Firmware Engineer II - Advance Commercial Technology
Posted Sep 16, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 6, 2026
Likely interview questions for this role
Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.
About your past
Tell me about a time you had to design a control algorithm from scratch rather than modify an existing one.
What they are checking: capacity for original algorithm design versus only maintaining existing code
Tell me about a time your firmware didn't behave the way you expected on actual hardware. How did you track down the root cause?
What they are checking: debugging discipline and use of tools like debuggers or oscilloscopes rather than guesswork
Tell me about a time you had to explain a technical firmware issue to someone who wasn't an engineer, like a product manager or customer.
What they are checking: communication skill, since the posting emphasizes proficient oral and written communication
What would you do
Suppose you're asked to build firmware for a new generator control prototype that eventually needs to hand off to the Home or Industrial business unit. What would you do differently in how you write and document it, knowing someone else will inherit it?
What they are checking: awareness that prototype code has to survive a transfer to production teams, not just work in the lab
If you were handed a vague algorithm requirement from an engine or alternator team with almost no detail, how would you go about clarifying it before writing any code?
What they are checking: ability to work across teams and extract real interface requirements from ambiguous asks
Imagine a design review where a senior engineer pushes back hard on your control algorithm approach. How do you handle that in the room?
What they are checking: how the person takes technical criticism and defends or revises their work
About the work
Walk me through a project where you wrote embedded firmware in C for a microcontroller, from requirements to something running on real hardware.
What they are checking: whether the candidate has actually shipped embedded C code end to end, not just in coursework
Have you worked with communication protocols like I2C or SPI to talk to peripherals such as an EEPROM? Tell me about a specific interface you had to debug.
What they are checking: hands-on hardware interfacing experience versus theoretical protocol knowledge
Describe a state machine you designed for an embedded system. What states did it have and what made you choose that structure over alternatives.
What they are checking: practical state machine design skill, a named preferred qualification
What's your experience with RTOS-based systems, and how does writing firmware for one differ from a simple bare-metal loop?
What they are checking: depth of RTOS knowledge, listed as a preferred but important skill
Tell me about a test specification you wrote for a piece of firmware or hardware. What did you make sure it covered?
What they are checking: rigor in test planning versus ad hoc verification
Have you used Matlab/Simulink or similar simulation tools before writing firmware for real hardware? Walk me through how you used simulation to validate a design.
What they are checking: whether simulation-first workflow experience matches what this R&D-heavy role expects
How do you manage firmware versioning and documentation across a project, especially if you've used GitHub or similar tools?
What they are checking: practical repository and documentation habits for handoff-heavy prototype work
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Practice this out loudThe full job description
As published by Generac.