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

Location: Santa Clara, CA, United States

Salary: $111,070–$166,400 per annum

Company

hirify.global develops semiconductor solutions and optical DSP products used in data infrastructure, cloud environments, AI clusters, and data centers.

What you will do

• Architect, design, develop, and test embedded C firmware for complex DSP hardware running on a RISC-V-based multicore MCU.
• Develop firmware for RX/TX signal processing, FEC, PLL/FLL, reference generation, and thermal monitoring.
• Review firmware architecture, API design, and system integration approaches.
• Translate MSA, OIF, CMIS, and customer specifications into implementation requirements and sequence diagrams.
• Debug issues to root cause with hardware and systems teams, and coordinate test, validation, and customer support follow-up.
• Plan software milestones, manage Agile sprints and backlog priorities, coordinate cross-functional deliverables, and provide status updates.
• Discuss feature requirements and API specifications with tier-1 customers, support customer bring-up, resolve field issues, and develop customer-specific features such as FEC burst statistics, VDM telemetry, and CMIS compliance.

Requirements

• Experience developing memory-constrained embedded C/C++ firmware.
• Experience with architecture design and development, code reviews, testing, and delivery through customer volume production.
• Understanding of embedded SoC and microcontroller architecture, including memory-mapped hardware interfaces, GPIOs, and ISRs; RISC-V experience is a plus.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English and ability to collaborate in a large cross-functional organization.
• BS, MS, or PhD in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Software Engineering, or a related technical field.

Nice to have

• Experience with SERDES, IM-DD or coherent DSP, Ethernet or PCIe PHYs, and optical module software.
• Experience designing, developing, and debugging software state machines, transitions, context saving, and error handling.
• Experience with mixed-signal control and monitoring, including PID and feedback-loop control.
• Experience with bare-metal systems, RTOS, device drivers, or the Linux kernel.
• Familiarity with advanced compiler options and Clang or GCC.
• Proficiency in C and Python and knowledge of Git, Linux, makefiles, GDB, IDEs, and Bash.
• Familiarity with digital verification test flows, FPGA emulation, and Verilog.
• Familiarity with oscilloscopes, power supplies, PNAs, and ONTs.
• Understanding of Ethernet networking from the OSI model, especially PHY through the data-link layer.
• Familiarity with FEC, PCS framing, PMA/PMD, PRBS, and other PHY traffic schemes.
• Understanding of signal-processing concepts including histograms, BER, SNR, sampling phase, Shannon limit, impulse and frequency response, and FFT.

Culture & Benefits

• Full-time employment with bonus and equity plan eligibility.
• Benefits supporting financial well-being, family support, mental and physical health, and recognition.
• Employee stock purchase plan with a two-year lookback.
• Family support programs, mental health resources, and recognition and service awards.
• Employment may require eligibility to access export-controlled technology and may involve an export license review.

Hiring process

• Interview participation must be based on the candidate's own experience, reasoning, and communication; AI tools and automated assistance are prohibited during interviews.