Firmware Engineer

At Canadian Solar, our vision is to make lives better by bringing electricity powered by the sun to millions of people worldwide. As a leading manufacturer of solar panels, inverters, and energy storage solutions, we've been an industry front-runner since our founding in 2001. Our commitment to sustainability is reflected in all parts of our organization as we navigate the complexities of a booming industry.

Throughout Canadian Solar's subsidiaries, e-Storage, Recurrent Energy, MSS and CSI Solar Co., we invest in our employees' growth. Our training programs and promotional opportunities ensure we all can continue to learn. We understand the importance of work-life balance and provide various flexible work options to support our employees' well-being. Join our team to "Make the Difference" by creating a lasting positive impact on the world and the communities where we operate.

Position Title: Firmware Engineer
Department: Inverter Firmware
Compensation: $87,000 - $135,000 + annual bonus
Reports To: Director of Digital Inverter Firmware
Location: Kitchener, ON (Onsite)

CS Digital is a digital technology startup focused on providing state-of-the-art digital technology for power solutions. Our first goal is to build a North American based inverter control board, firmware and energy station controller for the BESS industry to compliment Canadian Solar’s String Power Conversion System Medium Voltage Skid for the Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) industry.

About the Role:

The Firmware Engineer – FPGA owns the design, development, optimization, and lifecycle support of real‑time embedded firmware for inverters used in utility‑ energy storage systems. This role requires deep expertise in Texas Instruments DSP platforms, inverter control firmware, and grid‑code compliance.

Responsibilities:

• Architect, design, and implement FPGA logic for grid‑tied inverters and energy storage subsystems using FPGA/CPLD platforms.
• Develop synthesizable RTL (VHDL/Verilog) for time‑critical functions such as data acquisition, protection logic, communications, and control offloading.
• Translate system, control, and grid‑code requirements into traceable firmware requirements and robust designs.
• Implement inverter features such as grid synchronization, protections, fault handling, diagnostics, and monitoring.
• Support compliance with grid and firmware standards (UL 1741 SB, IEEE 1547, UL 1998) and certification testing activities.
• Collaborate with hardware, controls, systems, and validation teams to ensure system‑level performance and reliability.
• Debug complex firmware issues, perform root‑cause analysis, and optimize performance using lab tools and emulators.
• Participate in and lead firmware architecture reviews, code reviews, and technical risk assessments.
• Maintain clear firmware documentation and contribute to process improvement and release quality.
• Mentor junior engineers and support product lifecycle and field issue resolution.

Required Qualifications and Skills:

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related discipline.
• 5+ years of professional experience developing FPGA or digital logic for embedded or real‑time systems.
• 3+ years of hands‑on experience with Lattice FPGA platforms in production hardware.
• Demonstrated experience with grid‑tied inverters, power converters, or comparable high‑reliability embedded systems.
• Familiarity with inverter and grid‑interconnection standards such as UL 1741 SB, IEEE 1547‑2018, and UL 1998 is strongly preferred.
• Experience working in cross‑functional and globally distributed engineering teams.
• Strong analytical, problem‑solving, documentation, and technical communication skills.
• International and domestic travel ability.
• Expert proficiency with FPGA devices and toolchains, including synthesis, place & route, timing analysis, and bitstream generation.
• Strong experience in RTL development using VHDL and/or Verilog for real‑time and safety‑critical applications.
• Solid understanding of clocking, CDC, timing closure, latency, and throughput optimization.
• Experience designing FPGA‑based interfaces to ADCs, DACs, MCUs/DSPs, sensors, and external peripherals.
• Solid understanding of grid‑tied inverter operation and digital control concepts.
• Experience with gate driver control and power device protection of power semiconductor IGBT/MOSFET (i.e. with Wolfspeed, Infineon, Semikron etc.).
• Working knowledge of grid‑code behavior such as anti‑islanding, ride‑through, and grid support functions.
• Experience with embedded communication protocols including CAN, SPI, UART, parallel interface and custom protocols.
• Familiarity with firmware interfaces to BMS, EMS, SCADA, and commissioning tools.
• Simulation experience (P-Spice, Simulink) is an asset.
• Strong grasp of modern firmware development practices, including Git‑based version control, peer reviews, and issue tracking.
• Ability to read and interpret schematics and collaborate closely with hardware designers.
• Exposure to firmware verification strategies, including simulation, integration testing, and HIL testing.

e-STORAGE is Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE). Qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to age, race, colour, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, or veteran status.

e-STORAGE uses AI-assisted tools during parts of the hiring process, including screening and workflow automation. All final hiring decisions are made by humans. 

This is a current vacancy, and we are actively hiring for this position. 

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