Samtec is seeking a Senior Firmware Engineer to work with our optical transceiver product line in our Santa Clara, CA location. This is a Monday through Friday position and is on day shift. Salary is $200K - $270K per year inclusive of applicable bonus(s) and commensurate with experience. Standard benefit offerings available are medical (HSA/PPO) dental, vision, group life, AD&D, short and long term disability, EAP, 401K plus other voluntary options, as well as paid time off.
The optical transceiver firmware engineer would lead the architecture, development, integration, and verification of embedded firmware for mid-board optical transceivers up to 200Gbps per lane applications. This role ensures robust active component configuration, module integration control, standards compliance (e.g., CMIS/MDIO/SFF-standards), manufacturing test enablement, and seamless system-level interoperability with hyperscale, high power computing, AI datacenter, PCIe/CXL, and ruggedized environmental customers.
Essential Functions/ Responsibilities:
- Architect and implement embedded firmware for optical transceiver control systems (e.g., MCU-based designs and active control loops in a mostly bare metal environment)
- Lead development of low-level drivers for I²C/MDIO, ADC/DAC, GPIO, PMIC, SPI, UART, and thermal/laser control systems
- Implement SFF/CMIS-compliant state machines and memory maps for optical transceiver modules
- Develop algorithms for module startup sequencing, fault management, chipset interaction, and closed-loop optical power/temperature control
- Ensure safe and deterministic firmware behavior across all module states (Init, Low-Power, High-Power, Diagnostic, FW Update, etc.)
- Collaborate with hardware, software, optics, electrical, mechanical and process teams to Design for Manufacture and Test (DFM & DFT) and validate end-to-end module behavior
- Own debugging of complex system-level issues (e.g., thermal runaway protection, laser bias tuning, signal integrity interactions, PMD/Chipset state issues)
- Support initial bring-up of integrated modules and throughout product life cycle
- Lead root-cause analysis for firmware-related field returns or customer issues
- Assist with new and existing hardware characterization.
- Tool development using C# and Python used for engineering, manufacturing and sales.
- Maintain revision control, documentation, and processes for firmware release flow
- Participate in design reviews, customer calls, failure analysis reviews, and interoperability testing.
“The responsibilities as defined are intended to serve as a general guideline for this position. Associates may be asked to perform additional tasks depending on strengths and capabilities”
Required Experience:
- 5+ years of embedded firmware experience, preferably in optical transceivers or high-speed communications products.
- Strong proficiency in C, with skills or knowledge in C# and embedded systems running RTOS
- Ability to design maintainable state machines, drivers, and HW-FW abstractions.
- Skilled in debugging using logic analyzers, I²C/MDIO sniffers, oscilloscopes, JTAG.
- Familiarity with automated testing, scripting (Python), and lab bench workflows.
- Deep understanding of:
- Optical transceiver architectures and product design schematics
- CMIS, SFF-8636, MDIO, I²C, low-level hardware interfaces
- Laser control (VCSEL/DFB/EML), TEC/thermal control, power sequencing
- Signal integrity basics and high-speed link behavior
- Experience in ASIC, SoC, FPGA, Switch IC, DSP control and integration is a plus
- Strong problem-solving, root-cause analysis, and system-level thinking.
- Ability to collaborate with cross-disciplinary teams and interface with customers when needed.
- Excellent documentation habits and ownership mindset.
- Ability to work in fast-paced NPI environments with tight schedules
Education:
- BS/MS in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field.
