Principal PCIe Firmware Engineer

PCIe FW Engineer, Principal Engineer, Firmware Engineering

Company Description

Sandisk understands how people and businesses consume data and we relentlessly innovate to deliver solutions that enable today’s needs and tomorrow’s next big ideas. With a rich history of groundbreaking innovations in Flash and advanced memory technologies, our solutions have become the beating heart of the digital world we’re living in and that we have the power to shape.

Sandisk meets people and businesses at the intersection of their aspirations and the moment, enabling them to keep moving and pushing possibility forward. We do this through the balance of our powerhouse manufacturing capabilities and our industry-leading portfolio of products that are recognized globally for innovation, performance and quality.

Sandisk has two facilities recognized by the World Economic Forum as part of the Global Lighthouse Network for advanced 4IR innovations. These facilities were also recognized as Sustainability Lighthouses for breakthroughs in efficient operations. With our global reach, we ensure the global supply chain has access to the Flash memory it needs to keep our world moving forward.

Job Description

We are looking for a Front‑End PCIe Firmware Engineer to design, develop, and maintain the device‑side PCIe Front‑End firmware stack for next‑generation high‑performance storage controllers. In this role, you will own key layers of the PCIe firmware responsible for link bring‑up, configuration space management, MMIO, interrupts, DMA, and command/queue handling, working closely with hardware, validation, and host‑software teams.

Key Responsibilities

• PCIe Front‑End Firmware Development

  • Design and implement firmware for PCIe initialization, link bring‑up, and configuration space programming (BARs, capabilities, MSI/MSI‑X).
  • Develop MMIO‑based control and status interfaces used by host software.
  • Work closely with DMA engines to enable high‑bandwidth, low‑latency host‑to‑device and device‑to‑host data transfers. 

• Architecture & Cross‑Functional Collaboration

  • Collaborate with hardware design teams on PCIe IP integration and bring‑up.
  • Partner with validation teams on FPGA, emulation, and ASIC debug.
  • Work with host‑side driver and system software teams to define clean, scalable interfaces. 

• Debugging & Performance Optimization

  • Debug complex system‑level issues spanning firmware, hardware, and host.
  • Profile and optimize PCIe throughput, latency, and interrupt efficiency.
  • Support bring‑up on pre‑silicon and post‑silicon platforms.

 

Qualifications

• Education

  • Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Engineering or related field.

• Experience

  • 8+ years of hands‑on experience in firmware or embedded systems development.
  • Strong experience with PCIe protocol fundamentals, including configuration space, BARs, MSI/MSI‑X, and link states.
  • Proven experience in C/C++ firmware development on RTOS or bare‑metal environments.

• Technical Skills

  • Solid understanding of MMIO, interrupts, DMA, cache coherency, and memory ordering.
  • Experience debugging low‑level issues using JTAG, logic analyzers, firmware traces, or PCIe protocol analyzers.
  • Comfortable working with hardware specifications and silicon bring‑up flows.
  • Experience with storage or accelerator devices (NVMe‑like protocols, custom command interfaces).
  • Exposure to PCIe switch topologies and peer‑to‑peer (P2P) flows.
  • Experience with pre‑silicon validation environments (FPGA, emulation, or virtual platforms).
  • Familiarity with security, reset isolation, or secure boot interactions at the Front‑End.

Additional Information

Sandisk thrives on the power and potential of diversity. As a global company, we believe the most effective way to embrace the diversity of our customers and communities is to mirror it from within. We believe the fusion of various perspectives results in the best outcomes for our employees, our company, our customers, and the world around us. We are committed to an inclusive environment where every individual can thrive through a sense of belonging, respect and contribution.

Sandisk is committed to offering opportunities to applicants with disabilities and ensuring all candidates can successfully navigate our careers website and our hiring process. Please contact us at jobs.accommodations@sandisk.com to advise us of your accommodation request. In your email, please include a description of the specific accommodation you are requesting as well as the job title and requisition number of the position for which you are applying.

Experience Level

Senior Level