Systems Software Engineer, Hardware Validation
Voyant PhotonicsJob Title
Systems Software Engineer, Hardware Validation
Role Summary
Work on end-to-end software for silicon photonics products, spanning FPGA/ASIC logic, microcontroller firmware, Linux drivers and user-facing APIs. The role focuses on integration, hardware validation, CI/HIL, and making releases that customers can deploy and maintain.
Experience Level
Entry-level (recommended 2+ years of software engineering experience or equivalent practical experience).
Responsibilities
Primary responsibilities include release ownership, hardware validation, and cross-layer debugging.
- Own product releases from commit to customer: build, verify, version, ship FPGA bitstreams, firmware, drivers and APIs, and produce release notes and runbooks.
- Develop and expand hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) CI to cover subsystems and new products from first bring-up.
- Track CI-found issues to root cause across Python, Rust, firmware, drivers and FPGA logic, and implement fixes.
- Integrate products into system-level stacks: time synchronization, calibration, sensor fusion, and ecosystems such as OCP and ROS.
Requirements
Must-have technical skills and experience.
- Strong Python and ability to debug code in other languages.
- Hands-on hardware bring-up experience: reading schematics and using lab instruments to distinguish software vs board issues.
- CI/CD experience, ideally including testing against real hardware (HIL).
- Experience owning releases and producing reliable deliverables that customers can run in the field.
- Clear, proactive written and verbal communication; produces documentation for cross-functional teams and customers.
Nice-to-have
- Rust, C++ or embedded C (STM32)
- Linux device drivers (SPI and other low-level interfaces)
- Ability to read SystemVerilog to debug across FPGA boundaries
- HIL rigs and lab automation (SCPI/VISA, self-hosted CI runners)
- Timing and signal-integrity debugging across SPI, I2C, UART, Ethernet, JTAG/SWD; board rework experience
- Fiber optics and optical test equipment experience
- Datacenter networking, PTP, point clouds or ROS 2 experience
Education Requirements
No specific degree required. The posting requests 2+ years of software engineering experience or equivalent practical experience (research, internships, or serious personal projects).
About the Company
Company: Voyant Photonics
Headquarters: New York, NY, USA
New York City–based company developing compact silicon photonic LiDAR sensors that measure range, velocity, and reflectivity with high accuracy. Uses fingertip-scale silicon photonic chips to produce affordable, high-performance sensors for robotics, autonomous vehicles, drones, industrial automation, and other sensing applications.
