Senior Firmware Engineer

Mackenzie Stuart; California (MO); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Mackenzie Stuart partners with a leading technology company to develop high-performance hardware and embedded systems. The Senior Firmware Engineer will focus on low-level firmware for storage and host-interface technologies, collaborating with hardware and validation teams across the business.

The role emphasizes NVMe, PCIe, SMBus and I3C, with responsibilities spanning protocol processing, data transfers, error handling and compliance testing.

Qualifications

• Embedded/storage firmware experience with C/C++.
• Strong NVMe and PCIe knowledge.
• Experience with SMBus, I3C, or similar protocols.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain NVMe firmware, including command processing, data transfers and queue management.
• Implement and debug PCIe-based interfaces and host-management interfaces such as SMBus and I3C.
• Validate firmware with industry standards and host platforms.
• Debug low-level issues using protocol analysers, logic analysers, firmware logs and trace tools.
• Collaborate with firmware, hardware, validation and systems teams.

Skills

C/C++ firmware

NVMe

PCIe

SMBus

I3C

Tools

Protocol analyzers

Logic analyzers

Firmware debuggers

Job description

I am currently partnered with an innovative technology company developing high-performance hardware and embedded systems for demanding computing applications.

The business is growing its engineering team and is looking for a Senior Firmware Engineer to work on advanced storage and host-interface technologies.

About the Role

This role will focus on low-level firmware development covering storage protocols, command processing, high-speed interfaces, system management, error recovery, and product validation.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain NVMe firmware, including command processing, data transfers, and queue management.
• Implement and debug PCIe-based communication and host-management interfaces such as SMBus and I3C.
• Develop status reporting, monitoring, control, error-handling, timeout, reset, retry, and recovery functionality.
• Validate firmware against relevant industry standards and host platforms.
• Debug low-level issues using protocol analysers, logic analysers, firmware logs, and trace tools.
• Support compliance, interoperability, stress, power-management, hot-plug, and error-injection testing.
• Investigate complex technical issues, identify root causes, and implement reliable fixes.
• Work closely with firmware, hardware, validation, and systems engineering teams.

Qualifications

Professional experience developing embedded or storage firmware using C or C++.

Required Skills

• Professional experience developing embedded or storage firmware using C or C++.
• Strong understanding of NVMe and PCIe.
• Experience with SMBus, I3C, I²C, or similar communication protocols.
• Experience with firmware validation, protocol debugging, and system-level troubleshooting.
• Understanding of command processing, queue management, error recovery, and compliance testing.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.

Preferred Skills

Experience with PCIe Gen4 or Gen5, NVMe compliance testing, storage controllers, or hardware bring-up would be advantageous.