Senior Principal Embedded Software Architect

Job Title

Senior Principal Embedded Software Architect

Role Summary

Technical lead on the HW/SW Co-Design and System Architecture team, focused on ensuring software considerations drive early SoC and IP decisions. Work includes virtual platform development, architectural exploration, data-flow analysis, and representing downstream software and customer needs during pre-silicon design.

Experience Level

Senior — expects extensive senior-level experience; posting indicates 20+ years of system software architecture or firmware development experience.

Responsibilities

Accountable for shaping system architecture and enabling successful downstream software development prior to silicon.

• Lead HW/SW co-architecture and tradeoff analysis to balance hardware complexity with software efficiency and customer usability.
• Develop pre-silicon virtual platforms (SystemC/TLM) and proof-of-concept code to profile and validate architecture choices.
• Translate complex use cases into requirements and evaluate data paths and hardware accelerators to optimize software execution.
• Define core firmware architecture for bootloaders, initialization, microcode, and kernel drivers.
• Advocate for hardware debuggability and observability from bring-up through field deployment.
• Act as technical proxy for customer and downstream software teams and provide mentorship across HW/SW boundaries.

Requirements

Must-have technical skills and experience; preferred items listed separately.

• Extensive experience influencing hardware design early in the silicon lifecycle and operating at high technical levels.
• Deep knowledge of computer architecture including memory hierarchies, AMBA protocols (AXI/AHB/APB), DMA, and RISC-V or ARM architectures.
• Hands-on experience with SystemC (TLM 2.0) or similar pre-silicon modeling tools.
• Expert C/C++ skills for embedded software, plus experience with bootloaders, drivers, RTOS (Zephyr) and Embedded Linux.
• Experience with silicon bring-up, JTAG debugging, and the ability to read RTL (Verilog/SystemVerilog) to assess hardware intent.
• Strong communication skills for presenting architectural tradeoffs to engineers, executives, and customers.

Nice-to-have:

• Experience with hardware emulation, FPGA prototyping, and pre-silicon workflows (e.g., Palladium).
• Background in debug/trace infrastructure (CoreSight, JTAG), performance modeling, signal processing, mixed-signal architectures, power management and DVFS.
• Familiarity with board schematics, lab equipment (oscilloscopes, logic analyzers), and DevOps for virtual platforms (CI/CD, Docker).

Education Requirements

BS or MS in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or Computer Science. The posting specifies 20+ years of system software architecture or firmware development experience.

About the Company

Company: Analog Devices

Headquarters: Norwood, Massachusetts, USA

Analog Devices is a leading global semiconductor company that bridges the physical and digital worlds, enabling breakthroughs at the Intelligent Edge. With a focus on innovation, ADI develops solutions that drive advancements in digitized factories, mobility, and digital healthcare. The company employs around 24,000 people globally and reported revenues exceeding $9 billion in FY24, creating technologies that transform lives across various sectors.