Principal Software Engineer

Job Title

Principal Software Engineer

Role Summary

Lead the definition, architecture, and delivery of embedded software for Renesas MCUs across IoT, automotive and connectivity products. Work with product, marketing, global development teams and customers to convert market and customer needs into scalable, reusable embedded software and design artifacts.

This role emphasizes software requirements, architecture, design quality, verification, and traceability across release artifacts; it also drives CI/CD, test automation and improved developer experience.

Experience Level

Senior. Title indicates a senior/principal-level role; years of experience not specified.

Responsibilities

Primary responsibilities include:

• Define software requirements and produce PRDs, architecture and design documents for Renesas MCU products.
• Translate product and customer requirements into implementable software specifications and technical solutions.
• Design, develop and provide technical leadership for BSPs, device drivers, RTOS integration, connectivity middleware, OTA/FOTA and sample applications.
• Manage traceability of requirements, architecture, implementation, tests and release artifacts using tools such as Jira.
• Lead technical discussions with internal and external development teams, partners and customers to resolve technical issues and align requirements.
• Conduct design reviews and make technical judgments focused on implementation quality, extensibility, reusability and maintainability.
• Drive CI/CD, test automation and process standardization to improve development efficiency and product quality.
• Improve software and developer experience for internal developers and customers.
• Promote adoption of appropriate development methods, technologies and architectures across business teams.

Requirements

Must-have and preferred skills.

• Must-have: Embedded software development using C.
• Must-have: Experience with BSP, device drivers, RTOS integration, middleware or communication stacks for MCU/SoC.
• Must-have: Practical experience in software requirements definition, specification and architecture/design reviews.
• Must-have: Debugging, root-cause analysis and quality improvement experience.
• Must-have: Ability to coordinate and build consensus with domestic and international stakeholders; strong technical communication skills.
• Must-have: Experience creating technical documentation and managing progress, issues and releases.
• Must-have: Self-directed learning and applying new technologies to product development.
• Nice-to-have: Experience with FreeRTOS, AzureRTOS (ThreadX), Zephyr or other RTOS porting/integration.
• Nice-to-have: Experience with Ethernet, Wi‑Fi, TCP/IP, MQTT, TLS or other IoT connectivity software.
• Nice-to-have: Bootloader, boot-time optimization, memory layout, or multi-OS/coexistence design experience.
• Nice-to-have: Automotive, edge AI or industrial embedded software development experience.
• Nice-to-have: Experience coordinating technical requirements with customers or overseas partners and running technical seminars.
• Nice-to-have: Python, shell scripting, CI/CD, test automation or development process standardization experience.
• Nice-to-have: Technical leadership of small teams or project management experience.
• Nice-to-have: Experience using AI-assisted tools for coding, review or testing.

Education Requirements

Not specified.

About the Company

Company: Renesas

Headquarters: Hitachinaka, Japan

Renesas is a global leader in embedded semiconductor solutions, providing high-quality products across automotive, industrial, infrastructure, and IoT sectors. With over 22,000 employees in more than 30 countries, the company focuses on scalable solutions that enhance user experience and drive innovation while committed to sustainability and energy efficiency.