Principal Embedded Firmware Engineer - Networking PAM4 DSP/ODSP/AEC/MicroLED - Santa Clara, CA, United States
Originally posted 21 October 2026 by the employer.
Optical DSP embedded firmware controlling direct-detect 100G to 1.6T PHYs on RISC-V multi-core MCUs.
About the role
The Principal Embedded Firmware Engineer leads the architecture, design, and development of embedded C firmware controlling optical digital signal processing (ODSP) hardware in pluggable optical modules. Firmware runs on a RISC-V-based multi-core microcontroller across direct-detect optical DSP products spanning 100G to 1.6T.
What you'll do
- Lead the architecture, design, development, and testing of embedded C firmware for DSP control blocks, including RX/TX signal processing, FEC, PLL/FLL, reference generation, and thermal monitoring. - Guide SW team members through the product lifecycle from pre-silicon simulation to field deployment, conducting code reviews and technical reviews of API designs and system integration. - Translate specifications from standards bodies such as MSA, OIF, and CMIS or customer requirements into architecture, sequence diagrams, and implementation plans. - Take ownership of complex debug issues on real hardware in the lab, driving root cause analysis alongside hardware, systems, and validation teams. - Manage Agile sprint planning, deliver customer-specific features such as VDM telemetry and FEC burst statistics, and support tier-1 customer bring-up.
What you'll need
- BS, MS, or PhD in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Software Engineering, or a related technical field. - Experience in memory-constrained embedded C/C++ firmware development through customer volume production. - Background serving as a software team lead or technical lead on embedded projects. - Understanding of embedded SoC and microcontroller architecture, memory-mapped hardware interfaces, GPIOs, and ISRs. - Hands-on customer and hardware debug experience in a lab environment. - Experience working with revision control and defect tracking systems.
Nice to have
- Experience with SERDES, IM-DD/Coherent DSP, Ethernet/PCIe PHYs, or optical module software. - Experience designing software state machines, context saving, error handling, or PID/feedback loop control. - Experience with bare-metal environments, RTOS, device drivers, or the Linux kernel. - Proficiency in Python, git, Linux, makefiles, gdb, bash, and compilers such as clang or gcc. - Familiarity with digital verification test flows, FPGA emulation, or hardware description languages such as Verilog. - Familiarity with lab equipment including oscilloscopes, power supplies, PNAs, and ONTs. - Understanding of the OSI model at the Ethernet PHY and data link layers, PCS framing, PMA/PMD, PRBS, or signal processing concepts (BER, SNR, FFT).
This role has been open 0 days — well below the 56-day median for Embedded Firmware Engineering roles.
Embedded Firmware Engineering · Systems Software
|
Open roles in category
736
|
Median days open
56 d
|
Median salary
$169k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, and who else is hiring
| Metric | Marvell Technology | All employers we track in this specialty (736 roles · 85 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 23 | 736 |
| Open roles in the wider Software, Firmware & Systems family | 76 | 6296 · 145 employers |
| Median days open | 46 d | 56 d (−10 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $169k |
Who's hiring in this category
- Qualcomm · 123 open roles · median 51 d
- AMD · 63 open roles · median 39 d
- Micron Technology · 63 open roles · median 89 d
- NVIDIA · 54 open roles · median 62 d
- Lattice Semiconductor · 48 open roles · median 42 d
- NXP Semiconductors · 30 open roles · median 34 d
How we counted: 736 open Embedded Firmware Engineering (Systems Software) roles from 85 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 21 Oct 2026. Specialty figures count only roles carrying this exact specialty label, so an employer's related work in neighbouring specialties is not included there — it is counted in the wider Software, Firmware & Systems family row. Figures refresh nightly.