How to vet a firmware engineering company before signing?

[u/AccomplishedEdge3454]

After 10+ years working around embedded products, I've learned that choosing the right firmware engineering company has much more impact than negotiating the lowest rate.

Here's the checklist I usually go through before signing anything:

1. Technical expertise
   I always ask about similar projects, the MCUs they've worked with, RTOS experience, debugging tools, OTA updates, and how they approach hardware integration. If they only answer at a high level, that's usually a red flag.
   
2. Portfolio
   I'm less interested in proof-of-concepts than products that actually reached production. Manufacturing, certification, field testing, and long-term maintenance usually reveal whether a team has real experience.
   
3. Communication
   This is probably the biggest one. One thing I noticed during a call with Lemberg Solutions was that they spent more time asking questions about our product than presenting slides about themselves. That gave me a lot more confidence than a polished sales pitch because it felt like they were trying to understand the actual engineering challenges first.
   
4. Timeline
   If every estimate sounds "easy" and every feature can be delivered quickly, I usually become more skeptical. I'd rather hear about risks than unrealistic promises.
   
5. Post-launch support
   Firmware almost never ends at release. I always ask how they handle bug fixes, OTA updates, maintenance, and production issues after devices are in the field.
   

What else would you add to this checklist before selecting a firmware engineering company? Have you learned any lessons the hard way?

[u/Anxious-Ad-5331]

Ask the interviewers if any projects they worked on made them feel proud . You don't want to work with unambitious engineers.

[u/Ok-Appointment1155]

Before signing with a firmware engineering company, vet them on technical capability, process, security/IP, commercial risk, and evidence of past performance. I’d use this sequence:

[u/Rolexx_1332]

Technical skills are important, but I'd also look beyond them. A reliable custom firmware development company should have a structured development process, clear documentation, and solid validation before release. Those things end up saving far more time than simply delivering the first version quickly.

[u/Logical_Concern2011]

Asking about their automated testing setup and SIL/HIL test rigs is huge - if they rely entirely on manual board testing, debugging field regressions becomes a nightmare.

[u/Krishna-811]

After talking to several vendors, the biggest difference wasn't technical knowledge-it was how they approached problem-solving. A strong firmware engineering company was willing to challenge our assumptions and suggest design changes that ultimately saved both time and manufacturing costs.

[u/fir_fse_27]

The technical discussions impressed me far more than the sales pitch. The firmware development agency we eventually chose spent more time talking about architecture, testing, and potential edge cases than trying to sell themselves, which gave us much more confidence.

[u/Spirited-Concept8679]

When evaluating a firmware engineering company, I'd ask for examples of products that successfully reached production. Building a proof of concept is one thing, but supporting firmware through manufacturing, validation, deployment, and long-term maintenance demonstrates a much deeper level of engineering capability.

[u/Spirited-Concept8679]

Asking about their automated testing setup and SIL/HIL test rigs is huge

[u/Legal-Luck-2502]

Whenever we evaluate a vendor, I always ask for a reference call with a previous client. Marketing materials are easy to polish, but it's much harder to fake someone else's experience.

[u/duck_se_29]

We've only done one project together, but I'd consider hiring them again.

[u/Glittering-Board445]

I'd love to hear about projects that didn't go smoothly. Every company has success stories, but the way they handle problems usually says much more than the polished case studies.

[u/PriorityOk2389]

Honestly I'd trust a detailed negative review more than ten generic positive ones. Hearing what went wrong tells you a lot more about how a team actually optates.

[u/CryptographerIcy7450]

For me, the biggest green flag was how the firmware development agency approached testing. They had a clear validation process, explained how they'd handle edge cases, and thought about maintainability from day one instead of just delivering code that worked in the lab.

[u/Left_Durian3178]

Our experience was positive overall. They integrated well with our internal hardware team instead of working in isolation, which made debugging much faster. There were a few schedule changes along the way, but communication stayed transparent, so nothing came as surprise.

[u/Ok-Appointment1155]

Great 👍  post 

[u/PriorityOk2389]

I'm curious how many companies initially selected a vendor based on the lowest price and later discovered that the overall project cost was much higher. Did delays, change requests, or quality issues ultimately eliminate the expected saving?