Senior / Lead Embedded Software Engineer - Zephyr RTOS

Job Title

Senior / Lead Embedded Software Engineer - Zephyr RTOS

Role Summary

Lead Zephyr RTOS architecture and platform enablement for MIPS RISC-V based MCUs, SoCs, FPGA platforms, and virtual development environments. The role combines low-level firmware and RTOS development, upstream community engagement, technical ownership, and cross-functional delivery.

Experience Level

Senior - typically 8+ years of embedded software development experience, with significant hands-on work in low-level platform software and C.

Responsibilities

Primary responsibilities include:

• Own Zephyr enablement architecture and technical roadmap across MIPS RISC-V processors, SoCs, FPGA, and virtual platforms.
• Lead porting and platform bring-up: boot flow, exceptions/interrupts, timers, SMP, memory architecture, devicetree/Kconfig, and build integration.
• Define scalable BSP, SoC, board, and driver architecture consistent with Zephyr conventions and upstream-quality expectations.
• Design and review device drivers, middleware integration, samples, tests, and SDK deliverables for production quality.
• Lead complex debugging across kernel, toolchain, architecture, hardware, and driver boundaries using emulation, FPGA, and silicon.
• Establish automated build and regression strategy using Zephyr test infrastructure and CI/CD systems.
• Drive upstream contributions, code reviews, and maintenance strategy within the Zephyr ecosystem.
• Collaborate with CPU architects, SoC, FPGA, tools, validation, safety, and customer teams to convert product requirements into software plans.
• Mentor engineers and provide technical direction while retaining hands-on ownership.

Requirements

Must-have:

• 8+ years embedded software experience with substantial hands-on C and low-level platform software.
• Deep Zephyr RTOS expertise: kernel configuration, SoC/architecture ports, devicetree, Kconfig, west/CMake, board support, drivers, and test infra.
• Strong understanding of RTOS internals: concurrency, interrupt architecture, memory management, boot flows, multicore, and real-time performance.
• Proven track record leading BSP/SDK/RTOS or silicon-enablement programs from architecture through release.
• Experience with bare-metal firmware, first-board/first-silicon bring-up, device drivers, and hardware/software debugging tools (GDB, OpenOCD, Segger J-Link, Lauterbach, trace tools).
• Experience with CI/CD, test automation, scripting (Python or shell), code review, and software configuration management.
• Clear communication of architecture and execution trade-offs to hardware, software, program, and customer stakeholders.

Nice-to-have:

• Maintainer-level Zephyr experience or meaningful upstream contribution history.
• RISC-V architecture expertise (privilege modes, interrupts, timers, SMP, cache/memory-ordering, toolchain integration).
• Experience with networking (Ethernet, TCP/IP), security, MCUboot/secure firmware update, device management, pre-silicon models, FPGA, or production silicon.
• Exposure to functional safety or secure software development for automotive, industrial, or infrastructure domains.

Education Requirements

Not specified.

Benefits information

About the Company

Company: GlobalFoundries

Headquarters: Saratoga Springs, New York, USA

GlobalFoundries is a leading contract manufacturer for the global semiconductor industry, with facilities in multiple countries, including the USA. The company develops a broad portfolio of semiconductor technologies and employs around 13,000 people worldwide. GlobalFoundries focuses on enhancing competitiveness in specialized application solutions and fostering innovation in mobile communications, consumer electronics, and automotive applications.