Senior Engineer - Pre-Silicon Validation and Firmware Development

Senior Engineer - Pre Silicon Validation and Firmware

The Senior Engineer in Pre-Silicon Validation & Firmware Development will drive the development, validation, and optimization of firmware for advanced SoC and storage solutions across pre-silicon and post-silicon phases. This role involves hands-on firmware design, ASIC bring-up, protocol integration, and enabling early validation platforms, along with close collaboration across hardware, validation, and product teams to ensure robust and high-performance system delivery.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Pre-Silicon Validation & Bring-up:

• Lead pre-silicon validation activities by enabling firmware-driven validation on simulation, emulation, and FPGA platforms. 
• Drive ASIC bring-up activities, ensuring seamless hardware-software integration during early silicon phases. 
• Develop validation strategies and test plans to identify design issues early in the development lifecycle. 
• Collaborate with design and verification teams to debug complex system-level issues across storage subsystems. 

2. Firmware Development & Optimization:

• Design, develop, and optimize embedded firmware for storage solutions, including bootloaders and low-level drivers. 
• Implement and enhance firmware for NAND-based storage systems, ensuring high reliability, performance, and scalability. 
• Perform code optimization, refactoring, and cleanup to maintain a robust and maintainable firmware codebase. 
• Drive complete test coverage (CTC) initiatives to eliminate redundant or unused code paths. 

3. Protocol Integration & System Enablement:

• Develop and integrate industry-standard storage protocols such as NVMe, UFS, SD, and UART into firmware stacks. 
• Ensure protocol compliance, interoperability, and performance optimization across multiple platforms. 
• Enable system-level validation by integrating firmware with hardware interfaces and controllers. 

4. Validation Frameworks & Test Development:

• Develop automated test frameworks, tools, and utilities for firmware validation, including BER generation and protocol testing. 

• Create comprehensive test plans and execute validation suites across pre-silicon and post-silicon environments. 

• Leverage lab equipment such as oscilloscopes and logic analyzers for debugging and validation. 

5. Automation & Infrastructure Development:

• Develop scripts and tools to automate firmware testing, debugging, and validation workflows. 
• Enhance infrastructure for scalable and efficient validation across multiple projects and platforms. 
• Collaborate with infrastructure teams to optimize resource utilization and validation throughput. 

6. Cross-Functional Collaboration & Technical Leadership:

• Act as a technical lead for firmware and validation activities, mentoring junior engineers and guiding best practices. 
• Collaborate with design, verification, product, and business teams to align technical solutions with product requirements. 
• Drive design reviews, root-cause analysis, and resolution of critical system issues. 

7. Tools, Debug & Domain Expertise:

• Utilize debugging and development tools including GIT, JIRA, Linux environments, and lab instrumentation effectively. 
• Apply deep expertise in NAND storage, memory subsystems, and embedded systems to solve complex problems. 
• Continuously improve methodologies aligned with industry best practices in firmware and validation domains.