Firmware Engineer

Description

We are seeking a Firmware Engineer to develop low-level software for hardware devices. You will write firmware code, interface with hardware components, implement communication protocols, and debug firmware issues. The ideal candidate has strong C/C++ skills, understanding of microcontrollers, experience with embedded debugging, and hardware knowledge. You will optimize code for performance and memory, work with hardware schematics, participate in design reviews, and ensure firmware quality and reliability.

Interview Questions (67)

Q1Explain the difference between stack and heap in embedded systems.
Technical
Q2Can you describe a challenging project you worked on in embedded systems and how you overcame obstacles during its development?
Experience
Q3How do you implement a custom `aligned_malloc` and `aligned_free` function in C?
Technical
Q4Explain the difference between `volatile`, `const`, and `static` keywords in C, and describe a scenario where `volatile` is mandatory in embedded firmware.
Technical
Q5How do you approach debugging a platform that hangs during early post-silicon power-on?
Situational
Q6What tools would you use to isolate a signal integrity issue in a hardware-software interaction?
Situational
Q7What is your experience with low-level programming in C and C++?
Experience
Q8How does the company support collaboration across geographic locations in engineering teams?
Reverse
Q9What does success look like for an Embedded Engineer at AMD?
Reverse
Q10What previous experience and projects have you completed?
Experience
Q11What are your C programming skills?
Technical
Q12What is your understanding of Linux basics?
Technical
Q13Can you explain kernel driver programming?
Technical
Q14What is your experience with embedded systems programming?
Experience
Q15How do you approach debugging in embedded systems?
Technical
Q16Can you explain the differences between microcontrollers and microprocessors?
Technical
Q17Describe a challenging project you worked on in embedded development.
Behavioral
Q18How do you ensure code quality in your embedded projects?
Technical
Q19What tools do you use for embedded system development?
Technical
Q20How do you handle conflicting priorities in a project?
Behavioral
Q21What motivates you to work in embedded systems?
Motivational
Q22How does the team handle feedback and code reviews?
Reverse
Q23What are the biggest challenges facing embedded systems today?
Reverse
Q24What is the difference between RISC and CICS architecture?
Technical
Q25Tell me about your previous experience and projects that you did.
Experience
Q26What is your work experience with embedded C++, JTG debugging, and the Yocto Project?
Experience
Q27Which source code control systems do you use?
Technical
Q28How has the team you’ve served on used Agile methodologies? What’s your Scrum experience?
Experience
Q29What kind of continuous integration pipeline have your projects used? Was it integrated with a tracking system such as Jira?
Technical
Q30How well do you know the standards that apply to the work we do? Have you worked on projects that mandate compliance with government standards?
Experience
Q31Give some examples of how you used cybersecurity methodologies, tools, and techniques to prevent risks and issues, and to address those that emerge.
Experience
Q32Tell me how you would write a short program that is endian-agnostic.
Technical
Q33What are the heap and the stack, and why does it matter?
Technical
Q34What is the difference between a process and a thread? How does an interrupt work?
Technical
Q35RTOS coding is more constrained than general C++. What practices are common in C++ that might not be common in an RTOS?
Technical
Q36What is an interrupt handler? What are some good coding practices for them? How do they interoperate with other code?
Technical
Q37What are core dumps and stack traces? How do you use them?
Technical
Q38What are the differences between TCP and UDP?
Technical
Q39What is a task (or thread) in RTOS?
Technical
Q40Explain the differences between mutex and semaphore.
Technical
Q41What is priority inversion, and how can it be handled? What is static?
Technical
Q42What is volatile?
Technical
Q43What programming practices should typically be avoided in embedded systems, and why?
Technical
Q44Compare and contrast I2C, UART, and SPI.
Technical
Q45When should you poll registers rather than use IRQs?
Technical
Q46Explain the role of interrupts in embedded systems and how you manage them to optimize system performance.
Technical
Q47Can you give an overview of your experience as an embedded software engineer, including the types of projects you have worked on?
Experience
Q48Describe a project you were involved in that was particularly challenging or rewarding.
Behavioral
Q49Tell me about a project you enjoyed working on. What did you love about it? Please walk me through the tech you used.
Behavioral
Q50Tell me about your experience interacting with testing organizations.
Experience
Q51What role did you play in resolving the issue you just described? Who came up with the design you implemented?
Behavioral
Q52How do you approach troubleshooting a crashing system or application? What debugging tools and techniques do you use?
Situational
Q53Which embedded-related code bases have you looked at?
Experience
Q54How do you improve your skills as an embedded system developer?
Motivational
Q55Tell me about your worst bug.
Behavioral
Q56Tell me about a project where you had to design and implement a system with strict power, memory, and processing constraints.
Experience
Q57How are you using AI in your embedded toolbox? Where do you think it’s headed?
Motivational
Q58What is your experience with device driver development?
Experience
Q59Describe a situation where you had to optimize an embedded system for performance or power consumption. What were the trade-offs you considered? What techniques did you use?
Situational
Q60Can you describe what's a scheduler?
Technical
Q61What is your experience with real-time operating systems?
Experience
Q62What challenges have you faced in embedded development?
Behavioral
Q63How do you prioritize tasks when working on embedded projects?
Situational
Q64How do you stay updated with the latest trends in embedded systems?
Other
Q65What is your experience with hardware-software integration?
Experience
Q66What are some sources for embedded software engineer interview prep that have worked for others?
Reverse
Q67Are there others out there in the same boat?
Reverse