Over the last few weeks, I’ve been putting focused effort into something engineers rarely talk about out loud: marketing myself.

After more than 25 years working in embedded systems — building firmware, debugging hardware, leading teams, and running companies — I’ve shifted my focus to freelance work. My goal: help teams and startups go from idea to working prototype with minimal fuss.

But having skills isn’t enough. People need to find you, trust you, and understand what you can offer. So I rolled up my sleeves and treated my freelance career like a product:

Here’s what I did:

• Refined my positioning:
  I focused on what I do best — embedded firmware, microcontroller work (STM32, AVR, ESP32), wireless communication (RF, BLE, LoRa), and reverse engineering. I wrote a clear pitch that tells potential clients not just what I do, but how I help.
• Updated my LinkedIn profile:
  I rewrote my summary to highlight my freelance offering and past success stories. I added featured projects, cleaned up job descriptions, and focused on making the profile client-friendly rather than resume-like.
• Created a few mini case studies:
  If you’re following my blog, you already know I love to share short stories about problems I’ve solved — from decoding raw RF signals to rebuilding firmware from scratch without source code.
• Signed up for marketplace platforms:
  While I don’t expect them to be the main source of work, they help me stay visible and practice pitching. Every interaction is a way to improve clarity and relevance.
• Started outreach and sharing:
  I’ve begun reaching out to people I’ve worked with, joined a few niche engineering communities, and am planning to share more insights from the field — especially the messy, real-world parts of embedded development.

What’s next?

I’ll keep building, both products and reputation. If you’re working on an embedded product or just want to swap notes on going freelance, feel free to reach out or connect on LinkedIn.

I believe that engineering and storytelling don’t have to be at odds. From years of contributing to Open Source projects, engaging with the maker community and experience with Lean startups, I’ve learned that the better we explain what we do, the more people we can help.