Staff Firmware/Software Engineer - Embedded SoC / Microcontroller / DSP / SERDES / AEC / MicroLED / ODSP / PHY / AI Connectivity

Job Title

Staff Firmware/Software Engineer - Embedded SoC / Microcontroller / DSP / SERDES / AEC / MicroLED / ODSP / PHY / AI Connectivity

Role Summary

Senior firmware/software engineer on the Optical DSP (ODSP) PHY software team responsible for embedded firmware, customer SDKs, and test infrastructure for pluggable optical module DSP products.

The role combines technical leadership, architecture and hands-on firmware development, and cross-functional project coordination from pre-silicon through field deployment.

Experience Level

Senior (Staff) level. Years of experience: not specified in the posting.

Responsibilities

Deliver and maintain embedded firmware and associated software for DSP-based optical PHY products; coordinate across functions to bring products to production.

• Architect, implement, and test embedded C firmware for RISC-V-based multi-core MCUs controlling DSP hardware.
• Develop firmware for DSP control blocks (RX/TX signal processing, FEC, PLL/FLL, reference generation, thermal monitoring).
• Design APIs and perform technical reviews of firmware architecture and system integration.
• Translate standards or customer specifications (MSA/OIF/CMIS) into requirements and sequence diagrams.
• Debug hardware/software interactions, drive root-cause analysis with hardware and systems teams, and follow up with validation and customer support.
• Plan software milestones, manage Agile sprint planning, track backlog and provide regular status updates.
• Coordinate with Marketing, Applications Engineering, Test, Validation, QA, and Hardware teams on deliverables and schedules.
• Engage with tier-1 customers on feature requirements, support bring-up activities, and resolve field issues.
• Maintain customer-facing SDKs, Python-based GUIs, and test automation infrastructure.

Requirements

Core requirements and technical skills expected for the role.

• Proven experience in memory-constrained embedded C/C++ firmware development for production products.
• Experience in architecture design, code reviews, testing, and shipping firmware to customer volume production.
• Understanding of embedded SoC and microcontroller architecture, memory-mapped hardware interfaces, GPIOs, and ISRs.
• Strong debugging skills and ability to drive issues to root cause across HW/SW boundaries.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English; ability to collaborate in a large cross-functional organization.
• Must be eligible to access export-controlled technology; candidates may be subject to export license review prior to employment.

Nice-to-have:

• Experience with SERDES, IM-DD / coherent DSP, Ethernet/PCIe PHYs, or optical module software.
• Experience designing and debugging software state machines, context saving, error handling, and PID/feedback loops.
• Experience with bare-metal, RTOS, device drivers, and Linux kernel development.
• Proficiency in C and Python; familiarity with git, Linux, makefiles, gdb, and shell scripting.
• Familiarity with FPGA emulation, Verilog, digital verification flows, and lab equipment (oscilloscopes, PNAs, ONTs).
• Knowledge of networking at the PHY/data-link level, forward error correction, PRBS, BER/SNR analysis, FFT and related signal-processing concepts.

Education Requirements

BS, MS, or PhD in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Software Engineering, or a related technical field.

About the Company

Company: Marvell Technology

Headquarters: Santa Clara, California, United States

Marvell’s semiconductor solutions serve as essential building blocks of the data infrastructure connecting our world, driving innovation across enterprise, cloud, AI, and carrier architectures. The company focuses on creating transformative technology that shapes the future.