Embedded Software Technical Lead

Kandou AI; Hyderabad; On-site; INR 400,000 - 700,000; Full time

Job summary

Kandou AI is seeking an Embedded Software Technical Lead to drive firmware development for its new ASIC products. You will stay hands-on in coding, debugging and bring-up while mentoring engineers across the scope, under the Firmware Lead’s direction.

You will own execution within the architecture and project plan. Responsibilities include leading real-time firmware modules for high-speed SoCs, translating requirements to designs, coordinating milestones, and ensuring robust validation and

Qualifications

• 10+ years in real-time embedded applications design, coding and debugging.
• 2+ years leading firmware modules or projects.
• Ownership of firmware delivery from requirements to release within a team.
• Strong SoC experience with bare-metal and RTOS (Zephyr/FreeRTOS).
• Knowledge of RV32/RV64, trap handling and toolchains.
• Experience with SPI/I2C/I3C/JTAG interfaces and bootloaders.
• Proficiency in Python and software tooling (GitLab, CI, Make/CMake) and testing.
• Ability to lead design reviews and mentor engineers.

Responsibilities

• Lead design, development, test and maintenance of real-time firmware modules for high-speed SoCs.
• Translate system requirements into module designs and interfaces; review changes with leads.
• Plan work, estimate effort, track milestones and manage risks.
• Hands-on C/C++ development, RTOS integration, bootloaders and secure updates.
• Drive bring-up and root-cause analysis with hardware/software teams.
• Lead module-level design reviews and ensure documentation for releases.
• Mentor engineers and align cross-functional decisions with Firmware Lead.

Skills

Embedded C/C++

RTOS development

Firmware leadership

Zephyr/FreeRTOS

JTAG debugging

Python scripting

Git/GitLab CI

Make/CMake

Unit testing

Tools

Git/GitLab

CI pipelines

Make/CMake

Unit tests

Job description

At Kandou, we are redefining the economics of AI infrastructure. Our mission is to democratise AI by significantly reducing the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of hardware systems — a critical barrier to scalable adoption.

Our proprietary MIMO-over-copper technology powers a high-performance, chiplet-based AI memory fabric that is both scalable and energy-efficient. Unlike traditional interconnects, our solution reduces power consumption significantly while preserving high bandwidth and ultra-low latency — unlocking unprecedented efficiency for AI training and inference at scale.

As Embedded Software Technical Lead, you will lead the implementation and delivery of assigned firmware modules and workstreams for Kandou's new ASIC products, under the technical direction of the overall Firmware Lead. You will remain hands-on in coding, debugging and bring-up, while mentoring engineers working on your scope. The overall Firmware Lead owns the firmware roadmap, team-wide priorities and release decisions; this role owns execution within the agreed architecture and project plan.

Responsabilities

• Lead the design, development, test and maintenance of assigned real-time firmware modules for high-speed heterogeneous SoC platforms.
• Translate agreed system requirements into module designs and hardware/software interfaces; review architecture and interface changes with the Firmware Lead and architects.
• Plan and coordinate assigned work: estimate effort, track dependencies and milestones, and evaluate risks and priority conflicts to the Firmware Lead.
• Remain hands-on in C/C++ development, RTOS integration, low-level drivers, bootloaders, secure boot and reliable firmware updates.
• Drive bring-up, hardware/software integration and root-cause analysis for assigned firmware, working with silicon design and validation teams.
• Lead module-level design and code reviews, apply team coding and test standards, and provide validation evidence and documentation for firmware release reviews.
• Mentor engineers on assigned work, guide implementation decisions and share knowledge; align broader technical decisions with the Firmware Lead.

Coordinate with validation and applications teams to resolve integration and field issues; improve the software tools supporting silicon development and debug.

Essential Experience

• 10+ years of experience designing, coding and debugging real-time embedded applications in C and/or C++, including 2+ years providing technical leadership for firmware modules or projects.
• Demonstrated ownership of firmware module delivery from requirements and design through bring-up, validation and release integration within a wider engineering team.
• Strong embedded SoC experience with bare-metal and RTOS environments, including RTOS porting and integration with Zephyr, FreeRTOS or equivalent.
• Knowledge of RISC-V architecture and hands-on bare-metal or RTOS firmware development for RV32/RV64 cores, including trap handling, CSR access and toolchain setup.
• Board and SoC bring-up using JTAG and other debug mechanisms; ability to diagnose complex issues across firmware, drivers and hardware.
• Experience interfacing with hardware and peripherals using SPI, I2C/SMBus, I3C and JTAG, and implementing bootloaders, secure boot and firmware update flows.
• Proficiency in Python or another modern scripting language, and practical use of Git/GitLab, CI, Make/CMake and automated unit and integration testing.
• Strong design-review, documentation, organisational, presentation and mentoring skills; ability to align cross-functional teams and learn new technical areas.

Useful Experience

• Heterogeneous multicore systems with scalar and vector processors; embedded Linux, memory and network interfaces, and virtual memory.
• High-speed signalling technologies such as PCIe and CXL, including link training, equalization and retimer/redriver interaction with host and device PHYs.
• Firmware for Active Electrical Cable (AEC) or retimer/redriver ASICs, including cable diagnostics, eye margin monitoring, temperature/voltage telemetry and power-state management.
• Management and sideband protocols including SMBus, I3C, MCTP and CMIS; SerDes technology and PHY register-level tuning.
• Simulation, co-simulation and FPGA platforms for pre-silicon firmware development; HyperBus and HyperRAM technologies.
• Cryptographic algorithms and secure firmware lifecycle practices, including authenticated updates, recovery and rollback protection.