Firmware Engineering Manager

Join our fast-paced and passionate team as Manager of Firmware Engineering. As we scale, you will be instrumental in building our firmware engineering foundation from the ground up. This is a dynamic, hands-on role for a self-starter who thrives in a fluid startup environment. You'll have the opportunity to work on cutting-edge technologies, work closely with leadership, and develop and implement firmware engineering practices that support our mission and growth.

Your key responsibilities are as follows:

• Recruit, develop, and manage a team of firmware engineers.
• Contribute to the architecture, design, integration, verification, and transition to production of firmware for complex laser, photonic, and electro-optical systems.
• Create and maintain company-wide firmware engineering processes, standards, development environments, coding practices, and tools.
• Be responsible for the execution of firmware engineering projects across the company, from requirements development and system architecture through implementation, integration, verification, validation, qualification, and production support.
• Lead the team in developing FPGA- and SoC-based architectures utilizing HDL fabric, embedded C/C++ processors, and hybrid hardware/firmware solutions for high-speed and high-precision control applications.
• As a member of the cross-functional leadership team, be responsible for planning and execution of company projects on schedule and to budget, including firmware scope, technical risk identification, and mitigation strategies.
• Partner closely with Electrical, Software, Optical, Mechanical, Systems, Manufacturing, Program Management, and Project Engineering teams to ensure seamless system-level integration.

Requirements

Please Note this position requires access to export-controlled information. Employment is contingent upon the applicant being a U.S. person as defined by 8 U.S.C. § 1324b(a)(3).

Experience:

Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field.

7+ years of relevant experience (including pursuit of relevant higher education), ideally within a startup or technology company.

Skills and Responsibilities:

Proven record of building and leading engineering teams successfully executing multiple, parallel, complex firmware and embedded systems projects through development, qualification, fielding, and maintenance cycles.

Strong technical background in FPGA and embedded development, including FPGA-based solutions that combine HDL fabric with embedded C/C++ microprocessor architectures.

Strong understanding of digital logic, computer architecture, electronics, and the hardware/firmware interfaces required for complex electro-optical and controls systems.

Experience with FPGA development toolchains such as Xilinx Vivado/Vitis, including simulation, integration, verification, implementation, and debug.

Experience architecting and developing hybrid SoC and soft-microprocessor solutions for real-time embedded applications.

Proficiency in C/C++ for real-time embedded development and familiarity with HDL-based FPGA development.

Experience leading teams through complex FPGA implementation and timing-closure challenges involving dense IP, high-speed interfaces, and algorithmic processing.

Experience with device-level and high-speed communication protocols such as SPI, I2C, Ethernet, serial interfaces, and SerDes.

Establish and enforce firmware engineering best practices, including architecture and design reviews, code reviews, coding standards, design patterns, configuration management, performance optimization, and verification practices.

Establish robust firmware development, integration, verification, release, and production-support processes suitable for low-to-mid volume, high-complexity systems and future scaling.

Partner with Electrical and Software teams to define and maintain robust hardware/firmware/software interfaces and ensure seamless system integration.

Establish and maintain engineering documentation, including firmware architecture and design documentation, interface control documents, coding standards, verification plans, test procedures, release documentation, and traceability to system requirements.

Lead troubleshooting, root-cause analysis, and corrective-action activities for firmware and system-level issues throughout development, production, and field deployment.

Startup Mindset:

You're creative, flexible, and eager to wear multiple hats.

You're passionate about building systems from the ground up and comfortable with ambiguity and change.