Job Type: Consultant
Salary: Negotiable
Youth Innovation Lab (YI-Lab) is a not-for-profit civic tech company that works at the intersection of emerging cutting-edge technological tools and their applications by equipping young professionals to solve emerging challenges in our community. YI-Lab’s mission statement is, ‘to engage young people to bridge science to people and policy through innovation’. YI-Lab harnesses indigenous knowledge, citizen science approach, develops low-cost technological solutions, promotes open data, promotes entrepreneurship, and conducts evidence-based advocacy campaigns. YI-Lab provides a conducive environment for young people to co-create solutions for inclusive development.
Required Qualifications
• Bachelor’s degree in Electronics/Computer Engineering, or equivalent experience.
• More than three years of experience in embedded systems with ESP32/ESP8266, FreeRTOS/Arduino, and robust Wi-Fi networking.
• Hands-on experience driving LED matrix displays (P10/HUB12 or equivalent).
• End-to-end hardware delivery to production (BoM optimization, and vendor coordination).
• Building small backend/data services and integrating RESTful APIs.
• Field deployments: installation SOPs, diagnostics, remote support, and log-based troubleshooting.
• C/C++ (Arduino/ESP-IDF), OTA update design, watchdogs, task concurrency.
• PCB CAD (KiCad), lab instrumentation, EMI/ESD protection, power budgeting.
• Python for data fetchers/APIs; Git.
• Clear technical documentation; training delivery.
• Air-quality sensing experience (SDS011/Plantower/optical dust); basic calibration/QA methods.
• Experience with community deployments and youth-focused civic tech in Nepal
Key Duties and Responsibilities
• Refine firmware for ESP8266 and ESP32 devices, ensuring reliability, watchdog mechanisms, OTA updates, and fault tolerance.
• Develop FreeRTOS task scheduling and buffering for HUB12/P10 LED matrices with brightness control.
• Design, test, and iterate PCB (R2) for manufacturability, protection, and ease of testing.
• Ensure enclosure integration: airflow optimization for sensors, splash resistance, cable management, and safe mounting.
• Coordinate with fabricators for PCB manufacturing, assembly, and quality assurance.
• Integrate devices with backend services, ensuring proper API communication and data synchronization.
• Support pilot deployments: conduct field installations, diagnostics, and troubleshooting.
• Document system design, firmware, and hardware integration; train the YI-Lab team on operations and maintenance.
• Provide technical guidance on scaling, manufacturability, and cost optimization.
Applying Procedure
We highly encourage all interested applicants, especially youth and young professionals and candidates from discriminated groups (women, Dalit, Janajati, Madhesi, and other minority communities) to apply. We are having interviews on a rolling basis and encourage interested candidates to apply as soon as possible.
Only shortlisted candidates will be called for an interview.
Deadline for Submission: 30 August 2025.
Please click on Apply Now! button to submit your application. For more information on Youth Innovation Lab, please visit https://youthinnovationlab.org and if you have any inquiries, please contact at info@youthinnovationlab.org.
