About the role
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.