Senior Software Engineer

MaxLinear; Carlsbad (CA); On-site; USD 95,000 - 142,000; Full time

Job summary

MaxLinear is seeking a Senior Software Engineer in Carlsbad, CA to drive embedded firmware for next-gen optical transceivers and to develop SDKs for data-center NOS integrations. You will work on control paths and DSP, strive for high performance, and collaborate across ASIC and systems teams.

Qualifications include a BS in electrical engineering or related field with 3+ years or an MS, deep C firmware expertise, RTOS experience, and strong debugging and validation skills in pre/post-silicon

Qualifications

• Excellent knowledge of data structures and algorithms.
• Deep knowledge of firmware programming in C on embedded systems.
• Exposure to real-time systems and embedded OS.
• Software-hardware co-design experience.
• Experience with debugging tools like JTAG, testing and profiling tools.
• Experience in pre-silicon and post-silicon software validation.
• BS in Electrical Engineering or related plus 3 years of experience, or MS.

Responsibilities

• Pioneer next-gen ultra-high-speed connectivity for AI scale-up architectures.
• Drive firmware design, development, testing, and performance optimization for optical transceivers.
• Design and implement embedded firmware focusing on control path and DSP.
• Develop and maintain SDKs for NOS integration in data centers.
• Build automated test suites to simulate complex data center workloads.
• Ensure compliance with industry standards (CMIS, OIF, IEEE 802.3).
• Collaborate with ASIC, Communications Systems, and Systems teams to optimize solutions.

Skills

Data structures

Firmware in C

Embedded systems

RTOS/Embedded OS

Software-hardware co-design

Debugging tools

Pre-silicon & post-silicon validation

Education

BS in Electrical Engineering or related

MS

Tools

JTAG

Testing tools

System profiling

Performance tuning tools

Job description

Responsibilities

MaxLinear is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to join our team. In this role, you will focus on the following:

• Help pioneer the next generation of ultra-high-speed connectivity powering AI scale-up and scale-out architectures
• Drive the design, development, testing, and performance optimization of firmware for next-generation optical transceivers that enable the world's most demanding AI and cloud infrastructure deployments
• Design and implement embedded firmware for next-generation optical transceivers focusing on control path and digital signal processing
• Develop and maintain SDKs to enable seamless integration with data center network operating systems (NOS)
• Build automated test suites to simulate complex data center workloads and stress-test performance
• Ensure strict compliance with evolving industry standards (e.g., CMIS, OIF, IEEE 802.3) for high-speed optical modules
• Collaborate closely with ASIC, Communications Systems, and Systems engineering teams to optimize the solution
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to transform innovative concepts into production-ready solutions that shape the future of data center networking

Qualifications

• Excellent knowledge of data structure and algorithm
• Deep knowledge of firmware programming in C on embedded systems
• Exposure to work with real time systems and embedded OS
• Software-hardware co-design
• Experience in using debugging tools like JTAG, testing tools, system profiling and performance tuning tools
• Experience in working in pre-silicon and post silicon software validation
• BS in Electrical Engineering or related + 3 years of experience, or MS

Compensation And Benefits

MaxLinear has a Total Compensation philosophy which includes base salary and annual discretionary bonus eligibility and many positions also include stock-based compensation.

MaxLinear's good faith estimate starting base salary range is: $95 ,000 to $ 142,000 Annually

We offer competitive benefits designed to support employee health, welfare, and retirement and some highlights are: health care benefits, 401k savings plan, Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP), and paid time off.

The actual starting base salary will be determined by the match to certain role-related criteria such as educational degree(s) or equivalent, relevant work experience, skillset needed for the role, and geographic location; this is not an all-inclusive list as some roles may require unique skills or experience.

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, and will not be discriminated against based on race, sex, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or protected veteran status.

Company Overview

MaxLinear is a global, NASDAQ-traded company (MXL) where the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well. We are a fabless system-on-chip product company, striving to improve the world’s communication networks for everyone through our highly integrated radio-frequency (RF), analog, digital, and mixed-signal semiconductor solutions for access and connectivity, wired and wireless infrastructure, and industrial and multi-market applications.

We hire the best people in the industry and engage them in some of the most exciting opportunities that connect the world we live in today. Our growth has been delivered from innovative, bold approaches to solving some of the world’s most challenging communication technology problems in the most efficient and effective manner.

MaxLinear began by developing the world’s first high-performance TV tuner chip using standard CMOS process technology. Others said we couldn’t achieve the extremely high-performance requirements using CMOS, but we proved them wrong and achieved enduring global market leadership with our designs. Since then, we’ve developed a full line of products that drive 4G and 5G infrastructure; enable data center, metro and long-haul optical interconnects; bring 10Gbit to the home; power the IoT revolution; and enable robust and reliable communication in harsh industrial environments. Over the years, we’ve expanded through organic growth and through several acquisitions that have perfectly complemented our existing portfolio and enabled us to deliver complete end-to-end solutions in our target markets. One such example was the acquisition of Intel’s Home Gateway Platform Division that added Wi‑Fi, Ethernet, and Broadband Gateway Processor SoC technology to our connected home portfolio creating a complete and scalable platform of connectivity and access solutions to fully address our customers’ needs.

Our headquarters are in Carlsbad, near San Diego, California. We also have major design centers in Irvine and San Jose, California; Valencia, Spain; Bangalore, India; Munich, Germany; Israel; and Singapore.

We have approximately 1,200 employees, a substantial majority of whom have engineering degrees and include masters and Ph.D. graduates from many of the premiere universities around the world. Our employees thrive on innovation, outstanding execution, outside-the-box thinking, nimbleness, and collaboration. Together, we form a high-energy business team that is focused on building the best and most innovative products on the market.