Senior Staff Embedded Software Engineer - AI Accelerator / C/C++

European Tech Recruit; Ireland; On-site; EUR 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Senior Staff Embedded Software Engineer is sought to lead development of low-level firmware and platform software for next-generation data centre and cloud-scale AI/compute systems. This technical leadership role spans SoC bring-up, platform architecture, performance optimization, reliability engineering, and deployment at hyperscale.

You will drive cross-functional initiatives and set technical direction across firmware domains powering cloud inference and acceleration platforms, collaborating

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in computer engineering, electrical engineering, computer science, or a related field
• 12+ years of experience in firmware or low-level system software development with technical leadership
• Expert-level proficiency in C/C++, with strong scripting skills (Python, Bash)
• Deep experience in SoC bring-up, hardware/software integration, and system-level debugging
• Strong understanding of computer architecture, memory hierarchy, interrupts, DMA, coherency, and interconnects
• Proven ability to lead complex debugging efforts using JTAG, trace, logs, and instrumentation
• Extensive experience working in Linux-based environments and RTOS such as Zephyr

Responsibilities

• Lead architecture, design, and development of firmware and low-level system software across SoC, board, and platform levels
• Own end-to-end firmware strategy across boot, reset, debug, security, power, RAS, IPC, and platform services
• Drive SoC and platform bring-up at scale, including system integration and validation across multiple product generations
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to engineers; set coding, design, and quality standards
• Define and influence firmware architecture for scalability, reliability, and performance in large-scale cloud deployments
• Lead cross-functional design reviews, system debugging, and root-cause analysis for complex platform issues
• Establish best-in-class debuggability, observability, and CI/CD practices, including automation and pre-silicon/post-silicon validation strategies
• Drive customer and production issue resolution, including deep field debugging and long-term corrective actions
• Collaborate with ODMs, silicon vendors, and manufacturing partners to ensure successful platform deployment and ramp
• Influence roadmap and long-term technical direction for firmware and platform software in AI accelerator systems
• Drive continuous improvement across firmware teams, identifying systemic process-level improvements and scaling best practices

Skills

C/C++

Python

Bash

Linux

RTOS (Zephyr)

System debugging

JTAG

Trace instrumentation

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in Computer/Electrical Engineering or related field

Tools

JTAG

Trace

Instrumentation

Job description

Senior Staff Embedded Software Engineer - AI Accelerator / C/C++

Our client, a leading global semiconductor company, is hiring a Senior Staff Embedded Software Engineer to lead development of low-level firmware and platform software for next-generation data centre and cloud-scale AI/compute systems.

This is a technical leadership role spanning SoC bring-up, platform architecture, performance optimization, reliability engineering, and deployment at hyperscale. You will drive cross-functional initiatives and set technical direction across firmware domains powering cloud inference and acceleration platforms, working closely with hardware, system software, infrastructure, and validation teams, as well as external partners.

What you will be doing

• Lead architecture, design, and development of firmware and low-level system software across SoC, board, and platform levels
• Own end-to-end firmware strategy across boot, reset, debug, security, power, RAS, IPC, and platform services
• Drive SoC and platform bring-up at scale, including system integration and validation across multiple product generations
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to engineers; set coding, design, and quality standards
• Define and influence firmware architecture for scalability, reliability, and performance in large-scale cloud deployments
• Lead cross-functional design reviews, system debugging, and root-cause analysis for complex platform issues
• Establish best-in-class debuggability, observability, and CI/CD practices, including automation and pre-silicon/post-silicon validation strategies
• Drive customer and production issue resolution, including deep field debugging and long-term corrective actions
• Collaborate with ODMs, silicon vendors, and manufacturing partners to ensure successful platform deployment and ramp
• Influence roadmap and long-term technical direction for firmware and platform software in AI accelerator systems
• Drive continuous improvement across firmware teams, identifying systemic process-level improvements and scaling best practices

What you will need

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in computer engineering, electrical engineering, computer science, or a related field
• 12+ years of experience in firmware or low-level system software development, with demonstrated technical leadership
• Expert-level proficiency in C/C++, with strong scripting skills (Python, Bash)
• Deep experience in SoC bring-up, hardware/software integration, and system-level debugging
• Strong understanding of computer architecture, including memory hierarchy, interrupts, DMA, coherency, and interconnects
• Proven ability to lead complex debugging efforts using JTAG, trace, logs, and instrumentation
• Extensive experience working in Linux-based environments and RTOS such as Zephyr

Nice to have

• Prior experience architecting firmware for cloud or hyperscale data centre platforms
• Strong familiarity with platform management ecosystems
• Deep expertise in one or more of: boot architecture and secure boot; power management, thermal control, and RAS at scale; performance optimization and system stress validation; firmware CI/CD pipelines, simulation, and automation frameworks
• Experience with AI accelerators, heterogeneous compute systems, or high-speed interconnects (PCIe, CXL, NVLink, ESUN, UAL, etc.)
• Track record of working with hardware vendors, ODMs, and manufacturing ecosystems
• Demonstrated ability to influence architecture and roadmap across organizations

At Senior Staff level, you will act as a technical authority and decision maker across firmware domains, drive alignment across teams and organizations to deliver cohesive platform solutions, mentor senior engineers, and balance hands‑on engineering with strategic impact.