Applied Information is a leading developer of connected, intelligent transportation system (ITS) solutions designed to improve safety, reliability and mobility. Applied Information's Glance Smart City Supervisory System™ platform allows cities to manage all their traffic and ITS assets on one web-based application. This includes five key areas: Traffic Intersections, School Beacons, Preemption, Transit Signal Priority, and Connected Vehicle. AI's Glance TravelSafely™ smartphone app connects drivers, cyclists and pedestrians for a safer commute. Our company goal is to save lives, improve traffic, drive commerce, and help the environment.

We are currently hiring for an Embedded Engineer to join our Engineering team in Cape Town, South Africa. This position is responsible for designing, developing, testing, troubleshooting, and maintaining embedded firmware that integrates with our hardware products. Working across both design and development, this individual will translate product requirements into technical solutions, create design documentation, develop and validate firmware, maintain accurate project records, and collaborate with Engineering and QA through release.

The ideal candidate brings hands-on embedded systems experience, sound technical judgment, strong communication skills, and a collaborative, adaptable approach to project ownership and problem-solving.

-         Responsibilities

Project Ownership & Technical Design

• Own assigned features and projects through requirements review, technical design, development, testing, QA handoff, and completion.

• Translate product and Sales requirements into clear technical tasks and practical embedded solutions.

• Review requirements before development begins, identify missing information or dependencies, and raise focused questions with the appropriate Engineering or project stakeholders.

• Prepare clear, low-level technical design documentation that defines the proposed approach and supports development, review, testing, and future reference.

• Apply sound technical judgment when evaluating feasibility, risks, implementation options, and the impact of proposed product changes.

• Maintain accountability for the quality, completeness, and readiness of assigned work throughout the development lifecycle.

Embedded Firmware & Hardware Integration

• Design, develop, test, troubleshoot, and maintain embedded firmware for hardware products.

• Develop reliable, maintainable embedded code using C and work effectively within Linux programming environments.

• Apply a strong understanding of how firmware interacts with PCB designs, electronic components, interfaces, and hardware behavior.

• Read and interpret PCB schematics, circuit diagrams, component datasheets, and related technical documentation to support firmware development and troubleshooting.

• Work with embedded processors and microcontrollers and their associated IDEs and development environments.

• Diagnose hardware/firmware integration issues and determine whether problems originate in firmware, hardware, configuration, or system interaction.

• Collaborate with hardware engineers to ensure firmware decisions align with PCB design and product requirements.

Development Tools, Documentation & Quality

• Use GitHub effectively for collaborative development, including clear and descriptive commits, branching, code review, and reverting changes when required.

• Follow established coding, version-control, and documentation standards and contribute to the continued improvement of Engineering practices.

• Use YouTrack to maintain complete and current project records, including design documents, status updates, code references, version/build information, and testing details.

• Create and execute appropriate test cases to validate firmware before work is submitted to QA.

• Provide complete QA handoffs with the information needed to understand, reproduce, and test the completed work.

• Reproduce issues identified during QA, implement and validate corrective changes, and update project documentation before resubmission.

• Participate constructively in code reviews and incorporate agreed technical feedback into the final solution.

Communication & Collaboration

• Communicate clearly and proactively with Engineering, QA, Sales, and other stakeholders throughout the development process.

• Identify information gaps early and ask clear, specific technical questions to support accurate and efficient development.

• Remain responsive to email and internal communication channels during normal working hours to support project coordination and changing priorities.

• Coordinate thorough handoffs across teams and time zones so work can continue efficiently when responsibilities transition between team members.

• Adapt effectively as priorities change and manage work across multiple projects while maintaining quality, documentation, and visibility.

Required Skills

• Professional experience in embedded systems and firmware development.

• Strong C programming skills and experience working in Linux programming environments.

• Strong understanding of firmware-to-hardware integration, including the relationship between embedded code, PCB design, electronic components, and hardware behavior.

• Ability to read and interpret PCB schematics, circuit diagrams, component datasheets, and technical documentation.

• Experience developing, debugging, testing, and troubleshooting firmware on physical hardware.

• Ability to create clear, technically detailed design documentation.

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to work through complex technical issues.

• Strong communication, organization, and project ownership skills.

• Ability to work effectively with a high degree of autonomy while collaborating closely with a cross-functional team.

• Flexibility and adaptability in a fast-paced engineering environment with evolving tools, processes, and priorities.

Preferred Skills

• Experience with ESP and/or PIC processors or microcontrollers and their associated IDEs and development environments.

• Experience with Altium or similar PCB design and schematic tools.

• Experience with HSM-related technologies.

• Experience improving Git/GitHub workflows, coding standards, or development practices within an Engineering team.

• Proficiency with GitHub and collaborative version-control practices, including commits, branching, code review, and reverting changes.

• Experience using a ticketing or project-management systems such as YouTrack, Jira, ClickUp, or equivalent.

• Experience contributing to technical architecture, design decisions, or engineering standards.

• Experience working across the embedded product lifecycle, from requirements and technical design through development, testing, QA, and production release.

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Electronic Engineering, Mechatronic Engineering, Computer Engineering, Embedded Systems, or a closely related technical discipline preferred.

• Equivalent technical education and substantial hands-on embedded firmware and hardware integration experience may be considered.