Staff Firmware Engineer in Toronto

As a leading technology innovator, Qualcomm pushes the boundaries of what's possible to enable next-generation experiences and drives digital transformation to help create a smarter, connected future for all. As a Qualcomm Software Engineer, you will design, develop, create, modify, and validate embedded and cloud edge software, applications, and/or specialized utility programs that launch cutting-edge, world-class products that meet and exceed customer needs. Qualcomm Software Engineers collaborate with systems, hardware, architecture, test engineers, and other teams to design system-level software solutions and obtain information on performance requirements and interfaces.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 4+ years of Software Engineering or related work experience.
• Master's degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 3+ years of Software Engineering or related work experience.
• PhD in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 2+ years of Software Engineering or related work experience.
• 2+ years of work experience with Programming Language such as C, C++, Java, Python, etc.

We are looking for an experienced Firmware Engineer to lead firmware architecture, development, integration, and bring-up for our SERDES PHY portfolio. The ideal candidate will have experience driving firmware definition, architecture, and development starting from the RTL/Digital design phase with EDA tool/simulator integration all the way to the post silicon phase with device level bring up and debug. It is a collaborative role where you will work with Hardware/Systems/Software teams to drive requirements and successful chip bring up.

What you'll do:

• Gather requirements, studying high level designs, developing device interface functions and turning small building blocks into higher level firmware system design.
• Work with multi-functional teams to come up with the detailed bring up and validation requirements, collaborating with ASIC / Digital Design, Digital Verification, software and systems engineers to meet performance goals.
• Communicate requirements and coordinate execution with multiple teams.
• Translating bring up and validation requirements into efficient C/C++ firmware code, software organization as applicable.
• Oversee the entire firmware lifecycle for SERDES PHY, from pre-silicon design to post-silicon validation and optimization.
• Developing for test and debug to help guide hardware design decisions for future product iterations.
• Implement and utilize best practices in the software industry to ensure high-quality firmware designs.
• Stay up-to-date with the latest trends and advancements in the semiconductor industry, and incorporate relevant innovations into our processes.
• Develop and document firmware and hardware design specifications and decisions.
• Mentor junior engineers, promote team building, and strive for continuous improvement in processes and techniques.
• Debug and root cause, document and drive issues (i.e. low level SW, silicon, HW, etc.) to closure.
• Drive multi-functional teams and partners to address challenges seen during integration and bring-up, ensure chips are seamlessly brought up, validated, tested, and meets product and business requirements.
• Demonstrate full ownership of assigned systems/components. Handle timelines and resolve project challenges in order to meet program timing.
• Working with external vendors or customers to ensure requirements are met and releases are of high quality.
• Planning and developing test cases which enhance reliability and release quality to internal and external stakeholders and ensuring they are continuously tested in regression.

What You’ll Need:

• BS or MS in Computer Science/Electrical/Computer engineering or a related field.
• Proficient in C/C++, Python.
• 6+ years of experience with embedded systems like ARM, RISCV, MIPS, etc and strong programming skills.
• Working experience with low-level programming on bare metal, BIOS/UEFI firmware, linux kernel, RTOS, device driver, etc.
• Systems mindset and experience developing SW/FW to control analog, digital, and mixed signal circuits.
• Familiarity with industry-standard EDA tools and methodologies used for digital verification.
• Familiarity with hardware description languages (HDLs) such as Verilog and SystemVerilog.
• Experience with SerDes, Ethernet, PCIe, or D2D/UCIe products and communication systems.
• Hands-on experience in the lab with CPU, SoC, FPGA, MCU, and DSP component validation and developing tests and debug tools.
• Knowledge of peripherals/protocols such as 1G/10G Ethernet, DDR, I2C, SPI/QSPI, MIPI/CSI, GMSL, A2B, I2S, TDM, LVDS, PCIe, USB, NVME, CAN, etc.
• Bring up and diagnostics experience with high speed signals.
• Experience creating error monitoring and Board/Interface configuration APIs.
• Fluent with a variety of bring-up tools, like oscilloscope, JTAG debugger, I2C/SPI tools, etc.
• Strong organizational and communication skills, willingness to learn and confront technical challenges.

Nice to have:

• Experience with embedded linux development, Buildroot and Yocto, RTOSes like Zephyr and FreeRTOS.
• Experience working with FPGAs, Xilinx, Zed, MicroZed.
• Hardware hands-on and debugging experience, such as Power, SI, EMC validation and tuning.
• Experience with Jira, Agile/Scrum, Confluence.
• Open source projects.