Linux & RTOS

There are two distinct populations here and they get conflated constantly. Embedded Linux engineers — Yocto, Buildroot, kernel, BSP, device tree — and RTOS engineers working in VxWorks, FreeRTOS, RT Linux or similar. Both are described as "real-time" in job adverts. They are not interchangeable, and a brief that treats them as one market will produce a shortlist that satisfies nobody.

Embedded Linux work has grown as devices have got more capable: build systems, driver integration, boot time, and the long tail of making a distribution behave on custom silicon. RTOS work has stayed closer to hard deadlines and deterministic behaviour, which is where the safety and mission-critical requirements usually sit.

We ask which one a brief actually needs before we start, and if the honest answer is both, we say what that does to the timeline. That conversation is uncomfortable at the point of taking the brief and saves a great deal of time afterwards.