In the field of embedded development, MCUs (Microcontrollers) have always been the core hardware platform in industrial control, automotive electronics, and smart home applications due to their low power consumption, high cost-effectiveness, and wide range of applications. However, as the complexity of MCU functions increases (such as automotive-grade chips supporting multi-bus communication and real-time control algorithms), a debate has emerged:Do embedded MCU software development projects require specialized architecture engineers?This article will analyze this from three dimensions: technical requirements, project scale, and industry trends.
1. Responsibilities of Architecture Engineers: From “Writing Code” to “Building Frameworks”
The core value of architecture engineers lies insystem-level design, rather than merely functional implementation. According to job descriptions, their responsibilities include:
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System Layering and Interface Design: For example, in the automotive electronics field, it is necessary to divide the hardware driver layer, middleware layer, and application layer, and define clear interface specifications to ensure decoupling of modules.
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Technology Selection and Resource Allocation: Choosing suitable RTOS (such as FreeRTOS, RT-Thread), communication protocols (CAN, EtherCAT), or code generation tools (such as MATLAB Simulink) directly affects development efficiency and system reliability.
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Performance Optimization and Maintainability: By optimizing memory management and task scheduling strategies, real-time bottlenecks can be resolved, and space for future upgrades can be reserved.
For example, in the development of a fuel cell control unit (FCU) for a new energy company, a lack of architectural design could lead to code redundancy, chaotic communication protocols, and even system crashes due to resource competition.
2. Project Scale Determines Demand: Can Small Projects Have “One Person Wearing Multiple Hats”?
The need for a dedicated architecture engineer is closely related to project complexity:
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Simple Projects (such as home appliance control): With short development cycles and single functions (such as temperature control logic), these are usually handled by development engineers who also take on architectural design. For instance, BYD’s home appliance MCU development tool BLINK supports one-click installation and visual debugging, lowering the threshold for architectural design.
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Complex Systems (such as automotive electronics, industrial IoT): These involve multi-sensor fusion, real-time communication (CAN bus, Ethernet), and security certification, requiring an architect to coordinate. For example, a certain automotive-grade MCU project needs to integrate Modbus and CANOpen protocols while ensuring that the code complies with AutoSAR standards; at this point, layered architecture and modular design are indispensable.
Additionally,team collaboration requirements are also a key factor. If the development team exceeds five people, an architect can effectively prevent “code conflicts” and improve collaborative efficiency.
3. Industry Trends: Architects Transitioning from “Optional” to “Essential”
In recent years, embedded MCU development has shown two major trends that further highlight the value of architects:
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Functional Complexity:
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In the automotive electronics field, MCUs need to support ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems), BMS (Battery Management Systems), etc., involving multi-core scheduling and mixed-criticality task management.
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In industrial scenarios, edge computing gateways need to be compatible with both Linux and RTOS systems, and achieve AI inference acceleration, which places higher demands on the flexibility and scalability of software architecture.
Upgrading Development Toolchains:
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Model-Driven Development (MDD) with MATLAB/Simulink requires architects to define model hierarchies and code generation rules.
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The introduction of automated testing tools (such as CANoe) requires architects to design testability frameworks to reduce debugging costs later on.
4. Controversy: Are Architects Just “Using a Cannon to Shoot Mosquitoes”?
Opponents argue that MCUs have limited resources (such as RAM only a few tens of KB), and excessive design will occupy valuable resources. However, this viewpoint overlooks the following facts:
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Resource Optimization is Part of Architectural Design: By using static memory allocation or reducing global variables, architects can directly enhance system performance.
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The Cost of Technical Debt: A certain medical device company once faced difficulties in maintaining code due to a lack of architectural design in the early stages, resulting in a refactoring cost three times that of the initial development.
5. Conclusion: Rational Perspective and Demand-Based Configuration
Whether embedded MCU development requires architecture engineers should be judged based on specific scenarios:
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Small Teams/Simple Projects: Can be handled by senior development engineers who also take on architectural design, but must adhere to modular coding standards.
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Medium to Large Systems/Long Lifecycle Products: Must have dedicated architects, as initial investments will significantly reduce later maintenance costs.
In the future, with the explosion of fields such as AIoT and automotive electronics,“Software Architects Who Understand Hardware” Will Become Scarce Talent. They must be proficient in ARM Cortex-M series development and possess a system-level vision—just as a certain job requirement states: “More than 3 years of experience, familiar with RTOS and communication protocol stacks, able to formulate proprietary protocols and lead complex scenario development.”