Custom Silicon Firmware Architect

Intel Corporation • Austin, TX

4d • Onsite

About The Position

Intel is seeking a highly qualified candidate to lead firmware architecture and innovation in a dynamic and forward-thinking organization focused on next-generation semiconductor product development. Our team focuses on being nimble, adaptable, lean and efficient to drive cutting-edge, customer impacting technology development. We embrace innovative and efficient methodologies that drive at-scale product execution. As a Principal Firmware Engineer, you will drive the architecture, design, and implementation of firmware for IP and subsystem components in system-on-chip (SOC) products. This role requires a deep understanding of SOC and system-level architecture, firmware development in resource-constrained environments, and hardware/firmware co-engineering methodologies to ensure the highest quality product delivery. The position emphasizes pioneering new approaches to firmware development - including AI-assisted engineering workflows - and architecting for flexibility and graceful future evolution across multiple disciplines. If you are passionate about building products faster and more efficiently than anyone else on the planet, we want you on our team.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree with 12+ years, in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related STEM discipline.
• Experience with one of more of the following: o Architecture and development of low-level software/firmware requiring direct interaction with hardware. o Proficiency in C, C++, and/or SystemC. o Firmware debugging and development for embedded systems in constrained environments. o Leading architectural definitions for cross-functional SoC, IP, or Platform teams through architecture, design, firmware, and validation to ship high-volume production silicon. o Development of hardware/firmware co-engineering methodologies (co-validation, modeling, simulation, emulation). o Development of processes, tools, or test infrastructure for SoC or IP design and validation.
• Demonstrated ability to solve complex system-level problems spanning technical and organizational boundaries.
• Strong technical communication skills - clear writing that reflects clear thinking - with proven experience across technical and non-technical audiences.

Nice To Haves

• Master's degree with 10+ years, or PhD with 8+ years in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related STEM discipline.
• Self-directed and adaptable - thrives in lean teams, takes ownership regardless of organizational structure, and holds themselves and teammates accountable for results.
• Passion for building tools and processes that make the entire team faster, not just individual productivity.
• Experience using AI-assisted development tools (e.g., GitHub Copilot, AI-driven code generation, AI-augmented validation) and extending or customizing AI tooling for engineering workflows.
• Experience with RTL simulation environments (e.g., SystemVerilog testbenches, UVM) and SOC emulation platforms for firmware bring-up and debug.
• Experience with SystemC/TLM modeling for firmware co-validation and architectural exploration.
• Experience with SoC subsystem firmware for power management, telemetry, interrupts, memory management, RAS, and/or security.
• Experience with cache-coherent SoC fabrics, chiplet interconnects (e.g., UCIe), or high-speed I/O interfaces (e.g., PCIe, CXL).
• Track record of shipping innovative firmware solutions in high-volume silicon products.

Responsibilities

• Architect firmware for solutions across IP, SoC and Platform, modeling to ensure architectural correctness before implementation.
• Drive innovation in both product architecture and development methodology, running rapid experiments to learn and adjusting direction on insight.
• Leverage and extend AI-powered engineering tools and workflows to accelerate product definition, software development, improve code quality, and scale team productivity - treating AI as a core part of the engineering toolkit, not an afterthought.
• Design and implement embedded firmware in environments with constrained timing and memory resources, using C, C++, SystemC, and Python across pre- and post-silicon environments (RTL simulation, SystemC modeling, emulation).
• Collaborate fluidly across architecture, design, firmware, validation, and software teams - forming focused teams to solve problems, produce results, and move on.
• Develop and refine co-engineering processes and tools for HW/FW co-validation, including test infrastructure, automation, and supporting frameworks.
• Architect systems for flexibility and graceful evolution, applying disciplined judgment about what to include and what to leave out.
• Mentor engineers and raise the technical bar through rigorous code reviews, clear technical writing, and leading by example.
• Leverage industry standards, architectures, interfaces, IP, tools, and flows to work seamlessly within the broader ecosystem.

Benefits

• We offer a total compensation package that ranks among the best in the industry. It consists of competitive pay, stock bonuses, and benefit programs which include health, retirement, and vacation.
• Find out more about the benefits of working at Intel.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level