Software Engineer - Firmware

Kandou AI; Hyderabad; On-site; INR 2,000,000 - 3,500,000; Full time

Job summary

Kandou AI in Hyderabad, India, is seeking a Software Engineer - Firmware to drive firmware development for new hardware/ASICs. You will collaborate with architecture, design, verification, and validation teams, and coordinate with application engineers to meet customer requirements.

The role emphasizes C/C++, Linux kernel internals, RTOS, and hardware bring-up. Strong debugging, scripting, and version-control skills are essential, with opportunities to work across multi-disciplinary teams.

Qualifications

• Firmware development for hardware/ASICs.
• Collaboration with architecture, design, verification, and validation teams.
• Coordinate with Application engineers to support customer requirements and resolve issues.

Responsibilities

• Firmware development for newly developed hardware/ASICs.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams including architecture, design, verification, and validation.
• Coordinate with application engineers to support customer requirements and resolve issues.

Skills

C/C++

Linux kernel internals

CPU architecture

RTOS

Scripting (Python/Shell)

Git

OpenBMC/OpenBIC

Hardware debugging

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/CE/EEE

Master's degree (optional)

Tools

JTAG

UART

Oscilloscope

Logic Analyzer

GitLab/CI

Make/CMake

OpenBMC/OpenBIC

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.

Kandou’s architecture is not just an incremental improvement — it’s a foundational shift in how AI hardware is built for the future.

Job Title: Software Engineer - Firmware

Location: Hyderabad, India

Key Responsibilities

• Firmware development for newly developed Hardware / ASICs.

• Collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams, including architecture, design, verification, and validation.

• Coordinate closely with Application engineers to support customer requirements and resolve issues.

Skills

• Strong programming skills in C/C++ for embedded systems. Good understanding of Linux kernel internals and driver architecture.

• Solid knowledge of CPU architecture (ex. ARM, ARC, RISC-V), memory map, and register-level programming and debugging.

• Demonstrable experience with software development for systems with Linux OS or multi-threaded RTOS environments.

• Good knowledge of bootloaders and boot sequence and Experience in board bring-up and hardware debugging.

• Exposure to high-speed signalling technologies: PCIe, CXL.

• Exposure to ASIC hardware validation & debugging.

• Familiarity with scripting languages (Python/Shell) for automation.

• Familiarity with debugging tools: JTAG, UART, Oscilloscope, Logic Analyzer.

• Strong working knowledge of version control tools (Git).

• Good knowledge of Baseboard Management Controller systems; OpenBMC, OpenBIC.

• Good understanding of computer architectures including processors, buses, and memories.

• Ability to collaborate with hardware, validation, and application teams for end-to-end integration.

Experience

• Strong professional experience in firmware development or embedded software development in a RTOS environment.

• Demonstrable experience in porting and use of RTOS; Zephyr, FreeRTOS.

• Detailed experience with SoC bring-up, bootloaders, platform initialization, board initialization, peripherals such as PCIe, I2C, SPI, SMBUS, UART.

• Proven experience working with multiple teams on Root cause analysis, troubleshooting, and debugging skills resulting into solving complex Hardware/Firmware interface issues.

• Familiarity with PCIe/CXL validation and debugging is a big plus.

• Demonstrable experience of hardware and firmware architecture, design and coding for solutions at scale.

• Experience performing thorough code reviews, unit testing, and documentation.

• Proficiency with modern Software development and test workflows (CI/gitlab/makefile/CMake/TDD etc.)

Education

Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electronics, or a related field, with 5+ years of relevant experience.

Master’s degree (or equivalent) in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electronics, or a related field is a plus but not mandatory.

Visit us at www.kandou.ai and https://www.linkedin.com/company/kandou-ai/