I've spent close to two decades designing realtime and safety-critical embedded systems, the kind where timing, correctness, and security aren't negotiable. Over that time I've led Software Engineering teams across multiple companies and engineering plants, building organizations that ship reliable software under real constraints. Today I wear two hats: Engineering Software Manager and Cybersecurity Champion for the software team, bridging strategy and delivery on one side, and secure-by-design practice on the other. Despite the management responsibilities, I stay hands-on, writing code and keeping close to the toolchain, because I believe good leadership in engineering starts with staying technically credible. My focus is industrial and embedded software where safety, reliability, and security have to coexist by design, not by afterthought.

• Lead and grow software engineering teams across multiple sites and plants, running delivery through Agile frameworks (Scrum / Kanban)
• Champion secure-by-design practices and threat modelling across the software org
• Write and review code to stay close to real implementation challenges
• Bridge safety-critical requirements (IEC 61508 / ISO 26262) with practical delivery
• Mentor engineers and coordinate cross-plant technical alignment

• Languages: C17, C++17, with practical use of scripting/tooling languages such as Python or Bash where appropriate
• Embedded software architecture: realtime control systems, safety-critical software, distributed embedded systems, bootloaders, BSPs, drivers, and edge platforms
• RTOS & platforms: VxWorks, FreeRTOS, ThreadX, RTEMS, Zephyr, bare-metal firmware, and POSIX/Linux-based embedded environments
• Standards & compliance: IEC 61508, ISO 26262, MISRA, and growing interest in CRA-aligned software engineering practices
• Security engineering: secure boot, OTA updates, code signing, threat modelling, secure-by-design principles, vulnerability management, and SBOM-aware development
• Build systems & CI/CD: Buildroot, Yocto, Bazel, CMake, cross-compilation toolchains, automated build pipelines, and embedded-focused CI/CD workflows
• Middleware & communications: gRPC, Data Distribution Service (DDS), MQTT, OPC UA, SOME/IP, and other embedded/industrial communication stacks where relevant
• Quality & verification: static analysis, MISRA checking, unit testing, integration testing, fuzzing, code coverage, and validation pipelines for embedded targets
• Engineering leadership: secure software development practices, technical mentoring, architecture reviews, Agile delivery frameworks (Scrum, Kanban), and security champion activities within engineering teams

I direct software engineering strategy across distributed teams and multiple plants, establishing unified technical standards that scale delivery velocity while maintaining architectural rigor. As an organizational Cybersecurity Champion, I drive a cultural shift toward secure-by-design engineering—translating complex regulatory frameworks like the EU Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) into pragmatic, everyday development practices that mitigate enterprise risk rather than merely checking compliance boxes.

I’m keeping an eye on how CRA compliance reshapes embedded software practices, and exploring SBOM tooling, vulnerability management, threat modeling, fuzz testing, and memory-safe development to sharpen how I approach secure-by-design engineering.

Always happy to talk embedded systems, safety-critical software, or security engineering.

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adrienHl
• Email: adrien dot happil ad gmail dot com