A method, apparatus and system are provided for the tuning of embedded subsystems of a device under test (DUT) that have analog characteristics. In response to a tester invoking one or more test procedures via a command channel between the tester and a target embedded subsystem of the DUT, test firmware of the invoked tests is loaded into the target embedded subsystem. The target embedded subsystem executes the tests under control of the tester in accordance with test parameters received from the tester over the command channel and in accordance with test commands received from the tester over a test signaling channel. The target embedded subsystem returns results of the one or more tests to the tester via the command channel. The results can be used to trim analog characteristics of the target embedded subsystem and can be stored in memory. The test firmware can then be deleted to free up memory space.