs, bus architectures, and real-time scheduling strategies based on system-level performance, scalability, and reliability requirements.
Design reusable firmware libraries, hardware abstraction layers, and board support packages that decouple application logic from hardware specifics.
Architect synchronization and timing distribution subsystems to support coherent multi-unit operation.
Lead firmware design reviews and establish coding standards, testing frameworks, and development workflows for the embedded team.
Collaborate with hardware, systems, and infrastructure teams to translate system-level requirements into embedded design specifications.
Mentor and develop Embedded Firmware Engineers and related technical staff; conduct code reviews and guide architectural decisions.
Identify and mitigate technical risks; lead root-cause analysis for system-level failures.
Contribute to technical proposals, technical documentation, and IP capture processes as appropriate.
Stay current on emerging embedded architectures, real-time operating systems, and mixed-signal control techniques.