Senior Embedded Software Engineer

OLIX; Greater London; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

OLIX in London is seeking a Senior Embedded Software Engineer to own firmware components end to end, from simulation through FPGA prototypes to production. You will build boot and update flows, manage platform code, and ensure observability on a pre-silicon platform.

You will work with FPGA, ASIC, and Systems Software teams, gaining experience in real hardware bring-up, and contributing to open standards where relevant.

Qualifications

• Strong C on bare metal; C/C++ on Linux.
• Experience shipping firmware on real hardware.
• Embedded Linux: Yocto/OpenEmbedded or equivalent.
• Test discipline with firmware-in-the-loop tests.

Responsibilities

• Own a subsystem end to end from design to production.
• Work across the stack: boot firmware, Linux kernel, drivers, and bare-metal code.
• Test firmware on hardware-in-the-loop and develop bench scripts.
• Lead cross-team initiatives with FPGA/Systems Software.
• Set the standard by example; document and review work.
• Collaborate with FPGA, ASIC, and Systems Software teams pre-silicon.

Skills

C/C++

Linux kernel

Bare-metal

RTOS firmware

Linux device tree

Tools

Oscilloscope

Logic analyzer

JTAG

Job description

About OLIX

AI is growing faster than any technology in history and the explosion in demand has created a massive infrastructure gap; we can no longer build chips or power stations fast enough to keep up. The industry is still leaning on a ten-year-old hardware blueprint that has reached its limit. A new paradigm that is faster and more efficient will be the biggest economic opportunity of the next century and create the most important company of the next decade. The OLIX Decode Accelerator 1 (DX-1) is the first accelerator architected specifically for decode. Rack-scale co-design of logic, data movement, packaging, optics and interconnect enables a step change in system level performance.

The Role

As a Senior Embedded Software Engineer, you will own a component of the DX-1 platform firmware end to end, from simulation through FPGA prototypes and first silicon into production. The Embedded team builds the software that makes the platform bootable, manageable and observable: boot and update, platform management on the BMC, embedded Linux on the platform processors, real-time firmware on resource-constrained cores, and register-level control of the ASIC.

The kind of work you would own: the Linux image and update flow for a platform processor, management-plane services that collect telemetry over PLDM and expose it over Redfish, bare-metal firmware on the cores beside the ASIC, or precision-timing integration.

You will join a team of senior engineers, reporting to the Platform Architect who leads the team, and work closely with the FPGA, ASIC and Systems Software teams. Much of the work is pre-silicon, developed against simulation, FPGA prototypes and hardware-in-the-loop rigs.

Responsibilities

• Own a subsystem end to end. Design it, implement it, test it against simulation and on the hardware-in-the-loop rigs, support its bring-up on real hardware, and carry it into production, within interface specifications you help write.

• Work across the stack as needed. Boot firmware, Linux kernel and drivers, management-plane services, and bare-metal code on constrained cores, in C/C++ and Python.

• Test what you build. Firmware tests that run in the existing hardware-in-the-loop infrastructure, bench scripts that make a failure reproducible, and contributions to device models.

• Anticipate problems and finish things. Flag a risk before it blocks someone, and see your work through until it is in use.

• Lead an initiative when it takes more than one engineer. Frame the problem, split the work, and keep the FPGA or Systems Software counterparts it depends on aligned on scope and interfaces.

• Set the standard by example. Review others' work and have yours reviewed, document what you learn so the team does not relearn it, and say so when the plan is wrong.

Skills & Experience

• Strong C on bare metal and C/C++ on Linux. Depth in either bare-metal/RTOS firmware on resource-constrained cores or Linux kernel and driver development, with working competence in the other.

• Systems fundamentals. Interrupt design, synchronisation with and without atomics, memory ordering, cache maintenance for shared memory and DMA buffers, and fitting a design into fixed memory and timing budgets.

• Shipped firmware on real hardware and debugged it at the bench with an oscilloscope, logic analyser, JTAG and serial console. Bring-up of a new board, or firmware for an FPGA-prototyped ASIC, is a significant advantage.

• Embedded Linux platform work, or clear exposure to it. Yocto/OpenEmbedded or similar, U-Boot or UEFI, and device tree. An update flow that recovers from a failed update is an advantage.

• Test discipline. You have written software-in-the-loop tests against device models, or hardware-in-the-loop tests, for firmware you owned.

• A subsystem you owned from design to production. We will want to hear about it end to end: the interfaces you agreed with the adjacent teams, what broke, and what you did about it.

• Also useful: platform management, precision timing, FPGA soft cores. OpenBMC, Redfish, PLDM over MCTP, I2C/SMBus/PMBus; IEEE 1588 PTP or SyncE; soft-core targets in FPGA fabric; accelerator or data-centre hardware.

Compensation & Equity

• Competitive Salary: Commensurate with your experience, skills, and location

• Equity & Ownership: Meaningful stock options. You’re not just joining the mission; you’re owning a piece of it

• Proximity Bonus: We value your time. To minimise your commute and maximise your life, we offer an annual Living-Local Bonus if your residence is within 20 minutes of the office

• Retirement Benefits:Employer-contributed retirement plans to help you build long-term financial security.

Due to U.S. export control regulations, candidates’ eligibility to work at OLIX depends on their most recent citizenship or permanent residency status. We are generally unable to consider applicants whose most recent citizenship or permanent residence is in certain restricted countries (currently including Iran, North Korea, Syria, Cuba, Russia, Belarus, China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Venezuela). Applicants who have subsequently obtained citizenship or permanent residency in another country not subject to these restrictions may still be eligible.