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hardEmbedded Systems Engineer interview question

What changes when you write firmware for a safety-critical product, such as automotive or medical?

What the interviewer wants to hear

  • Follow a standard like ISO 26262, IEC 61508 or IEC 62304
  • Requirements traceability to design, code and tests
  • Coding standards like MISRA C and static analysis
  • High test coverage, including MC/DC where required
  • Defensive design: watchdogs, memory checks, safe states
  • Change control and documented reviews

Model answer

The process becomes as important as the code. Work follows a standard such as ISO 26262 for automotive, IEC 62304 for medical software or IEC 61508 for industrial, starting from a hazard analysis that assigns a safety level. Every requirement is traced to design, code and tests, so reviewers can prove nothing is missing. Code follows MISRA C, with static analysis tools and documented deviations, and avoids dynamic memory, recursion and unbounded loops. Testing is much deeper, with unit and integration tests, coverage targets such as MC/DC at the highest levels, and fault injection. The design itself is defensive: watchdogs, RAM and flash integrity checks, range checks on inputs, redundant sensors, and a defined safe state the system enters on any fault. Tools may need qualification, and every change goes through formal review and impact analysis.

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