Embedded Technical Lead

Ajax Systems is looking for a Technical Lead in the video direction, who will take responsibility for technical leadership and the development of new video devices.

Ajax Systems is an international technology company and Europe's largest security systems manufacturer. Ajax products are trusted by over 4.5 million end-users and 330 thousand PRO-users in more than 180 countries. The company offers comprehensive solutions for protecting residential and commercial facilities of various scales. Currently, the Ajax portfolio includes 280 devices for intrusion protection, video surveillance, fire safety, and comfort and automation. Every year, we demonstrate exponential growth in both team size and user numbers worldwide.

Responsibility for device development at Ajax lies with R&D, which consists of four departments: System, Device, Automation, and QA.

The Device Department is involved in the development of devices for security and automation. It also sets itself serious challenges in the following areas:

• Low-Power: devices must operate for as long as possible on standard batteries;
• Cost-effectiveness: mass-produced products must remain in the mid-price segment;
• DFM (Design for Manufacturing) and DFH (Design for Humanity): circuit design, housings, and other elements must be easily reproducible in hundreds of thousands of devices during manufacturing without loss of quality.

Development is primarily conducted for STM32 (but there are other MCUs and SoCs) using Embedded C. A strong expertise and talented employees, including Hardware and Embedded C engineers, industrial designers, and mechanical engineers, have already been assembled.

Main responsibilities:

• Providing technical leadership in the development of hardware projects
• Aligning hardware and software architecture with product requirements and technical limitations of solutions
• Organizing processes for defect root cause analysis, performance optimization, functionality, and system diagnostics
• Interacting with technical support for solution providers (ARM platforms, ISP, DSP, MCUs, etc.)
• Implementing and supporting development standards, review processes, and quality assurance practices for hardware and software solutions
• Managing technical project risks and defining strategies for their minimization
• Interacting with other teams, particularly QA, production automation, sourcing, etc.
• Developing and mentoring team developers

Required leadership competencies and skills:

• At least 3 years of experience as a Technical Lead of a development team
• Strategic thinking and vision: ability to form the technical and technological direction for team and project development, set priorities and long-term goals
• Communication competence: ability to clearly explain complex technical concepts to developers and managers of your own and other company teams, actively listen, and ensure transparent information exchange
• Inspirational leadership and mentoring: ability to motivate developers, develop individual talents, maintain team spirit, and help each team member grow professionally
• Decision-making and responsibility: ability to quickly assess technical risks arising in a project, analyze problematic situations, make informed decisions under uncertainty, and take responsibility for results
• Change and conflict management: ability to lead the team through changes (new processes, tools, architectural approaches), constructively resolve conflicts, and maintain a productive atmosphere
• Experience working in accordance with corporate procedures and standards

Required technical skills and knowledge:

• Understanding of the fundamentals and general principles of technical solutions used in the development and manufacturing of electronic devices (microelectronics, printed circuit boards, mechanical parts, manufacturing of metal and plastic parts, production automation, etc.)
• Practical experience in product architecture development
• Deep experience in developing Embedded solutions on various platforms (5+ years)
• Knowledge of analog and digital electronics fundamentals, understanding of basic electronic components operation
• Knowledge of digital and analog interfaces (specifically I2C, SPI, UART/TTL, Ethernet, USB, HDMI, MIPI, SATA, eMMC)
• Experience using various peripherals: sensors, actuators, controllers, accelerometers, etc.
• Professional proficiency in C/C++, shell scripting, as well as Git, make tools

Will be a plus:

• Knowledge of Embedded Linux development specifics (U-Boot, ARM toolchains, Kernel, RootFS, BusyBox)
• Experience with streaming video, codecs, and decoders (HEVC, H.264, H.265)
• Experience with Buildroot in hardware project development on ARM platforms
• Understanding of network protocols (TCP/IP) and video data transmission protocols (specifically RTP/RTSP)
• Understanding of low-power and battery-powered device development specifics
• Ability to work with soldering equipment and measuring instruments