Automotive STM32H7 Controller PCB – Multi-CAN FD, ESP32, Power Management and Test Firmware
Budget: €1,500 – €3,000 EUR
I am looking for an experienced automotive electronics engineer to design a production-ready controller PCB based on an STM32H7 microcontroller.
This is a complete hardware design from scratch, including schematic design, PCB layout, component selection, automotive power protection and validation firmware.
The controller will be used inside vehicles and must be designed for reliable operation in a harsh automotive electrical environment. It is not a hobby or basic development-board project.
The enclosure and connector family are already selected. The final PCB must fit the provided Cinch automotive enclosure and connector arrangement.
Main hardware requirements
STM32H74x or suitable STM32H7 MCU
Genuine dual-bank internal flash for safe A/B firmware updates
Two native STM32 CAN FD buses
One additional CAN FD bus controlled by the STM32
One CAN FD bus controlled independently by the ESP32
All four CAN buses must support CAN FD
Fail-safe physical bridge between CAN1 and CAN2
CAN1 and CAN2 must remain connected when the MCU is disabled, resetting, updating or has failed
Automotive CAN FD transceivers
CAN1 wake-up from low-power mode
Programmable CAN termination
ESP32 WROOM module
Wi-Fi access point
Bluetooth Classic
BLE
Minimum 16 MB flash
PSRAM preferred
STM32-to-ESP32 communication over SPI, UART and status GPIO
USB for STM32 firmware recovery and basic configuration
ESP32 programming header
512 Mbit / 64 MB QSPI NOR flash for data logging
SPI EEPROM for settings, serial number and calibration data
Automotive 6-axis IMU
Vehicle-voltage and MCU-temperature monitoring
Inputs
The board will include protected automotive inputs such as:
12 V ignition/wake input
12 V brake input
Ground-switched handbrake input
0–5 V throttle input
0–5 V pressure or boost input
Multipurpose analog input
One or two multipurpose vehicle-speed inputs
Hall, open-collector, VSS and suitable ABS-type sensor support
Two spare 12 V-rated inputs
Software-selectable pull-up and pull-down where practical
Protected 5 V sensor supply and dedicated sensor ground
Outputs
At least six protected outputs are required, including:
Protected 12 V high-side brake output
Protected low-side park output
Protected relay-coil output
Multiple PWM-capable outputs
Optional direct control of a 2–3 A automotive valve
Safe hardware default states during reset, firmware update, brownout and MCU failure
Power management
The design must include:
Reverse-polarity protection
Automotive transient and load-dump protection
Cold-crank and undervoltage handling
Efficient 12 V to 5 V and 3.3 V conversion
Protected USB and vehicle power-path handling
Safe simultaneous USB and vehicle-power connection
Delayed software shutdown
Latched power-enable control
Wake-up from 12 V ignition
Optional wake-up from CAN1
Low-power sleep architecture
Protected sensor supply
eFuse or protected high-side power input preferred
Primary use is a 12 V automotive system. Support for 24 V may be proposed only if it does not significantly increase cost or complexity.
PCB requirements
Altium Designer is mandatory
Legal and reliable Altium installation required
Multilayer PCB
Controlled impedance for CAN FD
Correct RF placement and antenna keepout for the ESP32 WROOM module
Automotive EMC and grounding strategy
Automotive or extended-temperature components
AEC-Q parts preferred for exposed and critical circuits
Components may be placed on both PCB sides
Production test points where space permits
Full mechanical verification against the enclosure and connector drawings
Validation firmware is required
The project must include working sample and test firmware.
STM32CubeIDE firmware must demonstrate:
CAN1, CAN2 and CAN3 communication
CAN bridge control
CAN wake-up
Ignition wake-up
Delayed shutdown
Input sampling
Speed-frequency measurement
Output and PWM control
EEPROM access
QSPI flash logging
IMU communication
Supply-voltage and temperature monitoring
SPI and UART communication with the ESP32
USB recovery procedure
ESP32 firmware must demonstrate:
Wi-Fi access point
Web server
WebSocket communication
Bluetooth Classic
BLE
SPI and UART communication with STM32
CAN4 transmit and receive
Basic diagnostic or log-data transfer
ESP32 OTA update
Deliverables
Complete editable Altium project
Schematic source and PDF
PCB layout source
Gerber or ODB++ production files
Drill files
Assembly drawings
Pick-and-place files
Complete BOM with exact manufacturer part numbers
Approved alternative components
Connector pinout
Power budget
CAN and power-management design documentation
STM32 test firmware
ESP32 test firmware
Bring-up instructions
Test procedure
Completed hardware validation report
Required experience
Applicants must have real experience with:
Automotive ECU or vehicle controller design
STM32H7 hardware
CAN FD
Automotive power protection
Low-power CAN wake-up systems
ESP32 WROOM RF design
Protected automotive inputs and outputs
QSPI memory
Mixed-signal PCB layout
STM32CubeIDE firmware
ESP32 firmware
Altium Designer
Generic Arduino, hobby PCB or simple ESP32-board experience is not sufficient.
Project process
The project will be completed in reviewable milestones:
Architecture and component selection
Complete schematic review
Mechanical placement review
PCB routing and manufacturing review
Prototype bring-up
Validation firmware and final handover
A reviewable progress update is required at least once per week.
Payment will only be released after each milestone has been reviewed and approved.
Questions applicants must answer
Please answer all of the following in your proposal:
Provide examples of automotive ECUs or automotive communication controllers you personally designed.
Which automotive power-input and transient-protection circuits have you implemented and tested?
Which CAN FD transceivers and external CAN FD controllers have you used?
How would you implement a normally connected, fail-safe CAN bridge between two CAN FD networks?
Which STM32H74x device would you initially recommend and why?
Which ESP32 WROOM module would you recommend for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Classic, BLE, 16 MB flash and PSRAM?
Describe your experience with CAN wake-up and software-controlled delayed shutdown.
Describe your experience with STM32 dual-bank firmware updates and USB DFU recovery.
Can you provide working STM32CubeIDE and ESP32 test firmware?
Which Altium Designer version will you use?
Will you personally complete all work?
Provide a realistic milestone schedule.
The complete engineering specification, enclosure files and connector information will be provided to shortlisted applicants.
Suggested skills to select on Freelancer
PCB Layout
Altium Designer
Electrical Engineering
Electronics
Embedded Systems
STM32
ESP32
CAN Bus
Firmware
Automotive Engineering
Microcontroller
Circuit Design
Recommended final line
Please do not apply with a generic proposal. Start your application with “AUTOMOTIVE CAN FD” and answer the technical questions above.
This is a complete hardware design from scratch, including schematic design, PCB layout, component selection, automotive power protection and validation firmware.
The controller will be used inside vehicles and must be designed for reliable operation in a harsh automotive electrical environment. It is not a hobby or basic development-board project.
The enclosure and connector family are already selected. The final PCB must fit the provided Cinch automotive enclosure and connector arrangement.
Main hardware requirements
STM32H74x or suitable STM32H7 MCU
Genuine dual-bank internal flash for safe A/B firmware updates
Two native STM32 CAN FD buses
One additional CAN FD bus controlled by the STM32
One CAN FD bus controlled independently by the ESP32
All four CAN buses must support CAN FD
Fail-safe physical bridge between CAN1 and CAN2
CAN1 and CAN2 must remain connected when the MCU is disabled, resetting, updating or has failed
Automotive CAN FD transceivers
CAN1 wake-up from low-power mode
Programmable CAN termination
ESP32 WROOM module
Wi-Fi access point
Bluetooth Classic
BLE
Minimum 16 MB flash
PSRAM preferred
STM32-to-ESP32 communication over SPI, UART and status GPIO
USB for STM32 firmware recovery and basic configuration
ESP32 programming header
512 Mbit / 64 MB QSPI NOR flash for data logging
SPI EEPROM for settings, serial number and calibration data
Automotive 6-axis IMU
Vehicle-voltage and MCU-temperature monitoring
Inputs
The board will include protected automotive inputs such as:
12 V ignition/wake input
12 V brake input
Ground-switched handbrake input
0–5 V throttle input
0–5 V pressure or boost input
Multipurpose analog input
One or two multipurpose vehicle-speed inputs
Hall, open-collector, VSS and suitable ABS-type sensor support
Two spare 12 V-rated inputs
Software-selectable pull-up and pull-down where practical
Protected 5 V sensor supply and dedicated sensor ground
Outputs
At least six protected outputs are required, including:
Protected 12 V high-side brake output
Protected low-side park output
Protected relay-coil output
Multiple PWM-capable outputs
Optional direct control of a 2–3 A automotive valve
Safe hardware default states during reset, firmware update, brownout and MCU failure
Power management
The design must include:
Reverse-polarity protection
Automotive transient and load-dump protection
Cold-crank and undervoltage handling
Efficient 12 V to 5 V and 3.3 V conversion
Protected USB and vehicle power-path handling
Safe simultaneous USB and vehicle-power connection
Delayed software shutdown
Latched power-enable control
Wake-up from 12 V ignition
Optional wake-up from CAN1
Low-power sleep architecture
Protected sensor supply
eFuse or protected high-side power input preferred
Primary use is a 12 V automotive system. Support for 24 V may be proposed only if it does not significantly increase cost or complexity.
PCB requirements
Altium Designer is mandatory
Legal and reliable Altium installation required
Multilayer PCB
Controlled impedance for CAN FD
Correct RF placement and antenna keepout for the ESP32 WROOM module
Automotive EMC and grounding strategy
Automotive or extended-temperature components
AEC-Q parts preferred for exposed and critical circuits
Components may be placed on both PCB sides
Production test points where space permits
Full mechanical verification against the enclosure and connector drawings
Validation firmware is required
The project must include working sample and test firmware.
STM32CubeIDE firmware must demonstrate:
CAN1, CAN2 and CAN3 communication
CAN bridge control
CAN wake-up
Ignition wake-up
Delayed shutdown
Input sampling
Speed-frequency measurement
Output and PWM control
EEPROM access
QSPI flash logging
IMU communication
Supply-voltage and temperature monitoring
SPI and UART communication with the ESP32
USB recovery procedure
ESP32 firmware must demonstrate:
Wi-Fi access point
Web server
WebSocket communication
Bluetooth Classic
BLE
SPI and UART communication with STM32
CAN4 transmit and receive
Basic diagnostic or log-data transfer
ESP32 OTA update
Deliverables
Complete editable Altium project
Schematic source and PDF
PCB layout source
Gerber or ODB++ production files
Drill files
Assembly drawings
Pick-and-place files
Complete BOM with exact manufacturer part numbers
Approved alternative components
Connector pinout
Power budget
CAN and power-management design documentation
STM32 test firmware
ESP32 test firmware
Bring-up instructions
Test procedure
Completed hardware validation report
Required experience
Applicants must have real experience with:
Automotive ECU or vehicle controller design
STM32H7 hardware
CAN FD
Automotive power protection
Low-power CAN wake-up systems
ESP32 WROOM RF design
Protected automotive inputs and outputs
QSPI memory
Mixed-signal PCB layout
STM32CubeIDE firmware
ESP32 firmware
Altium Designer
Generic Arduino, hobby PCB or simple ESP32-board experience is not sufficient.
Project process
The project will be completed in reviewable milestones:
Architecture and component selection
Complete schematic review
Mechanical placement review
PCB routing and manufacturing review
Prototype bring-up
Validation firmware and final handover
A reviewable progress update is required at least once per week.
Payment will only be released after each milestone has been reviewed and approved.
Questions applicants must answer
Please answer all of the following in your proposal:
Provide examples of automotive ECUs or automotive communication controllers you personally designed.
Which automotive power-input and transient-protection circuits have you implemented and tested?
Which CAN FD transceivers and external CAN FD controllers have you used?
How would you implement a normally connected, fail-safe CAN bridge between two CAN FD networks?
Which STM32H74x device would you initially recommend and why?
Which ESP32 WROOM module would you recommend for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Classic, BLE, 16 MB flash and PSRAM?
Describe your experience with CAN wake-up and software-controlled delayed shutdown.
Describe your experience with STM32 dual-bank firmware updates and USB DFU recovery.
Can you provide working STM32CubeIDE and ESP32 test firmware?
Which Altium Designer version will you use?
Will you personally complete all work?
Provide a realistic milestone schedule.
The complete engineering specification, enclosure files and connector information will be provided to shortlisted applicants.
Suggested skills to select on Freelancer
PCB Layout
Altium Designer
Electrical Engineering
Electronics
Embedded Systems
STM32
ESP32
CAN Bus
Firmware
Automotive Engineering
Microcontroller
Circuit Design
Recommended final line
Please do not apply with a generic proposal. Start your application with “AUTOMOTIVE CAN FD” and answer the technical questions above.