Sr. Engineer, Embedded Firmware (bare metal)

Ayar Labs; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 160,000 - 192,000; Full time

Job summary

Ayar Labs in San Jose, CA is seeking a Sr. Engineer for Embedded Firmware (bare metal) to design and optimize firmware for high-speed SerDes interfaces.

You will work with innovative technologies and collaborate closely with teams to drive firmware from inception to deployment. A Bachelor's degree in Electrical/Computer Engineering and 3+ years of relevant experience are required. The salary ranges from $160,000 to $192,000.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of relevant industry experience in embedded firmware development.
• Strong programming skills in C with experience in bare-metal development.
• Experience with various microcontrollers and debugging tools.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and optimize embedded firmware for high-speed SerDes interfaces.
• Collaborate with teams to develop control algorithms for photonic circuits.
• Write and maintain unit tests and integration tests for firmware modules.

Skills

Embedded firmware development

Programming in C

Firmware debugging tools

Version control workflows (Git)

Scripting with Python

Education

Bachelor's in Electrical/Computer Engineering or related field

Job description

Position: Sr. Engineer, Embedded Firmware (bare metal)

Location: San Jose, CA

Job Id: 611

# of Openings: 0

Sr. Engineer, Embedded Firmware (bare metal)

Location: San Jose (on-site)

Ayar Labs is shattering AI data bottlenecks by moving data at the speed of light. As pioneers of co-packaged optics (CPO), we are using light instead of electricity to move data faster, further, and with a fraction of the energy needed to fuel the explosive growth of AI models.

Backed by industry giants like NVIDIA, AMD, Mediatek and Intel and manufactured in partnership with the world’s leading semiconductor ecosystem, Ayar Labs’ co-packaged optics solution is key to unleashing next-generation AI scale-up architectures.

In this role, you will drive firmware design from inception to customer deployment, ensuring seamless hardware validation and integration. This is a unique opportunity to leverage your expertise in embedded systems, multi-chip package environments, and high-speed SerDes to shape the future of optical interconnect.

Essential Functions

• Design, develop, and optimize embedded firmware for controlling high-speed SerDes interfaces and electronic/photonic subsystems.
• Collaborate closely with analog/mixed-signal, digital, and photonic block designers to develop and implement sophisticated control algorithms for our photonic circuits and establish the micro-architecture and embedded requirements for our multi-chip package systems.
• Write unit tests and integration tests for firmware modules; participate in firmware code reviews; maintain high-quality firmware through CI/CD practices.
• Develop and execute firmware test code to support initial silicon power‑on and bringup activities; debug hardware‑firmware interactions at first silicon.
• Partner effectively with hardware, validation, systems, and software teams throughout the product development lifecycle.
• Maintain clear technical documentation including APIs, firmware architecture documents, module specifications, and build/release notes.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's in Electrical/Computer Engineering or a related field with 3+ years of relevant industry experience.
• Proven expertise in bare‑metal embedded firmware development, with strong programming skills in C.
• Experience with various microcontrollers and firmware debugging tools.
• Proficiency with modern version control workflows (e.g., Git), modern firmware development tools, and CI/CD tools.
• Hands‑on, proactive approach with the ability to thrive in a fast‑paced, dynamic startup environment.
• Experience in scripting with high level language like Python.
• Experience with Make‑based build flows.

Preferred Qualifications

• Ability to own architecture and development of firmware modules from scratch.
• Experience in embedded firmware development for high-speed electronics and photonics applications.
• Silicon bring‑up experience for high-speed SerDes and photonics applications.

Salary Range: $160,000 - $192,000

Ayar Labs is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is strongly committed to all policies that will afford equal opportunity employment to all qualified persons without regard to age, sex, national origin, race, color, ethnicity, creed, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. It is the policy of Ayar Labs to provide reasonable accommodation when requested by a qualified applicant or employee with a disability, unless such accommodation would cause an undue hardship. Veterans are more than welcome and encouraged to apply.