Jason Brower

This Senior Engineer is quiet-quitting after 6 months. “I’m just coding what they ask for. No point pushing back.” Here’s how he ended up so defeated… Last week, I met an Backend Engineer about to resign after just six months on the job. I'm just coding what they ask for. No point in pushing back anymore." He told me. Every sprint was unpredictable - features were constantly built, scrapped, or reprioritised without warning. Deadlines were set by people who didn't understand the technical challenges. And there was never time to fix technical debt because everything was "ship now, fix later." The worst part? Whenever he tried to speak up about these issues, he was shut down or told that's just how things needed to be. So, he did what many Engineers do in this situation - he stopped pushing back and stopped caring. He went from being an engaged, passionate contributor to someone just going through the motions. And the moment a better offer landed in his inbox, he took it without hesitation. Here’s a gentle reminder for companies… Engineers don't quiet quit because they're lazy. They quiet quit because they're tired of fighting a losing battle. > They want to build things that matter, not throw away code that never sees production. > They need realistic timelines that respect the complexity of what they're building. > They deserve to have their expertise valued when they raise technical concerns. A roadmap should be a plan for success, not a graveyard for motivation. If your best engineers are disengaging, it might be time to ask: Are they the problem? Or is your roadmap setting them up to fail?

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Want to hire engineers who stick? Drop the unicorn hunt. Focus on real skills, not fantasy lists. The hiring landscape for embedded systems engineers is brutal. You’re tasked with finding talent that blends hardware savvy with software wizardry, thrives under real-time constraints, and can write code that squeezes into the tightest of spaces. It’s a niche, high-stakes game. But here’s the kicker: your biggest obstacle might not be the talent pool. It’s your own HR team. We’ve all seen those job descriptions that read like a wish list for a mythical creature: - "10+ years of C++ on bare-metal systems" - "Expertise in AI/ML AND RTOS AND FPGA" - "Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering REQUIRED" Sound familiar? These fantasy lists aren’t just unhelpful-they’re actively harmful. Here’s what happens when HR gets it wrong: ❌ You end up with a candidate pool of zero. ❌ The hiring process drags on for months. ❌ Your team suffers from missed deadlines and mounting pressure. Let’s be clear: the best embedded engineers aren’t defined by a laundry list of buzzwords. They’re problem-solvers. They’re adaptable. They know how to navigate the quirks and chaos of real-world systems. What we really need is a shift in mindset: → Stop focusing on years of experience; focus on hands-on impact. → Prioritize core competencies over exhaustive checklists. → Collaborate with HR to align on realistic, role-critical needs. The next time you’re handed a unicorn job description, push back. Use data to show what’s realistic. Reframe the role around what actually matters. Educate HR on why embedded is different. It’s not about creating friction-it’s about building a process that works. Pushing back isn’t just about making your life easier. It’s about securing the talent that will stick, perform, and drive your team forward. Want to build a high-performing team without the hiring headaches? Let’s talk. #EmbeddedSystems #EngineeringRecruitment #HiringDoneRight #RunTimeRecruitment

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Mentoring on the Mainframe Your junior or midlevel systems programmer knows there is a problem. They are “pretty sure” they know what they need to do, but they want to make sure they don’t make a mistake. They spend several hours looking through Redbooks.   Look through system documentation trying to determine if the fix they have in mind is the correct one. Is this PTF going to impact production? They are talking to IBM support to verify that what they are about to implement won’t impact production. But they still have doubts. Your sys progs wish that they could talk with someone that can look at the problem they are facing and let them know if they are doing the right thing. Let them know they won’t cause a Sev1. If your systems programmers are struggling a bit and need a little support, reach out to me. I know a lot of “Semi-retired” systems programmers that can help you out. #Mentor #Mainframe #ZOS #CICS #IMS #DB2 #Commserver #Sev1 

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Your firmware is failing and you can't figure out why. Maybe you're not looking at a software bug. Maybe you're looking at CMOS latch-up. You've checked your code. You've verified the logic. Everything seems correct. But the device locks up hard, requiring a full power cycle to recover. You blame the firmware, but the bug isn't in the code. It's in the silicon. Latch-up is a parasitic thyristor structure inherent to CMOS that can be triggered by a voltage spike or an ESD event. It creates a low-impedance path between power and ground, effectively short-circuiting the chip. The firmware isn't running; the chip is electrically dead until power is removed. I've seen a product that would fail every time a user touched a USB port in the winter. The ESD event was triggering latch-up. The fix wasn't in the firmware; it was adding a few cents worth of protection diodes on the PCB. If your system is locking up completely, stop staring at the code and start questioning the physics. What's the most bizarre "hardware" problem that you initially mistook for a "firmware" bug? #EmbeddedSystems #ElectricalEngineering #Firmware #PCBDesign #HardwareEngineering #CMOS #ESD #Electronics #Debugging #IoT #SystemsEngineering #Silicon

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A Coder knows how to write GPIOA->ODR |= (1 << 5);. An Engineer knows why that might not be enough to turn on an LED. We have a glut of coders in the world. People who can translate a requirement into a programming language. Embedded systems demand engineers. An Engineer understands that code is just one part of a physical system. Toggling a GPIO pin sources current, which causes a voltage drop. The LED has a forward voltage and a current-limiting resistor. The PCB trace has inductance. The ground return matters. The power rail is not ideal. They think in electrons, power, and time, not just logic and algorithms. They read the LED and MOSFET datasheets with the same attention as the MCU datasheet. They keep an oscilloscope on the desk because they know software does not exist in a vacuum. The difference is the ability to reason about the entire system, from C code down to physics. That is what separates a firmware professional from a hobbyist. 🔥 What is the one physics or hardware lesson you learned that permanently changed how you write code? #EmbeddedSystems #FirmwareEngineering #HardwareSoftwareCoDesign #Electronics #GPIO #RealTimeSystems #SystemsThinking #EngineeringReality

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While health IT costs continue to increase, agency budgets remain tight. Healthy Outcomes, our latest research study, explores where investments are being made, which technologies are delivering on promised benefits, and where investments are enabling mission outcomes and driving efficiencies. Read the full report here:

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Cribl: 🔍 How can federal agencies gain full visibility into their IT operations without drowning in telemetry data? From managing denied, degraded, intermittent, and low-bandwidth (DDIL) environments to tackling agent sprawl, Cribl Stream is built for the unique challenges of federal IT. With Cribl Stream, agencies can route, shape, and reduce data before it hits costly storage or SIEM tools—enhancing observability while staying mission-ready. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/er7yVR-q

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🔐 Cleared Technical Hiring in GovCon? Here’s What Works. Hiring cleared technical talent isn't just about skill, it's about timing, compliance, and strategic alignment with contract needs. At iQuasar, we've outlined best practices to help government contractors navigate the complex process of sourcing and retaining cleared professionals. From aligning with contract timelines to leveraging the right sourcing channels and clearance levels, this blog offers actionable insights for success in the federal space. 🚀 Whether you're facing tough-to-fill cleared roles or planning for future awards, this is a must-read. 👉 https://lnkd.in/giqj9r5U #GovCon #Recruiting #ClearedTalent #FederalContracting #iQuasar #HiringSolutions

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Cypress recruiters have reviewed hundreds of thousands of resumes. Trust me, we’ve seen it all. Most of the “resume hacks” floating around the internet stink. This is the same advice we’d give anyone serious about landing a job. 1. Stop listing tasks. Nobody cares what you were “responsible for.” Show the impact. 2. Spell out the objective. Hiring teams don’t have time to play detective. 3. Cut the fluff. If your big wins are buried in paragraphs, you already lost. 4. ATS “optimization”? Waste of time. Relationships beat keywords every day. 5. If you’re experienced, education goes at the bottom. GPA from 2012 is old news. 6. Hobbies? Add them only if they’re interesting. Half of the battle is building relationships during interviews, which isn’t easy, and interesting hobbies only help. Resumes don’t need more words. They need more proof you can actually move the needle. Job seekers, good luck out there, I know it’s stressful! #JobTips #JobSearch

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Contractors aren’t just a quick fix - they’re a smart solution for KYC remediation, if you use them right! When you’re facing regulatory deadlines and high-volume backlogs, experienced KYC contractors can give you the scalability, control and speed you need without sacrificing quality. Here’s how to get it right: 🔹 Accelerate delivery without burning out your BAU team Deploy contractors to tackle routine but essential KYC tasks, freeing up your internal team to focus on oversight, exceptions, and long-term risk controls. 🔹 Use the right people for the right tasks Remediation work may be repetitive, but it still demands regulatory knowledge, attention to detail, and delivery discipline. The best contractors have done this before, and that experience keeps QA pass rates high. 🔹 Structure for outcomes, not admin Don’t just fill seats. Assign contractors to clear, outcome-driven workflows with measurable targets. Whether it's periodic reviews, outreach, or 4-eyes, every role should support progress and reduce rework. Done properly, contractor delivery is effective, scalable and compliant! If you’re building or struggling to scale a KYC remediation team, happy to share what’s working well in the market. #KYCremediation #contractordelivery #AML

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His resume said, “Senior Software Engineer.” And the bullet points? ▪️ Developed full-stack web applications in an agile environment ▪️ Led migrating legacy systems and releasing new application features ▪️ Built internal tools and maintained CI/CD pipelines for deployment ▪️ Mentored junior team members and supported testing across the stack Solid. Technical. But… it reads like every other resume in my pipeline. Then we spoke. Here’s what those same tasks actually meant for the business: ▪️ Led the migration of a legacy monolithic insurance platform to microservices, reducing deployment time from 4 hours to 30 minutes and increasing uptime for claims and policy management portals. ▪️ Developed internal automation tools that cut release cycles in half, accelerating new feature delivery to agents and policyholders. ▪️ Designed and managed CI/CD pipelines that reduced production errors and supported seamless multi-environment releases. ▪️ Mentored and upskilled three junior engineers into independent leads, boosting team delivery capacity. I asked, “Why isn’t any of this on your resume?” He responded, “I didn’t think about sharing it that way.” And that’s the gap. We talk about our work in results when we explain it to a friend, but our resumes default to task lists that hide our impact. 💡 Bonus tip: Use ChatGPT’s voice feature. Explain your work out loud like you would to a friend. Then prompt ChatGPT turn your voice into impact-driven resume bullet points. Your real voice is the resume upgrade you didn’t know you needed. 𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘦: 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 - 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘤𝘺.

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Yesterday I was on the interview panel for the Dallas Software Developers Group, giving real-time, no-sugar-coating feedback to software developers on how to be more successful in interviews. Let’s face it, interviews are stressful! And often, it’s less about how technically strong you are and more about how confidently you can present yourself and your experience. Like anything else, repetition and practice go a long way. Some common themes I noticed last night: → Confidence + Presence: If this doesn’t come naturally, go to more networking events. Get comfortable talking to strangers and sharing your story. Don’t forget about eye contact and a smile 😊 → Keep Your Intro Short + Clear: Unless someone asks for a deep dive, avoid long, 10+ minutes intro. A good format: how many years of experience you have, your strengths, and the last project you worked on (keep it relevant to the role). → Prep Your Wins: Have your top 3 achievements ready (Problem → Action → Result). You never know exactly what will be asked during an interview, but you can usually find a way to bring them in, and they’ll help you stand out. Shoutout to the organizers Danny Thompson, Erik Andersen and everyone who showed up, stayed open, and wants to learn and improve. That’s what it’s all about! #interviewquestions #interviewprep #softwaredevelopers #techrecruiter

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Some people say timing is everything. In recruiting? It’s the whole game. Some of the best candidates aren’t ready… until they are. I first reached out to this embedded systems engineer back in 2024. They weren’t looking. Not then. Not a few months later either. But I stayed in touch. Fast forward to this spring - everything changed. Their company was shutting down the site and their role was eliminated. And because we’d already had a few conversations, I knew they were a great fit for one of my aerospace clients. So we moved fast. Qualified. Submitted. Interviewed. It was a relocation role, so the company flew them out. They spent a weekend exploring the area with their family. By the end of the weekend… offer accepted. They made the move from Illinois to Colorado and have already made a quick impact on the team. Total time from “I’m ready” to “I’m in”? Four weeks. Here’s three reasons why this matters if you’re hiring: 1. The best people aren’t always on the market. But when they do start looking, they move fast. 2. Building relationships before the need is what fills roles faster. 3. Headhunting is about timing, persistence, and trust. Not just job posts. Recruiting is more than a process. It’s about connecting the dots - between great people and the right opportunities. Quality > Quantity. Always.

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🔍 How can federal agencies gain full visibility into their IT operations without drowning in telemetry data? From managing denied, degraded, intermittent, and low-bandwidth (DDIL) environments to tackling agent sprawl, Cribl Stream is built for the unique challenges of federal IT. With Cribl Stream, agencies can route, shape, and reduce data before it hits costly storage or SIEM tools—enhancing observability while staying mission-ready. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/er7yVR-q

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The Secret to China and Tesla Speed? - ASPICE. (It’s their gold standard) Not The truth - software engineers don’t care for ASPICE. They see it as a burden. ASPICE is vague, outdated, and written in a language software engineers don’t use. Ask software engineers what the gold standard is, and they’ll say: ➜ DevOps, CI/CD, Shift-Left (TDD/BDD) ➜ Automate everything, exploratory testing ➜ Microservices, contract-first design Yet ASPICE, the so-called “automotive software engineering gold standard,” doesn’t even mention these terms. Instead, it defines required work products like: ➜ Review record, change history, configuration item As if we’re still in the 90s, storing printed change logs in physical ledgers. But today? ➜ We work cloud-based, collaboratively. ➜ Changes take minutes, everything is versioned. ASPICE Isn’t Fundamentally Wrong—It’s Just Stuck in the Past. The real issue? Software engineers hate it. Quality managers love it. It was designed by OEMs to control big-budget waterfall projects at suppliers— Not to empower high-speed, iterative software engineering. The goal back then? Minimize risk. Control. Assign blame. The goal today? Speed. Relentless testing. Transparency. Trust. Lightning-fast iterations. “The Engineers Are Right.” The methods and tools must suit them. If you want great software, you need happy engineers. That should be Quality’s priority. But in my experience? ➜ Quality managers say, “Engineers must understand ASPICE.” ➜ They should be saying, “How do we make ASPICE work for engineers?” Quality Should Enable Engineers—Not Slow Them Down. Instead of forcing rigid, outdated processes, quality should focus on: ➜ Automated compliance → Integrated into CI/CD, not manual bureaucracy. ➜ GenAI-enabled tooling → Seamless, intuitive, guiding engineers without friction. ➜ Process guardrails that feel invisible → Supporting, not obstructing. It’s no mystery. Look at Tesla’s DSM (Digital Self-Management). Quality at Tesla isn’t about checking boxes—it’s about removing friction so engineers can move fast. But what I see most of the time? ➜ Quality creates processes that make quality managers happy. ➜ Engineers just work around them. That’s the real problem. What’s the fix? ⤷ Quality needs to evolve—or get out of the way. What’s your thoughts? What’s your gold standard in automotive software development? —————- If you’ve been following for a while I said I’d join an OEM or Tier1 to help fix this mess. Surprise. Instead I’m building the product. Why lock it away in only one company if we can make it accessible to everyone? Our goal: Democratize „China speed“ with „aspice rigor“. If you’re stuck in endless aspice assessments and fighting non conformancies year in year out. Struggling to reach L1, L2… Just to see it’s mere „fulfilling assessment prep“. No real improvements, software en go meeting remains messy. ASPICE just feels like a burden. We cracked the code. Shoot me a DM.

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Agents are better at code than email. Why? There's no linter for writing an email. Think about it: when an agent writes code, it gets immediate feedback. Compiler errors. Test failures. Linting warnings. A binary signal: this works or it doesn't. That feedback loop is gold. The agent writes something, runs it, sees it fail, reads the error, adjusts, tries again. Each cycle adds information. By iteration three or four, it often lands on something that works. Now try the same thing with writing. Draft an email. Run it through... nothing. No compiler. No tests. No objective "this is correct" signal. Just vibes. This is why agents feel magical for coding and hit-or-miss for prose. It's not about the task complexity. It's about the feedback mechanism. Code has compilation, linting, test suites, runtime errors: all binary signals. Natural language has... nothing. No ground truth. No objective correctness. The lesson? If you want agents to excel in your domain, build feedback loops. Make success measurable. Create something that can tell the agent "try again" before a human ever sees the output. We've watched agents debug issues by iterating through compile errors, finding bugs that humans missed. Not because they're smarter. Because they iterate faster and the feedback is clear. The number of valid code patterns is constrained. Natural language is infinite. That constraint is actually what makes agents effective. #AI #Agents #SoftwareEngineering #DataEngineering

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