Principal Engineer - Test Firmware & Pre Silicon Validation

Role

The Principal Engineer – Pre-Silicon Validation & Firmware Development will lead the development, validation, and optimization of firmware for advanced SoC and storage solutions across pre-silicon and post-silicon phases. The role requires technical leadership in firmware architecture, FPGA bring-up, pre-silicon validation methodology, and automation while driving execution across multiple programs. The engineer will collaborate closely with architecture, design, verification, hardware, and product teams to ensure robust, scalable, and high-performance solutions

Key Responsibilities

• Technical Leadership & Program Execution
• Lead firmware and pre-silicon validation activities across multiple SoC and storage programs.
• Own technical execution, schedules, deliverables, and quality for firmware development and validation.
• Drive technical reviews, architecture discussions, and design decisions across cross-functional teams.
• Mentor engineers and establish engineering best practices.
• Pre-Silicon Validation & Silicon Bring-up
• Lead firmware-driven validation on simulation, emulation, FPGA prototyping, and virtual platforms.
• Drive ASIC bring-up activities and early hardware-software integration.
• Define comprehensive validation strategies and debug methodologies.
• Lead system-level debug involving firmware, hardware, and RTL teams.
• Firmware Development & Optimization
• Lead development of bootloaders, BSPs, low-level drivers, middleware, and storage firmware.
• Optimize firmware for performance, latency, power, and reliability.
• Drive firmware architecture improvements, code quality, and maintainability.
• Lead Complete Test Coverage (CTC) initiatives and eliminate redundant code.
• Storage Protocol & System Integration
• Lead integration of NVMe, UFS, SD, UART, PCIe, and storage interfaces.
• Drive protocol compliance, interoperability, and performance optimization.
• Enable firmware integration with SoC peripherals and hardware controllers.
• Validation Frameworks & Automation
• Lead development of reusable validation frameworks, automation infrastructure, and regression environments.
• Develop automated test suites, BER generation, protocol validation, and stress testing.
• Improve validation productivity through automation and scalable infrastructure.
• Debug & Root Cause Analysis
• Lead complex system debugging across firmware, hardware, FPGA, and silicon.
• Utilize oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, JTAG, and software debugging tools.
• Drive root-cause analysis and corrective action for critical customer issues.
• Cross-Functional Leadership
• Collaborate with architecture, design, verification, hardware, software, and product teams.
• Mentor junior engineers and technical leads.
• Drive continuous improvement in methodologies, coding standards, and validation processes.