Principal Engineer – Embedded Systems Integration

Principal Engineer - Embedded Systems Integration

Job Posting - Principal Engineer - Embedded Systems Integration

About Balko

Balko Technologies is a Quebec-based company that designs and develops modular, interoperable data capture systems for drones, ground vehicles, and maritime platforms. Our multidisciplinary team pushes the boundaries of data acquisition and fusion in the energy, infrastructure, natural resources, public safety, and defence sectors.

Our mission is to democratize data capture through intelligent, modular systems designed and developed entirely in Canada.

Join Balko to design, integrate, and evolve the embedded systems at the heart of our products, from development through validation and production release.

Your role

As Principal Engineer - Embedded Systems Integration, you will be responsible for the architecture, development, and reliable operation of the embedded hardware platforms that support Balko products and R&D activities.

Your objective will be to bring these platforms to a level of maturity that enables software and algorithm teams to develop and integrate their capabilities on a stable, high-performance, and well-controlled hardware foundation.

Reporting to the Director of Engineering, you will also serve as R&D Team Lead - Electronics Engineering. You will guide the team’s work, mentor its members, and ensure that electronics and embedded systems developments remain consistent with the overall product architecture.

Your role will combine architecture with hands‑on engineering: embedded computing platforms, power systems, sensor and communication interfaces, electronic design, bring‑up, base firmware, operating systems, hardware drivers, prototyping, diagnostics, and validation.

You will also help evolve these architectures so they can meet current software needs while creating the capabilities required for future generations of products.

Your responsibilities

• Define and evolve the architecture of embedded hardware platforms, including computing platforms, electronics, power systems, memory, storage, communication interfaces, sensor connectivity, and interactions with other subsystems.
• Bring up and make developed platforms operational, including, as required, initial firmware, board support packages, operating system startup and configuration, hardware drivers, peripherals, and the communication interfaces required for platform operation.
• Deliver stable and validated reference hardware configurations to software and algorithm teams, together with the tools, configurations, and technical information they need to efficiently develop, test, and integrate their capabilities.
• Design and oversee electronic integration, including the selection of components and computing platforms, schematics, printed circuit boards, power systems, interfaces, wiring, and other elements required to build prototypes and products.
• Design communication and data‑flow architectures to meet throughput, latency, synchronization, or real‑time requirements and, when needed, enable direct transfer or redistribution of sensor data to complementary systems such as flight controllers, navigation systems, or other autonomous vehicle control devices.
• Anticipate future computing and data‑management needs, particularly for artificial intelligence, data fusion, and onboard processing applications, considering compute performance, memory, bandwidth, storage, hardware accelerators, and the associated power and thermal constraints.
• Define and oversee hardware validation of the platforms, including debugging, functional and performance testing, interface characterization, integration testing, and identification of operating limits and margins.
• Take ownership of complex technical issues encountered during design, bring‑up, or integration, structure diagnostic efforts, and guide their resolution through robust and repeatable solutions.
• Provide technical leadership for the R&D - Electronics Engineering team: set direction and priorities, assign responsibilities, lead technical reviews, support design decisions, and foster the development of team capabilities.
• Work closely with software, mechanical, geomatics, and production teams to ensure that hardware platforms support the system as a whole and can evolve efficiently from prototype to robust, manufacturable, and maintainable products.
• Maintain rigorous technical documentation of architectures, interfaces, reference configurations, design decisions, bring‑up procedures, and validation results to ensure traceability and long‑term continuity of developments.

Profile we are looking for

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical, electronics, computer engineering, or a related discipline; membership in the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec (OIQ), or eli