Firmware Engineer, Staff

Job Title

Firmware Engineer, Staff

Role Summary

Lead firmware architecture, development, integration, and bring-up for SERDES PHY products. Collaborate with hardware, digital, verification, software, systems, and test teams to define requirements, implement low-level firmware, and validate silicon from pre‑silicon through post‑silicon phases.

Experience Level

Senior (Staff). Typical candidate has 6+ years of embedded systems and low-level firmware development experience.

Responsibilities

Accountable for firmware design, implementation, validation, and cross-functional coordination to ensure successful chip bring-up and product delivery.

• Gather requirements and translate high-level designs into device interface functions and firmware systems.
• Design and implement efficient C/C++ firmware for bring-up, control, diagnostics, and production validation.
• Integrate pre-silicon RTL/EDA simulations with firmware and support post-silicon bring-up and optimization.
• Develop test cases, debug procedures, lab tools, and regression suites to validate hardware and firmware.
• Collaborate with ASIC/Digital design, digital verification, systems, and software teams to meet performance goals.
• Drive root-cause analysis for low-level software, silicon, and hardware issues and drive them to closure.
• Document firmware and hardware interfaces, specifications, and design decisions.
• Mentor junior engineers, promote code reuse, and implement firmware best practices.

Requirements

Must-have technical skills and experience.

• 6+ years of embedded firmware experience with strong low-level programming skills.
• Proficient in C/C++ and Python.
• Experience on ARM, RISC‑V, or MIPS platforms; bare-metal, BIOS/UEFI, Linux kernel, RTOS, or device driver development.
• Hands-on lab experience with CPU/SoC/FPGA/MCU/DSP validation and debug tools (oscilloscope, JTAG, I2C/SPI tools).
• Familiarity with EDA tools/methodologies and hardware description languages (Verilog, SystemVerilog).
• Experience with high-speed interfaces and communication systems (SerDes, Ethernet, PCIe, DDR, USB, NVMe, I2C, SPI, MIPI, etc.) and bring-up/diagnostics of high-speed signals.
• Experience creating error monitoring and board/interface configuration APIs and driving multi-functional integration activities.
• Strong organizational, communication, and problem-solving skills.

Nice-to-have:

• Embedded Linux, Buildroot, Yocto, or RTOS experience (Zephyr, FreeRTOS).
• FPGA development experience (Xilinx, Zed, MicroZed) and board-level driver development.
• Hardware hands-on debugging (power, SI, EMC) and lab automation experience.
• Familiarity with Agile tools (Jira, Confluence) and open-source projects.

Education Requirements

Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD in Engineering, Computer Science, Information Systems, Electrical/Computer Engineering or a related technical field. The posting specifies degree-plus-experience combinations (Bachelor +4 years; Master +3 years; PhD +2 years); equivalent practical experience is considered where indicated.

About the Company

Company: Qualcomm

Headquarters: San Diego, California, United States

Qualcomm is a global leader in semiconductor and telecommunications equipment, specializing in mobile technologies and innovations. Known for its Adreno GPUs, the company provides solutions enabling advancements in mobile gaming, AI, VR/AR, and autonomous driving. Qualcomm's cutting-edge technology and commitment to high-performance, power-efficient designs drive the evolution of mobile graphics and connectivity worldwide.