Audio Firmware Engineer

Sony Interactive Entertainment; San Mateo (CA); On-site; USD 234,000 - 351,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental, Vision

401(k) Matching

Paid Time Off

Wellness Program

Employee Discounts

Bonus Eligibility

Job summary

Sony Interactive Entertainment in the United States is seeking an Audio Firmware Engineer to design and implement wireless connectivity features for PlayStation peripherals. You will own firmware development across RTOS/kernel drivers, deliver robust Bluetooth/BLE capabilities, achieve low-latency audio, and drive interoperability with certification processes.

You will collaborate with hardware and software teams, optimize latency, handle profiling, and support production bring-up and field

Qualifications

• Proficient in C/C++ with scripting experience and systems debugging
• Deep knowledge of Bluetooth Classic/BLE and profiles
• Hands-on experience with BlueZ and driver bring-up on ARM64/x86
• Experience with LE Audio codecs and Bluetooth audio stacks

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and debug Bluetooth/BLE features across RTOS/kernel drivers
• Deliver robust pairing, bonding, and provisioning flows
• Optimize end-to-end audio latency and jitter, clock drift, and resampling
• Instrument and analyze with packet captures and tooling
• Drive interoperability and certification readiness (Bluetooth SIG, USB-IF)
• Support OTA configuration and fleet diagnostics
• Assist production builds and post-launch support

Skills

C/C++

Bluetooth/BLE

BlueZ

ARM64/x86

Python scripting

Diagnostics

Tools

GDB

strace

Packet traces

I2S

Job description

Why Sony Interactive Entertainment?

Sony Interactive Entertainment isn't just the Best Place to Play - it's also the Best Place to Work. Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) is the company behind the PlayStation brand. As a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation, we're part of a proud legacy of innovation and excellence. SIE is a dynamic technology company, delivering cutting-edge hardware and network services to more than 100 million people and an entertainment leader, home to some of the most beloved and recognizable intellectual properties (IP) in the world. Our role at SIE is to create and nurture the experiences under the PlayStation brand, a name synonymous with entertainment excellence and creativity.

Audio Firmware Engineer

We are building a small team to create new products for the PlayStation community. Our team recently delivered the new PlayStation Link, PULSE Explore and PULSE Elite products, recently announced the FlexStrike and PULSE Elevate products, and are hard at work on what comes next.

We are seeking a connectivity protocol engineer for design, implement, and optimize wireless connectivity features across our product ecosystem. You'll work at the intersection of systems software, wireless standards, and hardware integration-building robust pairing and provisioning flows, debugging low-level protocols, and driving performance under real-world RF constraints. You will also support certification, field interoperability, and fleet-scale connectivity infrastructure.

Come and play with us!

Responsibilities

In this role, you will own and develop firmware for gaming peripherals. You will be responsible for technical leadership, system architecture, and execution across the firmware domain, working closely with internal teams and external partners.

• Design, implement, and debug Bluetooth/BLE features across RTOS and/or kernel drivers, systemd/D-Bus services. ALSA/ASoC, codec and DSP drivers, A2DP,HFP, AVRCP.
• Deliver robust pairing, bonding, and provisioning flows GATT/GAP, LE Audio/LC3
• Optimize end-to-end audio latency, buffer sizing and xrun/glitch elimination, clock drift and sample-rate conversion, jitter buffer behavior, and low-power idle/wake paths, coexistence, nearby discovery.
• Reconcile wireless link clock against codec's I2S clock without audible drift or resampling artifacts and concurrent-path operation
• Instrument and analyze with packet captures and tooling: ALSA/PipeWire debug(pw-top, alsa-info, tinyalsa), tracepoints and perf/EBPF; logic analyzer on I2S/SoundWire, and an audio analyzer for TBHD+N, SNR frequency response, btmon.
• Drive interoperability and certification readiness (Bluetooth SIG, USB-IF, Microsoft HLK) and resolve field issues with root-cause fixes
• Contribute to OTA-safe configuration, telemetry, and diagnostics for fleet-scale operation
• Support manufacturing builds, per-unit acoustic calibration and coordinate firmware activities during product bring-up
• Support products post-launch

Skills

• Are highly proficient in C/C++ with scripting experience (Python or shell) and systems debugging (gdb, strace, logs, packet traces)
• Possess deep knowledge of Bluetooth Classic/BLE (HCI, L2CAP, GATT/GAP, profiles)
• Bring hands-on experience with BlueZ, and driver bring-up on ARM64 or x86 platforms
• Experience with A2DP,HFP, AVRCP, and BAS/ASCS/PACS for LE Audio. Codec familiarity - SBC, AAC, aptX, LDAC, LC3

Qualifications

• Have deep experience shipping wireless features on Mac, Windows or Linux-based and/or Console SDK experience*
• Bluetooth audio SoC vendor stacks - Qualcomm QCC, Airoha, Realtek, Nordic RnF* Proprietary 2.4Ghz link design (custom TDMA, low latency dongle protocols.)*
• Passion for gaming, digital entertainment and consumer electronics industry
• Have a proven track record of improving real-world performance and reliability under RF constraints

Nice to Have:

• DSP feature integration: AEC, noise suppression, beamforming, sidetone, spatial audio/HRTF*
• Host-side audio: WASAPI/APOs on Windows, CoreAudio on MacOS*
• Secureboot, signed images, key management for OTA*
• Battery life profiling and power-state tuning* Yocto or buildroot*
• Direct ODM/CM engagement in Asia

Working Conditions

Small team environment; feels like a start-up within a large organization.

At SIE, we consider several factors when setting each role's base pay range, including the competitive benchmarking data for the market and geographic location. Please note that the base pay range may vary in line with our hybrid working policy and individual base pay will be determined based on job-related factors which may include knowledge, skills, experience, and location. In addition, this role is eligible for SIE's top-tier benefits package that includes medical, dental, vision, matching 401(k), paid time off, wellness program and coveted employee discounts for Sony products. This role also may be eligible for a bonus package.

The estimated base pay range for this role is listed below.

$234,200 - $351,200 USD

Please note, Sony Interactive Entertainment conducts background checks at the offer stage for all new employees (which may include criminal background checks for some roles) and will need to process personal information to support these checks.

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