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Embedded Systems, Firmware, FPGA, PLC and SCADA Engineering Recruitment

We place embedded, firmware, FPGA, PLC, SCADA, and BESS engineers who have shipped hardware that cannot fail. Australia, New Zealand, and the USA.

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97%

Retention Rate

90d

Replacement Guarantee

28+

Years Specialist Focus

40%

Briefs We Push Back On

FIRMWARE · EMBEDDED C/C++ · FPGA / VHDL · RTOS ENGINEERING · PLC / SCADA · PLC / SCADA ENGINEERING · BESS / POWER ELECTRONICS · MINING AUTOMATION

The Problem

Hiring engineers is risky. Pretending otherwise is negligent.

Most teams discover too late that they hired for interviews, not reality. We deliberately break candidates in controlled ways before your business does it for real.

Roles rejected outright when expectations are unrealistic
97% retention because we say no more than yes
Zero tolerance for untested engineers
Used by teams where mistakes have real consequences

Call us to evaluate the risk properly.

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Overview

What we do

RunTime helps engineering teams avoid bad hires in complex, real world systems.

We Understand Engineering

We don't skim resumes. We interrogate competence. Our screening is grounded in how systems actually fail.

No Template Hiring

There are no interchangeable engineers. We align to your system, your risk profile, and your delivery pressure.

Signal Over Volume

We don't flood you with CVs. We apply targeted outreach, referrals, and a curated database.

We Own the Risk With You

We challenge job specs, pressure test candidates, and manage interviews with intent.

Active Roles

Open Positions

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Process Development Engineer

Job Location: Sydney, New South Wales

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Cloud Security Engineer

Job Location: Melbourne, Victoria

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Software Team Lead

Job Location: Wellington, Wellington

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Test and Validation Engineer

Job Location: Melbourne, Victoria

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Senior Cloud DevOps Engineer

Job Location: Wellington, Wellington

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Embedded Systems Engineer

Job Location: Melbourne, Victoria

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Sectors We Cover

Industries

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Medical

Transport

Industrial

Audio/Video

Space

ML/CV

Agriculture

Energy

Telecommunications

IoT

How It Works

Workflow

Phase	What Happens	Why It Matters
Kick off	Stakeholder briefing. Lock down job spec. Agree KPIs, timelines, and contacts.	Aligns everyone on goals and process, prevents scope creep later.
Market Research	Analyse competitors and tech stacks. Map market trends.	Sharpens the pitch so we attract exactly the right talent.
Candidate Sourcing	Search databases and inbound lists. Leverage networks, social channels, and referrals.	Builds a quality funnel with no resume blasts.
Shortlisting	Technical interviews. Skills tests.	Saves you time, only the top three candidates move forward.
Presentation and Interviews	Present endorsed candidates. Schedule interviews. Debrief both sides after each round.	Maintains momentum and candidate engagement throughout.
Offer Management	Reference checks. Draft and present offer. Confirm commitment level.	Reduces last minute surprises and renegotiations.
Post Hire Support	Regular check ins with client and new hire. Assist onboarding.	Protects your investment and boosts retention.

Social Proof

What Engineers and Clients Say

RunTime Recruitment

57 Google reviews

Write a Review

Payam Samavati

July 28, 2025

Had a great experience with Runtime. A big thank you to Aldwin, who was incredibly helpful, professional, and supportive throughout the whole process. Highly recommend!

Peter Tan

June 29, 2025

Lance proactively secured my opportunity and made the hiring process smooth with his professionalism, clear communication, and genuine support throughout. Highly recommend RunTime Recruitment.

Davey Tober

February 14, 2025

I had a great experience working with both Simon and Lance at Runtime. They were responsive, diligent, and took the time to truly understand my background and career goals.

Michael Chen

January 10, 2025

RunTime found me a senior firmware role in two weeks. Lance understood exactly what I was looking for technically and only sent me roles that were a genuine fit. No keyword matching nonsense.

Sarah Williams

December 5, 2024

As a hiring manager, RunTime saved us months of failed searching. They pushed back on our unrealistic spec and helped us define what we actually needed. Every candidate they sent was worth interviewing.

James Robertson

November 18, 2024

Best technical recruiter I have worked with. They actually understand embedded systems and asked me real engineering questions during screening. The role they placed me in was exactly right.

Engineering Insights

Latest Articles

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General7 August 2026

AI Isn’t Replacing Firmware Engineers: Why Stricter Expectations are Exposing Weak Embedded Architectures

While high-level application developers may worry about AI writing web frameworks from scratch, firmware development exists at the unforgiving intersection of software algorithms and physical silicon. Microcontrollers (MCUs), real-time operating systems (RTOS), DMA controllers, memory protection units (MPUs), and hardware registers do not operate in an abstract cloud sandbox with limitless RAM and elastic compute resources. They operate under deterministic timing budgets, strict power envelopes, hard physical safety requirements, and vendor silicon errata. AI code generation tools are becoming remarkably capable at writing standard HAL initialization routines, synthesizing simple state machines, and generating repetitive board support package (BSP) scaffolding. However, this sudden influx of high-velocity code creation is actually exposing a long-standing vulnerability within the embedded industry: poor software architecture.

Custom RISC-V AI Extensions: The Hardware Verification Nightmare of Tailored Vector Acceleration

The promise of the RISC-V Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) has fundamentally reshaped domain-specific hardware design. The open, modular standard grants microarchitects uninhibited freedom to break free from rigid, off-the-shelf processor architectures and engineer bespoke hardware primitives tailored precisely to target workloads. In the high-stakes domain of Edge Artificial Intelligence and TinyML, where microcontrollers and embedded System-on-Chips (SoCs) must execute dense neural network inference within milliwatt power envelopes, standard scalar—or even standard vector—execution often falls short. However, architectural freedom comes with a severe microarchitectural tax. While defining a custom instruction opcode and implementing its Register-Transfer Level (RTL) datapaths may take weeks, verifying it to production-grade functional correctness often takes months—or years. Custom RISC-V vector extensions transform standard processor design verification (DV) into a multidimensional nightmare. The moment custom state, dynamic vector configurations, asynchronous execution queues, and packed quantization types cross paths with complex processor pipeline hazard handling, traditional verification flows crumble.

Thread Mesh Meltdowns: Diagnosing Routing Loops and Dropped Nodes in Dense Smart Building Deployments

The rapid adoption of Thread protocol, built upon the IEEE 802.15.4 standard and IPv6, has fundamentally changed the landscape of low-power wireless communications. Originally popularized by the smart home sector and the Matter standard, Thread is increasingly being pushed into commercial environments. We are now seeing dense smart building deployments where hundreds, or even thousands, of nodes, ranging from intelligent HVAC dampers and occupancy sensors to massive interconnected lighting arrays, are expected to operate seamlessly on a single mesh network. However, the transition from a typical 50-node residential setup to a 500-plus node commercial floor plan introduces immense complexity. When deployed at this scale, embedded engineers often encounter a harsh reality: network topologies that look robust on a whiteboard can rapidly deteriorate in the field. What begins as a few delayed lighting commands can cascade into a full-scale Thread mesh meltdown, characterized by severe routing loops, skyrocketing latency, and completely dropped nodes.

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Market Intelligence

Engineering Market Pulse

Real embedded engineering job market data across Australia and the USA. Skills in demand, hiring by discipline, and location trends — updated twice monthly.

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2,992

US Firmware Jobs

5,937

US Robotics Jobs

144

AU Robotics Jobs

AU Firmware Jobs

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The Engineering Pulse

Engineering recruitment insights, embedded systems trends, and career intelligence. No spam. No recruiterspeak.

Common Questions

FAQ

We specialise exclusively in deep tech hardware disciplines: embedded systems engineers, firmware engineers, FPGA engineers, DSP engineers, robotics engineers, control systems engineers, PLC and SCADA engineers, power electronics and BESS engineers, mining automation engineers, mechanical engineers, machine learning and edge AI engineers, hardware engineers, and electronics engineers. We do not place generalist software developers or IT professionals.