Firmware Engineer - Optical Interconnect

A NauWork client is seeking a Firmware Engineer, Optical Interconnect to join their team. The position is onsite in Sunnyvale, California .

This established and growing semiconductor startup is tackling the challenge of moving data efficiently across advanced computing systems. Their work supports the growing demands of AI infrastructure, data centers, and high-performance computing. A small, focused engineering team gives employees the opportunity to contribute directly and collaborate across technical disciplines.

This role offers an early-career engineer the opportunity to take firmware from development through hands-on hardware validation. The engineer will develop firmware for ASICs and module controllers, bring up new boards and silicon, and build tools that demonstrate reliable operation before deployment. Working closely with ASIC, systems, and software teams, they will own meaningful deliverables rather than isolated tickets. It is an opportunity to deepen embedded engineering skills while participating in milestones such as a new chip’s first power-on.

Responsibilities:

Firmware for an optical engine ASIC: boot, device initialisation, clock and analog bring-up, datapath control, and in-field update.

Firmware for module controllers implementing the industry-standard optical module management interface.

Host-side tools in Python that drive hardware over USB, programme flash, capture data, and automate tests.

Test benches: FPGA platforms, hardware simulators, and the continuous integration that runs against them.

Write C/C++ for ARM Cortex-M targets (including other MCU families), both bare metal and under a real-time operating system.

Implement and debug peripheral drivers: SPI, I2C, UART, QSPI, GPIO, timers, interrupts.

Work from register maps and datasheets to produce working, tested drivers.

Keep firmware within tight memory and timing budgets, and be able to show where the bytes and the microseconds went.

Power on new boards and new silicon for the first time, following and improving a written procedure.

Debug with SWD and JTAG probes, logic analyzers, and oscilloscopes.

Isolate whether a fault is in the firmware, the board, or the silicon, and say which with evidence.

Build host-side tools and automation in Python.

Write unit tests for firmware logic that run on a host without hardware.

Maintain continuous integration so that builds, tests, and size limits are checked on every change.

Required Experience:

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or equivalent practical experience.

Proficient in C for embedded targets, with working knowledge of ARM Cortex-M.

Comfortable reading a datasheet or register map and turning it into a driver that works.

Understands memory layout, linker scripts, interrupts, and why a firmware image is the size it is.

Practical experience with SPI, I2C, and UART.

Comfortable with standard bench equipment: oscilloscope, logic analyzer, multimeter, bench supply.

Able to wire up a board from a schematic or a pinout without supervision.

Proficient in Python for automation, tooling, and test.

Comfortable with Git, including branches, pull requests, and resolving a merge honestly.

Preferred Experience:

Experience with FreeRTOS or a comparable real-time operating system.

Bootloaders, firmware update mechanisms, or flash memory (NOR, QSPI).

Familiarity with optical modules and their management interfaces (CMIS, QSFP, OSFP, SFF specifications).

Exposure to FPGA workflows, or the ability to read Verilog well enough to check what the hardware actually does.

Experience taking a new chip or board from first power-on to working.

GUI development with PyQt6 or a similar framework.

Linux and command-line tools.

C++ in an embedded context.

To Learn More:

503-388-9585

833-NAU-WORK

careers.nauwork.com

Category: Embedded Systems

Position: Firmware Engineer, Optical Interconnect

Location: Sunnyvale, California (Onsite)

Job Type: Direct-Hire, Full-Time