Senior Manager, Firmware Development - Irvine, United States
Originally posted 28 October 2026 by the employer.
About the role
The Senior Manager, Firmware Development leads a team of firmware engineers responsible for the design, development, integration, debug, and delivery of embedded firmware for storage products.
What you'll do
- Lead, develop, and retain a team of firmware engineers across architecture, design, implementation, integration, debug, and sustaining activities. - Drive firmware development using disciplined engineering practices, including design reviews, coding standards, defect management, test strategy, and release readiness. - Provide technical and organizational leadership for embedded firmware development, covering data structures, software algorithms, drivers, control paths, and hardware interfaces. - Guide the team in debugging complex issues across firmware, hardware, system, and platform interactions, supporting root-cause analysis and corrective actions. - Partner cross-functionally with ASIC, hardware, systems, validation, manufacturing, reliability, and program teams to deliver complete solutions. - Manage resource planning, work allocation, hiring, onboarding, and succession planning for the firmware organization.
What you'll need
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field. - 10+ years of embedded or firmware development experience, with experience leading engineering teams. - 3+ years of people management or equivalent leadership experience, including performance management, coaching, and career development. - Strong technical foundation in embedded systems and firmware development using C/C++, with experience in low-level software, device control, drivers, and hardware/software integration. - Experience leading teams through full product development cycles from concept through release and sustaining support. - Proven problem-solving, debugging, and root-cause analysis skills in complex system environments.
Nice to have
- Experience with storage, data-path, controller, or other performance-sensitive embedded systems. - Experience with firmware development tools, lab debug environments, emulation, simulation, and automated test frameworks. - Working knowledge of structured development methodologies, CI/CD practices, code review discipline, and quality-oriented release processes. - Experience operating in global, cross-functional product development organizations. - Advanced degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field.
This role has been open 0 days — well below the 57-day median for Embedded Firmware Engineering roles.
Embedded Firmware Engineering · Systems Software
|
Open roles in category
748
|
Median days open
57 d
|
Median salary
$169k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, and who else is hiring
| Metric | Western Digital | All employers we track in this specialty (748 roles · 85 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 16 | 748 |
| Open roles in the wider Software, Firmware & Systems family | 40 | 6322 · 146 employers |
| Median days open | 57 d | 57 d (same as this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $169k |
Who's hiring in this category
- Qualcomm · 123 open roles · median 62 d
- Micron Technology · 64 open roles · median 88 d
- AMD · 61 open roles · median 43 d
- NVIDIA · 61 open roles · median 56 d
- Lattice Semiconductor · 45 open roles · median 48 d
- NXP Semiconductors · 37 open roles · median 29 d
How we counted: 748 open Embedded Firmware Engineering (Systems Software) roles from 85 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 28 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.