Description
The Firmware Engineer is responsible for ensuring that embedded firmware meets the highest standards of quality, robustness, and long-term reliability.
The role works closely with firmware developers, hardware engineers, architecture teams, QA, and cross-functional partners to define quality metrics, validate system behavior, improve defect detection, and build processes that prevent regressions.
Responsibilities
- Develop, execute, and maintain comprehensive firmware test plans, including functional, regression, stress, corner-case, and long-duration reliability tests.
- Evaluate the firmware architecture, design, and development, as well as testing methodologies to create a strategy and implement methods to bring increased quality and reliability to the firmware.
- Review firmware code and test plans, including functional, regression, stress, corner-case, and long-duration reliability tests.
- Perform root-cause analysis for firmware defects, drive containment, corrective actions, and verification of fixes.
- Create and manage quality dashboards, KPIs, failure rates, and reliability metrics.
- Evaluate failure modes exposed during design, development, manufacturing, and field use; propose design or process improvements to prevent recurrence.
- Work with product architects, firmware teams, product managers, and provide critical guidance, system-level debugging, and troubleshooting to various teams, as a Subject Matter Expert.
- Review and evaluate designs and project activities for compliance with systems design and development guidelines and standards; provide tangible feedback to improve product quality and mitigate failure risk.
- Create and manage quality dashboards, KPIs, failure rates, and reliability metrics. Validate firmware integration with hardware, BIOS/UEFI, EC, microcontrollers, sensors, and platform-level components.
- Manage and expand relationships with internal and outsourced development partners on firmware design and development.
- Drive innovation and integration of new technologies into projects and activities in the firmware design organization.
- Mentor less-experienced software firmware engineers and help guide them to successful deliverables.
Firmware Architecture & Process Improvements
- Participate in firmware architecture reviews, ensuring quality and reliability considerations are incorporated into design.
- Advocate and enforce coding standards, testability guidelines, and quality processes across firmware teams.
- Identify opportunities for simplification, refactoring, or architectural improvements to enhance stability and resilience.
- Collaborate with FW architects on quality initiatives.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Work closely with hardware engineers, firmware developers, QA, sustaining teams, ODM partners, and integration teams.
- Provide quality feedback in design reviews, program meetings, and cross-partner syncs.
- Support bring-up, validation, platform qualification, and key program milestones.
- Mentor engineers on debugging techniques, quality practices, and reliability analysis.
Risk Management & Compliance
- Ensure firmware processes comply with internal governance, standards, and security guidelines.
- Identify risks early and drive mitigation plans.
- Support audits, internal reviews, and quality assessments.
Education & Experience
- Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or equivalent.
- 10+ years of experience in embedded firmware, quality engineering, hardware/firmware debugging, or reliability engineering.
- Background in embedded systems, microcontrollers, low-level debugging, and system architecture.
Technical Skills
- Strong understanding of embedded firmware development (C/C++), driver development, bootloaders, EC/BIOS/UEFI fundamentals.
- Proficiency in test automation, scripting (Python, Perl, PowerShell, etc.), and testing tools.
- Ability to analyze failures across hardware, firmware, and system boundaries.
- Experience with JTAG/SWD, oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and other debug tools.
- Familiarity with continuous integration, version control, and quality workflows.
The pay range for this role is $147,050 to $230,850 USD annually with additional opportunities for pay in the form of bonus and/or equity.
Benefits:
- Health insurance
- Dental insurance
- Vision insurance
- Long-term/short-term disability insurance
- Employee assistance program
- Flexible spending account
- Life insurance
- Generous time off policies, including 4-12 weeks fully paid parental leave based on tenure, 11 paid holidays, and additional flexible paid vacation and sick leave.