Product Prototyping Expert

PQShield is looking for an Experienced Product Prototyping Expert - Hardware / Low-Level Firmware to join the core Product Security & Innovation (PS&I) unit. This is a critical role focused on accelerating the transfer of cryptographic research, patented IP, and standards into commercially viable products.

Candidates should hold a degree in Computer Engineering/Computer Science or equivalent with at least 5 years of experience, coupled with an open, research-oriented mindset.

You will operate as the technical bridge between R&D, Product Security & Innovation, and core Engineering, directly contributing to the company’s strategic goal of translating innovation into a durable product pipeline.

The primary focus is on the incubation, de-risking, and maturation of new concepts through high-fidelity, hardware and low-level firmware prototypes.

• →Develop and build functional prototypes and reference implementations for Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) and PQ/T hybrid primitives on embedded hardware platforms, primarily FPGAs and MCUs.
• →Translate patented IP and cryptographic research into tangible, de-risked product artifacts and system architectures suitable for commercialization.
• →Focus on low-level firmware integration and bare-metal programming to validate hardware/software co-design and secure boot flows.
• →Perform deep performance and security trade-off evaluations, including latency, resource utilization (area and power), and security against side-channel and physical attacks.
• →Drive innovation by actively contributing ideas and identifying new opportunities.
• →Document all technical artifacts, firmware interfaces, and validation results in comprehensive, handover-ready application notes and reports for Product Management and Engineering.
• →Collaborate with R&D, Product Management, and core Engineering to ensure a disciplined, repeatable flow of innovation from the Incubation Phase into the commercial product roadmap.
• →Actively contribute to the strategic activation and commercial embodiment of PQShield’s patent portfolio.

• Strong experience with bare-metal programming and low-level firmware development for embedded systems.
• Knowledge of firmware development tools and debugging techniques.
• Hands-on debugging skills with hardware tools (multimeter, logic analyzer, oscilloscope).
• Proven experience with FPGA development and prototyping.
• Familiarity with using cryptographic hardware and security testing methodologies.
• Deep understanding of security principles (secure boot, roll back protection, input validation, trusted execution).
• Experience with Real-Time Operating Systems (RTOS) and embedded Linux environments.
• Excellent communication, teamwork, and technical documentation abilities, particularly for detailed handover specifications.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related field with 5+ years of experience.
• Track record of successfully prototyping and de-risking new hardware/firmware concepts from a strategic patent or research input.
• Knowledge of timing attacks, fuzzing, tamper resistance and/or power side-channel security countermeasures.
• Proficiency in hardware description languages (HDLs) such as Verilog or VHDL.
• Strong understanding of digital design principles.
• Usage of AI tools for productivity gains.

• C, assembly on MCUs (STM32, RH850, RPI2350...).
• Python (to communicate with the board from a host computer and test automation).
• Handling of FPGA boards and interfaces (UART, I2C, SPI, QSPI flash...).
• Linux as development OS.
• Nice to have:
• Familiarity with RISC-V architecture.
• Rust/Zig.
• Renode.
• HDL tools like Vivado, Verilator, TCL
• Development tools like Github, Gitlab, JIRA, CMake
• Fusesoc, OpenRoad, SpinalHDL…