It can, provided the knowledge is genuinely about the employer's own product and its application rather than about the equipment category in general. Authorship of the control logic and familiarity with its undocumented history are the kind of facts that support the claim; seniority and technical reputation are not.
Special knowledge and advanced knowledge are different arguments
The classification recognizes two things. Special knowledge is distinctive knowledge of the organization's product, service, equipment or techniques and how they are applied in international markets. Advanced knowledge is a demonstrably higher level of understanding of the organization's own processes and procedures than others in the company possess.
Devraj can plausibly claim both, but they need separate evidence. For the first, the file should establish that the control system is the company's own design and that its behaviour is not published or licensed elsewhere. For the second, it should compare him to identified colleagues, not to the abstract idea of an ordinary employee.
What consistently fails is a petition arguing that his field is hard, that his division has a strong reputation, or that he is valuable. None of those describe knowledge that belongs to the employer.
- USCIS: L-1B Intracompany Transferee Specialized Knowledge
- USCIS Policy Manual: L-1 nonimmigrant classification
- 8 U.S.C. 1184(c)(2): L-1B placement at a third-party worksite
- eCFR: 8 CFR 214.2(l), Intracompany transferees
- USCIS Policy Manual: employment authorization for certain spouses
- USCIS: Form G-1055, Fee Schedule