Senior Embedded Systems Consultant / Engineer (Full-Time / Part-Time / Advisory)

About Marecomms

Marecomms is a deep-tech ocean technology pioneer breaking long-standing signal processing and acoustic communication paradigms in subsea wireless environments. Built upon fundamental breakthroughs in underwater signal processing, high-efficiency sensor and hardware management, we develop world-leading acoustic modems, robust communication & networking solutions, and modular reference IP for commercial and defense applications globally.

Driven by scientific rigor and technological superiority, Marecomms is in a key strategic expansion phase—scaling our core firmware, DSP, and hardware engineering teams to deploy our next-generation subsea stack and accelerate global licensing operations.

Role Summary

As we expand our core engineering team, we are seeking a seasoned Embedded Systems Veteran to serve as a high-level technical lead, architectural advisor, and troubleshooting lifeline. Rather than managing daily operational tasks, your primary role is to save time, prevent costly technical debt, and act as a sounding board for our mid-level and junior engineers.

You will guide system architecture, conduct formal schematic and firmware reviews, and step in as the definitive escalation point when complex edge cases, hardware bring-up bottlenecks, or multi-threading bugs emerge. This position offers exceptional flexibility—ideal for an experienced engineer seeking a part-time advisory role, consulting retainer, or flexible full-time position while solving hard subsea engineering problems.

Key Responsibilities

· Sounding Board & Mentorship: Act as a dedicated sounding board and technical mentor to our engineering team, guiding them through subsystem ownership, architecture trade-offs, and design decisions.

· Rapid Troubleshooting & Lifeline: Serve as the final technical escalation point for stubborn board bring-up issues, obscure firmware race conditions, signal integrity anomalies, and hardware edge cases—saving weeks of trial-and-error.

· System Architecture Guidance: Help shape high-level architectural blueprints for next-generation mixed-signal hardware platforms, real-time concurrent firmware codebases, and subsea telemetry protocols.

· Design & Code Reviews: Lead formal schematic capture, multi-layer PCB layout (Altium/KiCAD), and C/C++ firmware code reviews to ensure long-term reliability, memory optimization, and signal integrity.

· Development Standards: Help define and enforce technical governance, hardware documentation standards, and firmware style guidelines across the engineering organization.

· Test Protocol & Field Oversight: Help define validation strategies, laboratory stress-testing protocols, and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) acceptance criteria. Oversee local ocean field trials and dockside testing in the Halifax region as needed.

· Cross-Disciplinary Integration: Coordinate with mechanical and DSP leads to ensure seamless enclosure integration, thermal dissipation, waterproof seals, and local UI/diagnostic compatibility.

Position Requirements

Mandatory Criteria:

· Education: Bachelor’s degree in Electrical, Computer, or Mechatronics Engineering (or equivalent demonstrated deep industry experience).

· Experience: 8–10+ years of end-to-end commercial embedded engineering experience, with a proven track record bringing complex electronics from initial concept through architecture, prototyping, DFM, and deployment.

· Location & Work Status: Resident of the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) with valid Canadian work authorization (Citizen, PR, or open work permit) to allow hybrid lab bring-up, schematic reviews, and field trial oversight at our Halifax facilities.

· Leadership Mindset: Low-ego leadership style, strong technical writing habits, active mentorship approach, and a focus on accelerating others.

Core Technical Competencies:

· Embedded Architecture & Concurrency: Mastery of microcontroller/SoC selection, power-efficient architecture, real-time execution (RTOS, bare-metal, concurrent multi-threading), and serial protocols (SPI, I2C, UART, CAN, Ethernet/IP).

· Hardware & PCB Governance: Expert-level schematic capture and multi-layer mixed-signal PCB layout practices, signal integrity, power management circuitry, and Design for Manufacturing/Assembly (DFM/DFA).

· Sensors & Data Acquisition: Deep knowledge of analog/digital signal chains, high-resolution AD/DA conversion, noise isolation, and harsh-environment sensor integration.

· Tooling & Analytics (Preferred): Proficiency in Python or MATLAB for test automation, signal analysis, and DSP verification; working familiarity with Git version control and Linux OS environments.

· Harsh-Environment Electronics (Preferred): Experience with marine instrumentation, pressure housings, waterproof seals, thermal dissipation, or IP/MIL-STD qualification testing.

What We Offer

· Flexible Engagement Models: Open to Full-Time, Part-Time (e.g., 2–3 days per week), or Retainer/Consulting arrangements based on your schedule and goals.

· Hybrid Flexibility: Flexible work structure combining remote architectural work with targeted on-site lab sessions and local field trial support in Halifax.

· High-Impact R&D: Direct involvement in world-leading subsea technology and harsh-environment engineering solutions developed right here in Nova Scotia.

Pay: $50.00-$150.00 per hour

Benefits:

• On-site parking

Work Location: Hybrid remote in Halifax, NS