Bilal S.Private profile: Upwork shows its earnings only to signed-in members, so we check it every few weeks, not daily. MRR here is a rough estimate (Upwork's six-month earnings ÷ months active). Last read Nov 5, 2026.

I help startups and established companies design, validate, and productize embedded and IoT hardware - from concept and architecture through PCB design, firmware, cloud integration, and production readiness. I am an IoT & Embedded Systems Engineer based in Toronto, Canada, with 15+ years of experience delivering real-world hardware products across consumer, commercial, and industrial domains. My background includes work with organizations such as Mentor Graphics, Sun Microsystems, and AMS Group, where reliability, scalability, and engineering discipline were non-negotiable. What differentiates my work is not just technical depth, but end-to-end ownership. I focus on reducing product risk, avoiding over-engineering, and ensuring that what we build can realistically move from prototype to manufacturing. HOW I WORK (IMPORTANT FOR CLIENTS) ================================== I typically engage on mid-to-large scoped projects where clients need a single technical owner who can coordinate hardware, firmware, mechanical, and software components without fragmentation. I work with a long-standing, tightly-integrated engineering team (hardware, firmware, mechanical, cloud, and applications). This allows: * Faster execution * Fewer integration failures * Cleaner handoffs between disciplines * Higher confidence when moving toward production You get one accountable technical lead, not a loose collection of freelancers. CORE SERVICES (END-TO-END DELIVERY) ==================================== * Embedded & IoT product architecture * Proof-of-Concept (PoC) and feasibility validation * Analog, digital, and power electronics design * Schematic capture and manufacturable PCB design * Embedded firmware development (bare-metal & RTOS) * Wireless and low-power IoT systems * Mechanical enclosure coordination & DFM alignment * Prototyping, testing, and validation * BOM optimization, component sourcing, and costing * Cloud and backend integration for IoT devices * Pre-production and mass-production support TYPICAL PRODUCTS I BUILD Consumer & Commercial ==================== * Connected IoT devices * Smart home and energy monitoring systems * Wearables and sensor-based products * Battery-powered and low-power devices Commercial & Fleet ================ * Vehicle diagnostics and telematics * Asset tracking and inventory systems * Security and monitoring devices * AC/DC power systems (120V / 240V / 480V) Industrial ======== * Industrial remote monitoring * Predictive maintenance systems * MCU-based control systems * SCADA-integrated devices * Power monitoring and safety systems * Motor drives and VFD-adjacent electronics TECHNICAL DEPTH ================ Hardware & PCB -------------------- * Analog, digital, RF, power electronics * High-speed and multilayer PCB design * Component selection, sourcing, and BOM costing * DFM/DFA-aware layouts * Hardware bring-up, testing, and debugging Firmware ----------- * Microcontrollers: STM32, ESP32, Nordic, NXP, TI, Atmel, AVR, PIC, ARM * Bare-metal and RTOS-based firmware * Low-power optimization * Wireless protocols: Wi-Fi, BLE, LPWAN, Zigbee, cellular * FPGA exposure (Xilinx, Altera) where required Cloud & Software (When Required) ------------------------------------------ * AWS IoT-based backends * Device-to-cloud integration * APIs, dashboards, and data pipelines * Mobile and web app integration for embedded devices TOOLS & TECHNOLOGIES ====================== PCB & Hardware: --------------------- * Altium, KiCad, Eagle, EasyEDA, OrCAD, Proteus * Firmware & Low-Level: * Embedded C/C++, C, Python, Assembly, VHDL Software & Cloud: --------------------- * AWS (IoT Core, Lambda, DynamoDB, S3), Flutter, React Native, Java, Swift, C# ENGAGEMENT MODEL =================== I am best suited for clients who: * Want a complete product AND isolated tasks * Need clarity, structure, and realistic timelines * Value engineering discipline and production awareness Are planning beyond a hobby prototype? If your goal is to build something that ships, scales, and survives real-world use, we will work well together. IMPORTANT NOTE FOR CLIENTS =========================== I intentionally avoid under-scoped or purely experimental work where success criteria are unclear. My focus is engineering outcomes, not billable noise. NEXT STEP ========== If you have a product idea, early prototype, or existing hardware that needs professionalization, feel free to reach out with: * A short description of the product * Current stage (idea / prototype / existing device) * Target market and constraints I will tell you honestly whether I am the right fit. Thanks!