Senior Firmware Engineer ( Full-time ) Rancho Cordova, CA - DK

Central Business Solutions, Inc; Rancho Cordova (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Year-end bonus

RSU for eligible employees

Invention and Patent Awards

401(k) Employer Matching

Length of Service Awards

Health insurance

Job summary

Central Business Solutions, Inc. is seeking a Senior Firmware Engineer in Rancho Cordova, CA to design and maintain the NVMe protocol stack and related SSD firmware. You will work on Admin/I/O command processing, CQ management, and multi-namespace support, ensuring PCIe Gen5 compatibility.

Ideal candidates have a Master’s in engineering and 3+ years in firmware engineering, strong C/C++, JTAG debugging, and Git experience; the role offers a competitive base salary and annual merit increases.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related fields.
• At least 3 years work experience in software/firmware applications engineering.
• Experience in SSD controller/firmware architecture.
• Strong experience in C/C++ programming and data structures.
• Hands-on with JTAG/ICE debuggers.
• Experience with version control software like Git.

Responsibilities

• Design and maintain the NVMe protocol stack, including Admin and I/O command processing, and Submission/Completion Queue management.
• Ensure compliance with NVMe specs and PCIe Gen5 requirements.
• Design SMBus and I3C protocols for host controller data exchange.
• Implement NVMe command parsing, data transfer, and multi-namespace support.
• Implement SMBus/I3C read/write commands, status monitoring, and control commands.
• Provide root-cause analysis and fixes from validation or customer feedback.

Skills

Firmware engineering

SSD firmware

C/C++ programming

JTAG/ICE debugging

Git

Education

Master's in EE/CE/CS

Job description

Senior Firmware Engineer ( Full-time ) Rancho Cordova, CA - DK

Job Responsibilities:

Protocol Stack Design and Maintenance

• Design and maintain the NVMe protocol stack, including Admin and I/O command processing, and Submission/Completion Queue management.
• Ensure full compliance with the latest NVMe specifications and PCIe Gen5 protocol requirements.
• Design and implement SMBus and I3C communication protocols, ensuring reliable and accurate data exchange with the host controller.

Command Processing and Flow Control

• Implement NVMe command parsing, data transfer mechanisms, and completion flows, supporting multi-namespace operations.
• Implement SMBus/I3C read/write commands and data flow, including status monitoring, temperature/voltage reporting, and control command handling.

Error Reporting and Recovery

• Implement proper status code reporting, Asynchronous Event Notification (AEN), and error recovery flows to ensure host compatibility.
• Handle timeout, abort, and reset scenarios to maintain system stability and minimize host impact.
• Design SMBus/I3C error detection and retry mechanisms to prevent transmission errors from causing system failures.

Compliance and Interoperability :

• Verify compatibility with industry-standard NVMe compliance tools and host platforms. Validate SMBus and I3C communication against JEDEC/MIPI specifications to ensure broad interoperability with different host systems and controllers.

Debug and Validation :

• Capture and analyze PCIe/NVMe transactions using protocol analyzers, logic analyzers, and firmware logs.
• Monitor SMBus/I3C transfers, analyze timing and error conditions, and ensure firmware implementation is stable and reliable.
• Collaborate with validation teams to execute compliance, stress, and corner-case tests, including hot-plug, power management, error injection, and multi-protocol concurrency tests.
• Provide root-cause analysis and implement fixes for protocol-related issues found during validation or in customer systems.

Minimum Requirements:

Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related fields.

At least 3 years work experience in each of the following:

• Software/firmware applications engineering
• Experience in SSD controller/firmware architecture
• Strong experience in C/C++ programming and data structure
• Hands on experience with JTAG/ICE debuggers
• Experience with version control software like Git.

Competent to work independently as well as in a small team collaboration

environment.

Must be willing to learn fast and execute as a team player.

Good oral, written and presentation skills for communication and documentation. Ability to work independently with a minimum of day-to-day supervision.

Preferred Qualifications:

• The ability to operate logic analyzer, oscilloscope and bus protocol analyzer is valuable. Familiar with SATA/PCIe (NVMe) protocols
• Familiar with NAND flash protocols
• Linux system debug experience.
• Fluent in reading and writing Mandarin preferred.

Annual merit increases

Benefits:

• Year-end bonus
• RSU for eligible employees
• Invention and Patent Awards
• 401(k) Employer Matching
• Length of Service Awards

We offer comprehensive health insurance plans for eligible employees and dependents. There are plans to meet the needs of you and your family.

Security Clearance Required:No
Visa Candidate Considered:No

Compensation:
Base Salary -USD $150,000 to $210,000

Job Responsibilities:

Protocol Stack Design and Maintenance

• Design and maintain the NVMe protocol stack, including Admin and I/O command processing, and Submission/Completion Queue management.
• Ensure full compliance with the latest NVMe specifications and PCIe Gen5 protocol requirements.
• Design and implement SMBus and I3C communication protocols, ensuring reliable and accurate data exchange with the host controller.

Command Processing and Flow Control

• Implement NVMe command parsing, data transfer mechanisms, and completion flows, supporting multi-namespace operations.
• Implement SMBus/I3C read/write commands and data flow, including status monitoring, temperature/voltage reporting, and control command handling.

Error Reporting and Recovery

• Implement proper status code reporting, Asynchronous Event Notification (AEN), and error recovery flows to ensure host compatibility.
• Handle timeout, abort, and reset scenarios to maintain system stability and minimize host impact.
• Design SMBus/I3C error detection and retry mechanisms to prevent transmission errors from causing system failures.

Compliance and Interoperability :

• Verify compatibility with industry-standard NVMe compliance tools and host platforms. Validate SMBus and I3C communication against JEDEC/MIPI specifications to ensure broad interoperability with different host systems and controllers.

Debug and Validation :

• Capture and analyze PCIe/NVMe transactions using protocol analyzers, logic analyzers, and firmware logs.
• Monitor SMBus/I3C transfers, analyze timing and error conditions, and ensure firmware implementation is stable and reliable.
• Collaborate with validation teams to execute compliance, stress, and corner-case tests, including hot-plug, power management, error injection, and multi-protocol concurrency tests.
• Provide root-cause analysis and implement fixes for protocol-related issues found during validation or in customer systems.

Minimum Requirements:

Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related fields.

At least 3 years work experience in each of the following:

• Software/firmware applications engineering
• Experience in SSD controller/firmware architecture
• Strong experience in C/C++ programming and data structure
• Hands on experience with JTAG/ICE debuggers
• Experience with version control software like Git.

Competent to work independently as well as in a small team collaboration

environment.

Must be willing to learn fast and execute as a team player.

Good oral, written and presentation skills for communication and documentation. Ability to work independently with a minimum of day-to-day supervision.

Preferred Qualifications:

• The ability to operate logic analyzer, oscilloscope and bus protocol analyzer is valuable. Familiar with SATA/PCIe (NVMe) protocols
• Familiar with NAND flash protocols
• Linux system debug experience.
• Fluent in reading and writing Mandarin preferred.

Annual merit increases

Benefits:

• Year-end bonus
• RSU for eligible employees
• Invention and Patent Awards
• 401(k) Employer Matching
• Length of Service Awards

We offer comprehensive health insurance plans for eligible employees and dependents. There are plans to meet the needs of you and your family.

Security Clearance Required:No
Visa Candidate Considered:No

Compensation:
Base Salary -USD $150,000 to $210,000