I’ve spent years as an engineering recruiting specialist, and one trend has become clear: companies that once hired separate hardware and software experts now desperately seek engineers who can do both. These “full-stack” product engineers (the kind who can debug a circuit board in the morning and fine-tune a neural network in the afternoon) are in high demand and short supply. At first, many of my manufacturing and construction clients struggled to lure this hybrid talent. Their traditional Employer Value Proposition (EVP) just wasn’t striking a chord. In fact, only about 23% of executives even believe their current EVP works well, yet companies with compelling employer brands enjoy nearly 3× more revenue growth. It was a wake-up call that rebranding your EVP isn’t just HR fluff, but rather is a strategic must for attracting these cross-disciplinary engineers.
So how do you actually do it? Below, I’ll share what’s worked for me in repositioning EVPs to appeal to engineers at the intersection of embedded hardware and AI/software. From showcasing integrated projects to calibrating salaries, think of this as a first-hand field guide.
Showcase Projects that Blend Hardware and AI/ML
One of the most powerful ways to attract hybrid hardware-software engineers is to showcase the projects they’d actually work on. Great engineers are drawn to meaningful work, so lead with the exciting, impactful challenges your team is tackling. For example, when our firm helped rebrand an EVP for an industrial automation client, we shifted the spotlight to the company’s “smart factory” initiative, an ambitious project fusing IoT sensors with machine-learning analytics. We painted a vivid picture of how candidates would design custom electronics and develop the AI to make those machines intelligent. Immediately, we saw more applicants who had that twinkle of curiosity in their eyes. They could envision the tangible result of their work, not just a vague job title.
To make these project spotlights resonate, frame them in a way that speaks to both the traditional electrical engineer and the savvy software developer. In practice, this means avoiding buzzword soup and instead telling a story. Be ready to answer the questions any engineer will subconsciously ask: What real-world problem are you solving? How does this product make an impact? and Why should I be excited to join? If you can connect the dots (for instance, “you’ll be writing the AI code that helps a construction robot avoid hazards, making work safer for everyone”) you appeal to their sense of purpose and their engineering pride. Even traditional EEs who haven’t worked in AI will appreciate that the role still leverages their core skills (like sensor design or control systems) while letting them be part of something cutting-edge. The key is to show that your company’s mission and projects empower these engineers to see the bigger picture of their contributions.
Don’t be shy about using visuals and specifics in your EVP messaging. On your careers page or in recruiting emails, include short case studies or videos of cross-disciplinary projects in action. Perhaps it’s a demo of your embedded device recognizing images via a tiny neural network, or a testimonial from one of your engineers who transitioned from pure hardware into a hybrid role. These details prove that your company truly works at the bleeding edge where hardware meets AI. I’ve had seasoned candidates tell me, “I wasn’t even job hunting, but when I saw that drone project using AI on your site, I had to learn more.” That’s the reaction you want.
Host “Portfolio Day” Events to Bring Your EVP to Life
Another highly effective tactic I’ve used is organizing what I call portfolio-day events. Think of these as an engineering open house with a twist. Instead of just chatting in a conference room, we turn the spotlight on projects and portfolios. I still remember the buzz from the first portfolio day I helped run: we transformed the R&D lab into a demo zone, with stations where our engineers showed off prototypes and personal passion projects. We invited a select group of prospective candidates to wander through, ask questions, even tinker with some gadgets. The result? A high-energy but low-pressure environment where engineers (on both sides of the hiring table) could geek out together. By the end of the night, those candidates weren’t just vaguely aware of the company’s EVP. They had lived it, seen it, and felt it in our lab.
To make your portfolio day a success, focus on genuine engagement over glossy marketing. Encourage your current team to attend as company ambassadors, especially those hardware and software engineers who can talk nuts-and-bolts with guests. When a prospective hire chats with your firmware developer about a real debugging challenge, or with your data scientist about model optimization on a microcontroller, it builds credibility that no brochure can match. It’s crucial to have some structured showcases (short 5-minute talks or demos) that highlight how your projects blend disciplines, for example a live demonstration of an AI-enabled device your team built. But keep it interactive: let visitors touch the hardware, see the code on screen, maybe even run a test themselves. This tactile experience is gold for traditional engineers; it grounds the flashy AI concepts in the physical world they know and love.
Logistics matter too. Hold the event after work hours and provide some food. You’d be amazed how a slice of pizza and a circuit board can encourage mingling. Invite not just active job seekers, but also passive candidates from your network or local engineering meetups who are curious about what you’re doing. Even new grads or interns can be included to build your future pipeline. The goal is to foster connections in a relaxed setting, where both parties learn from each other. This turns your EVP from a static webpage into a living, breathing experience that can win over even the skeptics.
Calibrate Your Salary Bands for Hybrid Roles
Now, let’s talk about a less flashy but absolutely pivotal part of your EVP: compensation. In many traditional engineering firms, I’ve seen a disconnect in salary bands when it comes to these hybrid hardware-software roles. The company might have an existing pay scale for “Electrical Engineer III” and another for “Software Engineer III,” so where do they slot a candidate who does both? All too often, the answer has been to peg them to the lower end (usually the hardware scale) under the assumption that “well, they’re not a pure software dev.” This is a mistake that can quietly torpedo your recruiting efforts. Remember, these cross-disciplinary engineers often field offers from software giants and startups as well. If your offer doesn’t reflect the broader market value of their combined skill set, you’re going to lose them. In aerospace and defense, for instance, companies discovered they were paying entry-level software engineers about half of what tech-sector firms would pay. That kind of gap is a deal-breaker for talent, no matter how cool your projects are.
My advice is to research and define new salary benchmarks that acknowledge the unique value of hybrid expertise. This might mean stretching above what your “standard” hardware roles earn, but it’s necessary. I once had to gently point out to a client that their listed range for an “AI Embedded Systems Engineer” was about 20% below the going rate because they had based it on their electrical engineering pay grades. We revisited the range using data from both hardware and software labor markets, and yes, we bumped it up significantly. The result? The very next candidate we extended an offer to (at the new rate) accepted enthusiastically, saying it was actually competitive with the software industry. It reinforced a hard truth: technology talent is more expensive on average, and they know their worth.
Consider also the structure of the compensation. Hybrid engineers are often attracted not just by base salary, but by things common in software compensation: equity, performance bonuses, or other incentives. Traditional industries sometimes overlook these. If stock options or bonuses aren’t standard at your firm, find creative ways to reward exceptional cross-disciplinary contributions like a patent bonus plan, profit-sharing on successful projects, or paid sabbaticals for advanced training. Also, be transparent about growth: show a path for how this person can advance (and earn more) as they grow the hybrid role within your company. In short, calibrating salary bands is about ensuring these roles don’t feel like a compromise. When an engineer who’s slogged to learn both embedded C and Python-driven ML sees that your offer values all of what they bring, it sends a powerful message that your EVP truly “walks the talk.” And that is often the deciding factor in winning them over.
Leverage Engineering Blogs and Meetups to Attract Talent
An EVP rebrand isn’t just what you say. It’s also where and how you say it. In today’s market, some of the best recruiting doesn’t look like recruiting at all. I’ve had great success helping clients use content and community to pull in those elusive full-stack product engineers.
One approach is to turn your engineering team into storytellers. Launch a technical blog on your site where your engineers share behind-the-scenes glimpses into projects, lessons learned from failures, or breakthroughs in your products. When prospective candidates read an article titled “How we optimized an AI algorithm on a $5 microcontroller” or “Designing a sensor network for smart buildings: 5 things we learned,” you’re bound to catch the eye of exactly the people you want. It showcases that your company values innovation and knowledge-sharing. In fact, many candidates have told me they discovered a company through an engineer’s blog post or conference talk, not a job ad.
Beyond the written word, get involved in the engineering community. Sponsor and attend local meetups focused on topics at the intersection of hardware and software, whether it’s an IoT meetup, a robotics club, or an embedded AI roundtable. I often volunteer our office space for these gatherings. Seeing your company logo on event pages or having your team give a lightning talk about a cool project subtly reinforces your EVP: it says “we’re passionate about this stuff, and we invest in it.” You’ll build a reputation in the local tech scene as the place where interesting work is happening.
To broaden the reach of this kind of face-to-face networking, send your cross-disciplinary engineers to speak at industry conferences or university events. When they share their experiences on stage, it not only develops them professionally, it also puts your EVP on display to a targeted audience. Pro tip: candidates will often approach your speakers after a talk to ask about opportunities, so make sure to prep them with all the details of your open roles and the talent you’re search for before they head off to the event.
Using these content and community tactics amplifies your EVP beyond the careers page. It’s a form of inbound marketing for talent. You’re providing value up front (knowledge, networking, inspiration) and in doing so, attracting like-minded engineers to your doorstep. I’ve found that the companies who do this well hardly need to “pitch” themselves to candidates; by the time someone applies, they often already feel a connection through that blog they’ve been reading or that meetup they attended. In the end, rebranding your EVP is not just a one-time tagline change, but an ongoing conversation with the talent you seek. By actively engaging in that conversation, you naturally pull in the hybrid hardware-software innovators who might otherwise pass you by.
Every strategy above boils down to a simple ethos: meet exceptional engineers where they are, and show them they’ll thrive at the intersection of hardware and software in your organization. Rebranding your EVP for this purpose isn’t an overnight task, but I can say from experience that it’s worth the effort. We’ve seen clients go from getting blank stares on their job postings to becoming known as the “cool place” for IoT, AI, or robotics work. When you showcase exciting projects, create genuine connections through events, pay people what they’re worth, and engage with the community, you build an employer brand that resonates. The payoff isn’t just the hires you make, but the innovation and energy those cross-disciplinary engineers bring when they walk through your doors on day one. That, in my opinion, is the true value of a reimagined EVP.