How to Present Your Upskilling Journey to Land a Senior Embedded Role

In a competitive field like embedded systems, knowing more isn’t enough. You have to prove it.

You’ve likely spent the past year or two investing in new skills: working with IoT, experimenting with edge AI, exploring TensorFlow Lite, or mastering Zephyr RTOS. But when it comes to moving into a senior or team lead role, your biggest question becomes: “How do I show I’m ready?”

In this post, we’ll discuss how to:

• Package your skills into a compelling upskilling narrative
• Present certifications, personal projects, and learning achievements with impact
• Communicate your growth in a way that hiring managers and your current boss can’t ignore

Check out this interview with Steve to learn how he landed his dream job as a senior embedded systems engineer at Amazon Robotics.

Why You Need to Showcase Your Upskilling Journey

The embedded field is evolving fast. Employers want engineers who understand:

• Modern microcontroller programming
• Scalable IoT architecture
• Lightweight AI integration at the edge
• Best practices in firmware security and debugging

But many engineers struggle with a familiar pain point: “I’ve learned a lot, but I don’t have real proof to show my employer I’ve upskilled.” The good news? There are structured ways to demonstrate growth using:

• Hands-on project portfolios
• Formal IoT certification for working professionals
• Peer-reviewed platforms like GitHub and LinkedIn

Step 1: Build (and Share) a Technical Portfolio

You don’t need a master’s degree to prove senior-level thinking. You need a project that shows real-world complexity.

Choose a project that matches your company’s focus or the direction you want to grow into:

• A smart home device with OTA updates and Bluetooth Mesh
• An industrial IoT sensor using Zephyr RTOS + cloud MQTT integration
• An edge AI prototype that runs a TFLM model for real-time prediction

Your portfolio should include:

• Source code (on GitHub)
• README explaining architecture, design decisions, and tradeoffs
• Photos or demo video
• Key highlights like:
  • How you optimized memory for inference
  • How you implemented OTA using MCUboot
  • How you used mutexes to protect shared resources in real-time tasks

Bonus tip: Include a section titled “What I’d improve next time” to demonstrate engineering maturity.

Step 2: Use Certifications Strategically

Certifications on their own aren’t enough, but when paired with a project, they show intentional learning and industry alignment.

The best certifications for engineers are:

• Project-based (not just quizzes)
• Recognized by employers or used in job listings
• Flexible, so you can complete them while working full time

Here are some of my recommendations:

• Embedded Systems Essentials by Arm
• IoT certification course by UC, Irvine (Coursera)
• Introduction to Embedded Machine Learning by Shawn Hymel (Coursera)

Searches for “best online courses for embedded systems engineers” and “certification in IoT” are trending because employers are increasingly asking for proof of capability, not just job titles. The takeaway is that certifications and GitHub projects are a powerful one-two punch for internal promotions and external interviews.

Step 3: Frame Your Learning Story with Intent

When talking to your manager or a hiring panel, don’t just list your skills. Tell a story.

Here’s a structure to try:

1. The Challenge: “Our team lacked experience in deploying edge AI models.”
2. The Action: “I enrolled in an IoT certification course and built a project integrating TensorFlow Lite with an ESP32.”
3. The Result: “Now we’re exploring using embedded ML for predictive maintenance. I’ve documented and shared the process with the team.”

Focus on outcomes:

• Performance improvements
• Faster development timelines
• New toolchains you introduced or learned
• Leadership in technical discussions or mentoring

Step 4: Make It Visual and Public

It’s one thing to say you’re learning.

It’s another to publish your work and let it speak for itself.

Share your progress:

• On GitHub (code, commits, issues)
• On LinkedIn (before/after screenshots, reflections)
• In internal company knowledge bases (demos or docs)
• Through PDF portfolios with highlights of your projects + skills

And tie it all together:

Create a “Project + Certification Summary Sheet” that includes:

• Course title
• Certification badge or link
• Project name and GitHub URL
• Skills gained (e.g., Zephyr RTOS, SPI communication, memory profiling)
• Time investment (e.g., “Completed in 4 weekends + 2 evening sessions”)

This helps you present your journey in a concise, confident way during reviews or interviews.

Step 5: Communicate Your Goals Early

Many engineers wait until promotion time to mention their ambitions. Don’t wait.

Let your manager know:

• You’re actively upskilling in edge AI and RTOS
• You’re working on projects that reflect senior-level challenges
• You’re pursuing certifications that align with company goals

Offer to:

• Lead a brown bag session on Zephyr or TinyML
• Mentor a junior engineer on hardware abstraction layers
• Write a guide for OTA firmware deployment

These are signals of leadership readiness, and your manager will take note.

Bonus: Create a Repeatable Learning Loop

Upskilling shouldn’t be a one-time sprint. Create a repeatable system for staying sharp and staying visible.

Try this quarterly cycle:

1. Learn a new concept or framework via an online course
2. Build a mini project or prototype using that concept
3. Document your work clearly (public or internal)
4. Share it in a newsletter, LinkedIn post, or team sync
5. Apply the knowledge in an actual product or process

This approach ensures:

• You’re always one step ahead in your career
• Your manager sees your evolution in real-time
• You have a growing, relevant portfolio of embedded achievements

Ready to Move From Theory to Execution?

That’s why courses like Shawn Hymel’s are engineered to maximize return on learning in the shortest time possible, with the greatest impact.

Whether you want to level up your current role or prepare for new opportunities, learning IoT and edge AI for career growth in 2025 is one of the best investments you can make.

🎯 Start your 6-month journey today: structured, flexible, and built for real engineers:
👉 Browse the full set of courses: shawnhymel.com/courses

Your next role in AI and IoT embedded systems might just be one lesson away.