Hardware Engineer Skills, Experience, and Job Requirements

HARDWARE ENGINEER SKILLS, EXPERIENCE, AND JOB REQUIREMENTS

Published: Feb 19, 2025 - The Hardware Engineer with in-depth knowledge of electrical design, including analog/digital circuit design, schematic capture, circuit analysis, and debugging. Experienced in PCB layout and routing, with expertise in modern electronics components, high-speed buses, FPGA, DRAM, microcontrollers, and power supply designs. Skilled in programming languages such as C/C++, Python, and Matlab, with a successful track record in taking PCBs from design to market, as well as rapid prototyping cycles.

Essential Hard and Soft Skills for a Standout Hardware Engineer Resume

PCB Design
Circuit Design
Component Selection
Hardware Design
Testing Standards
BOM Management
PLM Tools
Product Specification
Failure Analysis
Automation Testing

Team Collaboration
Process Improvement
Technical Strategy
Cross-Team Collaboration
Communication Skills
Customer Communication
Problem Solving
Mentorship
Continuous Learning
Security Consulting

Summary of Hardware Engineer Knowledge and Qualifications on Resume

1. BS in Electrical Engineering with 3 years of Experience

Experience in the area of electronics design, particularly high-volume electronics
Knowledge of analog and digital circuits
Knowledge and experience in the usage of measurement, laboratory, and equipment
Knowledge and experience in the design of AC/DC converters
Experience in EMC electromagnetic compatibility
Experience and knowledge of MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
Good knowledge of English (minimum B2)
Well-developed communication skills enabling work in project team
Experience developing electronic hardware systems that meet functional safety standards, IEC 61508 and/or SIL2/SIL3.
Experience with creating UL/ATEX compliant design (isolation/spacing), preventing and eliminating EMC/EMI issues.
Experience developing electronic hardware systems that meet product certification requirements, such as UL, CE, or IEC 61010.
Experience developing electronic hardware systems that meet security standards, such as IEC 62443 and functional safety standards, such as IEC 61511.

2. BS in Computer Engineering with 5 years of Experience

Experience in the execution of the Engineering DDQS (Design, Develop and Qualify the Solution) activities for Sub-Systems
Experience in design and manufacturing environments
Strong fundamental knowledge of design principles and practices
Able to perform first principal engineering calculations
Sound knowledge of engineering materials in relevant area
Knowledge of RAMS, DFMEA, 3D CAD and PLM System
A high level of interpersonal, organizational and communication skills
Understanding of quality systems and procedures
Ability to use standard computer applications (Microsoft Office Suite)
Prior experience with Defence related projects
Experience in product development and release of printed circuit board level electronic hardware systems with experience in high-speed digital design (using components such as microcontrollers, DDR memories, Ethernet, ASICs, FPGAs).
Experience with electronic hardware design tools such as schematic capture (Mentor Graphics or similar), PCB design, timing analysis, and signal integrity (HyperLynx or similar).
Effective written and verbal English communication.

3. BS in Electronics Engineering with 4 years of Experience

Experience with core Java server development engineer.
Master Java, or GO, or Python languages.
Understanding and working knowledge on I/O, threads vs processes, collection, etc fundamental concepts.
Familiar with JVM principles, design patterns, and object-oriented programming methodology.
Familiar with Spring, Spring Cloud and ElasticSearch framework.
Proficient with at least one Relational Database, such as Postgres, Oracle, and Mysql.
Experiences with SQL optimization and mass data processing.
Familiar with common Internet protocols, such as UDP, TCP, HTTP, etc.
Experience with RESTful API design and implementation.
Proficient with algorithms and data structure.
Capable of performing demanding data analytical tasks.
Experience with data mining and/or machine learning
Experience in software performance optimization with a deep understanding of source code refactoring, optimizing and standardization.
Above-average communication skills including in written English.
Capable of understanding technical documentation and specifications in English.
Interested in keeping up with the ever-changing software technology.

4. BS in Mechanical Engineering with 3 years of Experience

Experience with PCB design with both integrated and discrete circuits, and high-speed interfaces.
Experience with development and bring-up of data center system equipment, or consumer devices.
Experience with analyzing and resolving system hardware issues.
Experience working with peers.
Familiar with the server system architecture of one of the major CPU suppliers.
Experience with end-to-end enabling, design, and deployment cycle of a product.
Experience with owning a complete hardware system as hardware lead.
Experience with working with thermal, mechanical, management firmware, system firmware, and software teams during product development.
Experience with design and troubleshooting data buses used in servers such as PCIe, SAS, SATA, I2C.
Experience with industry-standard EDA tools for developing PCB designs.
Experience with using a high-speed scope and logic analyzer for server data bus (e.g. PCIe, SAS, SATA).
Experience with designing ASIC verification and bringing up hardware.
Knowledge of using Linux for testing.

5. BS in Telecommunications Engineering with 4 years of Experience

Strong interpersonal, written, and oral communication skills
Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Visio, Powerpoint)
Proficiency with reading, understanding, and creating electrical system drawings, schematics, and wiring diagrams
Ability to utilize laboratory equipment such as Signal Generators, Oscilloscopes, Digital Multimeters, Power Supplies, and Logic Analyzers
Classroom/Lab experience involving software and hardware integration
Experience with 2D CAD or 3D modelling software (e.g. AutoCAD, SolidWorks)
Experience with PCB layout tools (using Altium, Eagle, or other)
Knowledge/Experience in Interoperability testing of EVSEs and EVs,
Experience in Energy management, demand response and load balancing in EV Infrastructures.
A good understanding of energy management protocols like OCPP, Open ADR etc.
Detailed working knowledge of Control pilot communication between EVSE and EV.

6. BS in Computer Science with 2 years of Experience

Experience in developing embedded hardware for products
Proficient with use of test equipment - oscilloscope, function generator, DVM, and logic protocol analyzers
Experience designing hardware
Strong familiarity with analog, digital, and embedded hardware
Familiarity with low-power (battery) and wireless communication technology is a plus
Proficient in the use of Electronic Computer-Aided Design tools such as Altium is a plus
Experience working in an agile process development is a plus
Experience with system test, troubleshooting and root cause analysis of wireless hardware at the PCB and module level.
Understanding of at least one wireless technology such as cellular, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth.
Ability to become part of cross-functional teams as necessary to ensure testability.
Strong Skills in C or C++.
Proven problem-solving skills
Experience with design and troubleshooting data buses used in products such as UART, I2C, USB, and ethernet.

7. BS in Applied Physics with 3 years of Experience

Experience in product development, test, and release of electronic hardware systems.
Experience designing electrical circuits and printed circuit boards for hardware systems with expertise in analog design (using components such as DACs, ADCs, opamps, comparators, current and voltage sensing, and active and passive filters) or isolated power supply design.
Experience with electronic hardware design tools such as schematic capture (Mentor Graphics or similar), PCB design, timing analysis, and signal integrity (HyperLynx or similar).
Experience in developing test plans, and executing tests for hardware qualification, product certification and/or regulatory compliance.
Experience developing electronic hardware systems that meet product certification requirements, such as UL, CE, or IEC 61010.
Programming skills in Python or C/C++ or LabVIEW or other test automation tools/software.
Experience developing products using Agile/Scrum methodologies, ideally in a Scaled Agile Framework.
Experience in industrial automation product development or related technical areas, including background with large-scale system development projects.
Experience working with global team members on multi-campus product development.
Experience developing electronic hardware systems that meet security standards, such as IEC 62443 .
Experience developing electronic hardware systems that meet functional safety standards, such as IEC 61508 or IEC 61511.

8. BA in Physics with 5 years of Experience

Experience Circuit design using Simetrix SPICE
Experience in PCBA design (Schematic and layout) using Altium.
Experience in data analytics tools/software
Experience in PCBA layout involving EMI/EMC considerations for type testing ( UL/ IEC)
Experience in Power supply design and power analysis for PCBAs
Experience in analog front-end design to convert high voltage signals to secondary voltage levels
Experience in digital communication interfaces and design considerations for noise immunity and high-speed communication
Experience in compliance testing for EMI/EMC requirements
Experience in manufacturing roll-out of PCBAs (Gerber generation, Design for manufacturing etc)
Experience in hardware-software interactions at PCBA level and diagnosing circuit level failures
Knowledge of real-time Embedded C applications on 8-bit, 16-bit and 32-bit processors
Knowledge of UL and IEC standards for Electric Vehicle Supply equipment is desirable.

9. BA in Electrical Engineering with 2 years of Experience

Application knowledge and system design experience of industrial motor/drive systems
Knowledge of electrical system design principles adhering to IEC/UL standards for industrial control panels
Knowledge of UL, CSA and CE standards applicable to AC drive design (e.g. UL/IEC 61800-5-1, IEC 61800-3)
Experience with the use and application of circuit simulation tools such as Matlab/Simulink, PSpice, Ansys EM Suite for analysis, design and troubleshooting circuits and systems
Experience with analyzing EMC susceptibility and emissions from power conversion products, agency standards for compliance and test methodologies
Experience with power converter topologies for DC and AC motor drives – non-regenerative and regenerative rectifiers, inverters, switch-mode power supplies
Experience with selection and application of power semiconductor devices, subsystems and circuit components - IGBTs, SCRs, MOSFETs, gate drivers, voltage and current sensing, switch-mode power supplies, bus structures, capacitors and AC/DC inductors, transient protection, EMC compliance
Proficiency with the use of instrumentation for power electronics converter measurements and troubleshooting
Experience with low and medium voltage printed circuit board design and manufacturing
Knowledge of electrical power systems, grounding, power system protection, power system transients, and power quality

10. BS in Robotics Engineering with 4 years of Experience

Knowledge of Rockwell Automation LV and/or MV drives or equivalent.
Proficient with simulation of power converter and motor drive systems.
Knowledge of analog and digital circuit design for AC motor drives – protection circuits, gate drivers, feedback circuits, signal conditioning, switch-mode power supplies
Knowledge of failure modes and experience with troubleshooting subsystems and components of AC drives
Experience with PWM techniques and knowledge of motor control algorithms
Knowledge of application issues with AC drives including mitigation methods – harmonics and power quality, motor insulation, common-mode currents, harmonic filters, dv/dt and sine-wave filters
Experience with magnetics design and specification
Experience with UL, CSA and CE standards and application to AC drive design (electrical safety, functional safety, EMC, energy efficiency) for design and qualification testing.
Familiarity with standards for grid-tie inverters
Experience designing and creating AutoCAD electric drawings for industrial motor control systems
Knowledge of PLC control systems and user interfaces
Knowledge of product design using the Scaled Agile Framework environment (SAFe)
Demonstrated application of Design for Six Sigma principles

11. BS in Mechatronics Engineering with 5 years of Experience

Experience in electrical hardware engineering design for industrial automation
Able to work through problems, and make decisions with minimal guidance
Ability to create detailed wiring diagrams and panel layouts utilizing EPLAN P8 and AutoCAD
Knowledge of safety circuits, safety-related parts of a control system and design requirements
Knowledge of the SISTEMA tool will be an advantage
Proficiency in utilizing MS Office software products with a focus on MS Excel, MS Visio, MS SharePoint, MS Teams
Familiarization with IEC harmonized standards under Machinery and Low Voltage Directives and design requirements
Knowledge of UL508A standard
Knowledge of ATEX guidelines
Local language skills, plus good command of English both verbal and written.
Experience in Image Processing, Camera Tuning, or Imaging Sensors.
Experience in computer vision and computational photography development.
Experience in automatic imaging tuning-related development and technology.
Experience in end-to-end imaging system tuning and quality evaluation including imaging hardware, image signal processing and post-processing imaging algorithms.

12. BS in System Engineering with 6 years of Experience

Experience with common networking protocols
Experience with Virtualization
Experience with Windows and Linux operating systems
Experience working in a large data-center environment, and understanding of data center infrastructure, virtualization, and automation techniques
Knowledge, skills and abilities in SAFe Agile processes and methods
Experience with the management of multiple web applications on Windows and Linux platforms
Experience with automated software testing
Prior use of scripting, e.g., Bash, Python, or PowerShell and PowerCLI scripts 
Experience with backup systems
Hands-on lab/debug experience with validating or verifying digital/analog blocks of a chip design
Familiar with reading and troubleshooting board schematics and layouts
Previous test experience with high-speed interfaces
Experience with SERDES protocols
Basic project coordinator experience
Knowledge and experience in hardware specification
Fluent and comprehensive in English

13. BS in Automotive Engineering with 4 years of Experience

Experience with PCB board design, layout and assembly with active electronics components, both integrated and discrete circuits, and high-speed and wireless interfaces.
Able to work independently with little supervision efficiently and safely
Strong organizational, communication and presentation skills.
Demonstrated engineering passion, initiative, innovation, and creativity.
Hardware lead experience owning a complete hardware system from anticipating customer needs to developing the specs.
Extensive experience designing new electronic products end-to-end, from successful delivery to manufacturing to field deployment.
Successful track record taking PCBs from design to market product release.
Experience working with the firmware and software teams during product development.
Experience implementing hardware and software integrations into production
Experience in production ramp-up for high-volume consumer electronics
Experience with common arm-based micro-controllers and use of peripherals with the ability to create a quick prototype that can control hardware devices and program them with Raspberry Pi and micro-controllers
Ability to translate customer and user needs into accurate, actionable specifications
Experience with analyzing and resolving system hardware issues.
Experience in development, testing, or familiarity with embedded systems, serial communication and peripheral interfacing
Experience using bench power supplies, high-speed oscilloscope, current probes and multimeters and other electrical test instruments to support troubleshooting and basic use of electrical/wiring tools, soldering experience.
Extensive experience with board bring-up, debugging and validation.

14. BA in Mathematics with 3 years of Experience

Deep knowledge of analog and digital circuits and schematic design tools
Knowledge of embedded systems with microcontrollers
Solid and previous hardware or system experience (calculation, simulation and analysis of hardware modules and functions)
Ability to work independently or as a member of an international team
Experience in automotive electronics including networking (CAN, LIN, FlexRay bus)
Knowledge about EMC, ESD and thermal constraints with direct application in schematic and PCB layout design
Very good communication skills
Process-oriented, structured and analytic
Good English skills in writing, reading and speaking.
Knowledge of the design of analog circuits (e.g. power management, SMPS, sensor measurement)
Knowledge of the design of digital circuits (e.g. MPU, I2C, UART, USB, Ethernet)
Knowledge of design for Manufacturing and PCB layout knowledge
Knowledge of Industrial application requirements, Integrated electronics and stepper motor drivers is preferred
Understand software for embedded systems

15. BS in Information Technology with 5 years of Experience

Good understanding of PC systems, PC components and network connections.
Basic knowledge of scripting and coding.
Experience with handling lab tools (oscilloscopes, multimeters, logic analyzers).
Experience with CPU or GPU processors
Excellent problem-solving, teamwork and interpersonal skills
Experience in electrical or system-level design across all stages of the development and release cycles
Proficient at Cadence EDA tools (schematic and layout)
Experience with high-speed analog and digital circuit design
Experience in prototyping and validating proof of concept PCB design
Strong communication skills (verbal and written)
Knowledge of the following HW design principles such as Signal Integrity, Power Design, Computer Architecture
Knowledge of mechanical and thermal system design considerations

16. BA in Engineering Physics with 2 years of Experience

In-depth knowledge of all aspects of electrical design including analog/digital circuit design, schematic capture, circuit analysis and debugging
Experience with the layout of mixed analog and digital designs, high-speed buses, FPGA, DRAM and microcontroller-based designs, power supplies, DC-DC converters, transmission lines, impedance-controlled traces and power traces.
Experience with PCB layout and routing in one or all of the following areas modern passive and active electronics components, surface-mount, ball-grid array and similar fine pitch, or high pin density components
Experience with MIL-STD, commercial and IPC standards and design
Strong understanding of computers, programming languages, scripting tools and automation (C/C++, Python, Matlab, assembly language, Perl, etc.)
Extensive experience with board bring-up, debugging and validation.
Experience in testing and characterization of high-performance IC chips is desirable.
Knowledge of LabView programming and FPGA design is desirable.
Ability to work autonomously, problem-solving skills, attention to detail, oral and written communication skills
Successful track record taking PCBs from design to market
Experience with rapid prototyping cycles
Strong communication skills
Ability to run ahead independently, as well as collaborate with other disciplines across the vertical
Experience with PCB layout

17. BS in Industrial Engineering with 4 years of Experience

Well-versed in the tradeoffs between spectral resolution and processing time requirements
Understand current and future trends in signal processing techniques and associated hardware implementations for communications and radar
Understand Open Mission Systems (OMS)/Open Architecture standards and implementation
Knowledgeable about antenna hardware and antenna technology trends
Understand human-machine interface engineering and associated technology trends
Experience in the design, analysis, or test of EW, radar or communications systems
Experience with Agile SW development
Critical tasks may involve additional and non-standard work hours
Ability to work autonomously at a non-government facility
Experience with electro-mechanical assembly design
Familiarity with DFM and scale-up principles
Experience with wearable/flexible form factors
Experience with sensor design and characterization

18. BS in Software Engineering with 3 years of Experience

Experience with EMC Standards and Product Compliance Testing for EMC Standards Testing
Experience with Environmental Standards and Product Compliance Testing for Environmental Standards Testing
Experience with supporting Mechanical Shock and Vibration Testing, Product Functional Testing, Ethernet and USB Compliance Testing
Capable of developing/documenting test Methods, Procedures, Setups and Results Formally
Capabilities in PCB Schematic and Layout Design
Experience in Simulations Tools
Experience in Functional Safety Development, Verification and Validation Processes
Experience in circuit design, electrical design, and circuit design.
Experience in the design of electronic circuits (board design, analog and digital)
Experience in Circuit Testing
Experience in Investigation, troubleshooting, and hardware problems, Documentation and interface for EPDM systems, Interface with NPI and Engineering
Experience in testing circuits and laboratory tools (Scope, Signal Analyzer, Spectrum Analyzer).