Available for projects
Pier-Yves Lessard
Automotive Firmware Engineer, Power Electronics & Embedded Tooling — Montreal, Canada (Remote)
FirmwareBridge Rating
4.8
TL;DR
15+ years of firmware and control systems work in the automotive industry — EV onboard chargers, PMSM motor controllers, power converter control at Dana TM4, now embedded AI at NXP.
Author of the de facto Python UDS/ISO-14229 implementation (693 GitHub stars) and ISO-TP library used by automotive engineers worldwide — tools that ship in production diagnostic workflows.
Built Scrutiny Debugger from scratch — a full open-source runtime debugger for embedded C/C++ that eliminates probe dependency, presented at Embedded Online Conference and Elektor (April 2026).
Got ISO-TP socket support merged into CPython itself — a commit in the Python standard library.
Best fit for motor control, power electronics, automotive protocols, embedded tooling, and EV powertrain firmware. One of the most credible technical profiles FirmwareBridge has encountered.
Pier-Yves has spent his career at the intersection of two worlds most engineers inhabit separately — production automotive firmware and the tooling that makes it debuggable. At Dana TM4, one of the world's leading EV powertrain companies, he designed control algorithms for onboard chargers and PMSM/induction motor controllers, did PCB design for automotive applications, and supported OEMs through EV development. At NXP Semiconductors, he now works on embedded AI frameworks for automotive, running on baremetal and Linux systems using C/C++, Python, assembly, and LLVM.
In parallel, he has built three open source tools that the automotive embedded community actually uses. python-udsoncan is the de facto Python implementation of the UDS diagnostic protocol — 693 stars, 223 forks, full documentation on ReadTheDocs, production use in automotive test equipment worldwide. python-can-isotp is the ISO-TP transport layer implementation. He got ISO-TP socket support merged into CPython's standard library itself. And Scrutiny Debugger is a full runtime debugging and HIL testing suite that presented at Embedded Online Conference and gave a live Elektor webinar six days ago. This is not someone who posts about embedded systems. This is someone who builds the infrastructure that other embedded engineers rely on.
python-udsoncan — The Python UDS/ISO-14229 Standard Implementation
The de facto Python implementation of Unified Diagnostic Services (ISO-14229) — the protocol used to flash, diagnose, and configure every modern automotive ECU. Covers all UDS services including diagnostic session control, security access, ECU reset, data by identifier, routine control, and firmware transfer. Full documentation on ReadTheDocs. Used by automotive test engineers globally for ECU development, validation, and security research. The library is so established that other Python UDS projects explicitly reference it as the prior art they built on top of.
693 stars
223 forks
422 commits
ISO-14229
ReadTheDocs
PyPI published
python-can-isotp — ISO-TP Transport Layer + CPython Standard Library Contribution
Complete Python implementation of the ISO-TP (ISO-15765) framing protocol that sits under UDS — handles flow control, block size, separation time, CAN FD, all addressing modes including Normal 11-bit, Normal 29-bit, Extended, Mixed, and Asymmetric. Supports both a pure Python transport layer and a native Linux SocketCAN socket wrapper. He then took it further: opened Pull Request #2956 against CPython and got CAN ISO-TP socket support merged into the Python standard library itself. Starting from Python 3.7, the socket module on Linux natively supports ISO-TP — that is his work.
ISO-15765
CPython PR #2956
Python 3.7+ stdlib
CAN FD support
PyPI published
Scrutiny Debugger — Runtime Embedded Debugger & HIL Testing Suite
An open source debugging, visualization, calibration, and hardware-in-the-loop testing framework for embedded C/C++ built around instrumentation rather than JTAG probes. Three components: a C++11 embedded library added to firmware, a Python server, and a Qt/PySide6 GUI client. Communicates over serial, CAN, UDP, TCP — any channel already present on the hardware. Auto-discovers variables through compiler debug symbols. Supports live variable read/write, embedded datalogging with configurable triggers, dashboards, and a Python SDK for automated test workflows. Runs on Infineon AURIX TC334 automotive MCUs. Published under MIT. Fully continuously integrated with Jenkins. Featured in Elektor Magazine January 2026. Live webinar presented to the embedded community April 9, 2026. Presented at Embedded Online Conference 2026.
MIT license
C++11 embedded lib
Python server + SDK
AURIX TC334 support
Elektor feature Jan 2026
Live webinar Apr 2026
Jenkins CI
Power converter debug — overclocked timer on TI MCU
Diagnosed an intermittent failure in a power converter running on a TI MCU. The root cause was a timer running faster than its configured rate due to a clock configuration issue — an overclocked timer that caused subtle timing drift in the control loop. The writeup documents the diagnostic process at register level, how the fault manifested, and the fix. This is exactly the kind of firmware problem that's invisible in simulation and only surfaces under real operating conditions.
EV onboard charger control — bidirectional power conversion
At Dana TM4, designed simulation and control algorithms for onboard chargers and PMSM/induction motor controllers. OBC firmware is among the most technically demanding embedded work in the EV space — bidirectional AC/DC conversion, PFC, isolation, high-frequency switching, thermal management, and communication across CAN/UDS while meeting automotive EMC requirements. Dana TM4 supplies EV powertrains to OEMs globally including Zero Motorcycle.
Embedded AI on automotive baremetal and Linux
At NXP, works on development and hardware acceleration of embedded AI frameworks for the automotive industry on both baremetal and Linux-based systems using C/C++14, Python, assembly, LLVM, and multithreading. NXP's real-time control embedded software libraries for motor control and power conversion are the same ecosystem he works in daily — meaning his knowledge of the stack is current and production-grade, not historical.
Custom binary protocol design — Scrutiny device protocol
Designed a complete custom binary communication protocol for Scrutiny from scratch — half-duplex request/response with CRC32 frame integrity, session management with heartbeat, memory access controls with readonly and forbidden regions, datalogging protocol with circular buffer and trigger conditions. The protocol draws conscious inspiration from UDS. This is not someone who uses communication protocols — it is someone who designs them.
15+
Years automotive firmware and control systems
693
GitHub stars — python-udsoncan
3
Production open source libraries maintained
1
Commit in the Python standard library
EV Onboard Charger Firmware — Dana TM4
Control algorithm design and firmware for onboard chargers and PMSM/induction motor controllers at one of the world's leading EV powertrain suppliers. Bidirectional power conversion, simulation and validation, PCB design and debugging for automotive applications. Dana TM4 supplies EV powertrains to OEMs in automotive, marine, rail, and off-highway vehicles.
Motor ControlOBC
PMSMPower Electronics
CANProduction
Embedded AI Frameworks — NXP Semiconductors
Development and hardware acceleration of embedded AI frameworks for the automotive industry on baremetal and Linux-based systems. C/C++14, Python, assembly, LLVM, multithreading. Model-based control software for small and heavy electric vehicles. Remote and onsite customer support for EV development programs.
Embedded AILLVM
Automotive LinuxBaremetal
Current role
Montreal Metro — Public Address Hardware Certification
Design and development of public address hardware certification software in C++ on Linux as part of the new Montreal metro project. Safety-critical infrastructure software with real certification requirements — a domain where correctness is not optional.
C++Linux
Safety-criticalDeployed
Access Control and Cashless Payment — Intellitix
Hardware/software development for access control and cashless payment systems earlier in his career — embedded firmware across the full hardware/software stack. Demonstrates range beyond automotive into production consumer hardware.
Embedded firmwareHardware/software
Shipped
Best fit for
- Motor control and power electronics firmware — FOC, PMSM, OBC, inverters
- Automotive diagnostic protocols — UDS, ISO-TP, CAN, ECU flashing and validation
- Embedded AI on automotive MCUs — baremetal or Linux, LLVM acceleration
- Founders who need embedded debugging or HIL testing infrastructure built
- Power converter control — simulation, algorithm design, firmware integration
- C/C++ firmware on automotive-grade MCUs — AURIX, NXP S32, TI Delfino
- Projects where the hardware is already built and firmware needs to catch up
Not the right fit for
- Consumer IoT or BLE/LoRa sensor products — not his domain
- Full-time dedicated engagements — employed full-time at NXP
- Projects requiring immediate large time commitment
- FPGA development requiring Verilog or VHDL
- Safety-critical medical device certification (IEC 60601, ISO 13485)
Availability
Part-time — evenings
Employed full-time at NXP. Available for focused contract engagements in evenings and weekends. Hours confirmed per project.
Timezone
EST (Montreal)
Works async. Available for overlap with US East, Europe afternoon CET, and US West evenings.
Payment
Escrow.com
Milestone-based. Funds held by neutral third party. Neither side carries payment risk.
Contract rateDiscussed during scoping
FirmwareBridge matching and oversight feeDiscussed during scoping
Total project investment is discussed and agreed before any commitment. All payments processed through Escrow.com — funds released per milestone, never upfront.
Current
Software Engineer — Embedded AI
NXP Semiconductors
Development and hardware acceleration of embedded AI frameworks for the automotive industry on baremetal and Linux-based systems. C/C++14, Python, assembly, LLVM, multithreading. Model-based control software for electric vehicles. Remote and onsite EV development support for OEM customers.
Previous
Control Algorithms Engineer
Dana TM4 — EV Powertrain
Simulation and control algorithm design for power converters — onboard chargers and PMSM/induction motor controllers for automotive EV applications. Dana TM4 supplies traction inverters and motor systems to OEMs including Zero Motorcycle and vehicle manufacturers across automotive, marine, rail, and off-highway sectors.
Previous
Electronic Designer
Dana TM4 — EV Powertrain
PCB design, review, debugging and maintenance for automotive applications. Hardware-level knowledge of the same power electronics systems he later wrote control firmware for.
Earlier
Hardware Software Developer
Intellitix
Access control and cashless payment systems. Full hardware/software stack development across embedded firmware and application software.
Elektor Magazine — Jan 2026 feature
Elektor Webinar — Apr 9 2026 (live)
Embedded Online Conference 2026 — speaker
EmbeddedRelated.com — published article
CPython PR #2956 — merged
python-udsoncan — ReadTheDocs
Hashnode — power converter debug writeup