Role design and job descriptions for Embedded Systems Companies: who owns the board and the change
In a small embedded team, people wear many hats and nobody owns the gaps. Clear role descriptions say who owns a board, who signs off a customer change and who leads bring-up.
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Share your requirementsWhy role design and job descriptions matters in embedded systems companies
Without written roles, a hardware engineer does layout, a firmware engineer debugs the power rail and a project manager approves specification changes by memory. When the customer changes a requirement late, each person assumes someone else is costing the rework. Appraisals then reward whoever was loudest, and hiring adverts copy an old posting.
A good role description is half a page. It says what the person owns, what they decide, who they hand to and what skill level is expected. It names the boards, drivers or test setups in their care. It is the base for hiring, grading, pay and the appraisal conversation, and it is updated when the work changes.
How to set it up
1. List the real work
Walk through one recent project from specification to pilot batch and note each task and who did it. This shows where roles overlap and where nobody is responsible.
2. Write ownership lines
For each role add three lines: what you own, what you decide and what you must ask first. Include customer change approval and who signs off a board revision.
3. Separate levels clearly
Describe junior, mid and senior versions of firmware, hardware and test roles with examples of work at each level. This helps with grading and gives technicians a path too.
4. Add the bench and field roles
Bring-up technicians and field application engineers are often missing from the structure. Give them full descriptions, not a note under an engineer's title.
5. Use them in hiring and reviews
Draft job adverts from these pages and use the same wording in appraisals. See our role design and job descriptions support for templates.
Check these first
Before changing anything, find out what is true today. These take an afternoon and use your own records.
- Pick one board and ask three people who owns it. Count how many different answers you get.
- Check that each role in your last job advert has a written description behind it.
- Look at your last late customer change and find who decided its cost.
- Compare the titles on your payroll sheet with the tasks people actually do.
GullyHR can do this with you. Read how we approach role design and job descriptions in general, or share your requirements and we will tell you where to start.
Questions owners ask
Half a page is enough. Cover ownership, decisions, handovers and level. Long lists of tools go stale quickly, so keep the skills section short and update it with each project cycle.
Yes, but include the shared work such as bring-up and test support, so each person knows where their job meets the other. Many arguments begin where two descriptions silently overlap.
Write down the three jobs, then decide which one is the main role and which are agreed extras. Review the extras at appraisal, and grade and pay for the full load, or move part of it to a new hire.