Hardware engineering jobs

Electronics & Embedded Systems Jobs in Renewable Energy

Electronics and embedded systems engineers in renewable energy design the circuit boards, sensors, and firmware inside inverters, battery systems, heat pumps, chargers, and meters: the microcontrollers and control loops that make energy hardware measure, switch, communicate, and protect itself.

Almost every device in a modern energy system is now a small networked computer, and that has made firmware a grid question. A report by DNV for SolarPower Europe found that a targeted compromise of 3 GW of generation capacity could have significant implications for Europe's power grid, while over a dozen manufacturers already control significantly more than 3 GW of installed capacity through their connected inverters. Of the 14 risk areas assessed, three were rated critical. The engineers who write that firmware now carry responsibility for grid security as well as product features.

What the work involves

Hardware engineers design printed circuit boards for measurement, control, and communication: current and voltage sensing, gate drivers for power semiconductors, isolated communication interfaces, and the auxiliary power supplies that keep it all running. PCB layout engineers turn schematics into boards that survive heat, vibration, and electrical noise next to switching power stages. Much of this sits close to power electronics, where the high-power conversion stages are designed; the embedded engineer typically owns the control and supervision around them.

Firmware engineers write the software that runs on the device itself, usually in C or C++ on microcontrollers or embedded Linux. In a battery management system, that means reading hundreds of cell voltages and temperatures, estimating state of charge, balancing cells, and opening contactors fast enough to prevent a fault from becoming a fire. In a heat pump, it means controlling compressor speed, defrost cycles, and refrigerant valves while responding to tariff and grid signals. Test and measurement engineers build the rigs and automated test systems that prove each design meets grid codes and safety standards.

Regulation is moving into the firmware

Europe's Cyber Resilience Act, in force since December 2024, requires manufacturers of connected hardware and software to report actively exploited vulnerabilities from 11 September 2026, with the main obligations, including secure design and security updates over a product's support period, applying from 11 December 2027. For embedded teams, that means secure boot, signed firmware updates, vulnerability handling processes, and documentation that a regulator can inspect. Engineers who have already shipped a product built this way bring experience that many teams are only now acquiring.

Who is hiring

Our listings for this tag are spread across device makers rather than concentrated in a few large employers. sonnen, Lunar Energy, and Sol-Ark hire for home batteries and hybrid inverters, Landis+Gyr for smart meters, and Gridware for sensors on power lines. Kitepower in Delft develops airborne wind systems, where lightweight flight control electronics are central. Fusion developers form an unusual cluster: Helion Energy in Everett, Commonwealth Fusion Systems, and Thea Energy hire electronics engineers for diagnostics, control, and power systems on their experimental machines. Berlin, Everett, the San Francisco Bay Area, Leuven, and Erlangen lead the locations.

Some listings near this tag are IT support roles, which belong elsewhere; the engineering posts ask for circuit design, firmware, or test experience. Engineers moving from automotive electronics are well placed: battery management, functional safety, and high-volume production discipline transfer almost directly.