Embedded Firmware Engineer - Image Signal Processor (ISP)

Apple • Cupertino, CA

13h

About The Position

Apple’s ISP team is seeking an Embedded Firmware Engineer to develop camera technologies for Apple products. The role focuses on core camera and ISP technologies, including Apple’s custom image signal processing pipeline and hardware components. The engineer will contribute to how Apple develops, tests, and manufactures its products in a collaborative, fast-paced product development environment. The work spans the full product lifecycle, from pre-silicon emulation through silicon bring-up and production, and involves close partnership with silicon design, silicon validation, and machine learning algorithm teams.

The engineer will develop low-level ISP firmware for image-processing pipelines running on Apple’s latest system-on-chip designs. The role also covers ISP hardware validation, feature bring-up, camera software stack integration, performance troubleshooting, and collaboration on hardware-firmware debugging and architecture decisions.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s or master’s degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related field.
• At least 3 years of experience developing multithreaded software within embedded RTOS environments.
• Strong proficiency in C and C++.
• At least 5 years of embedded firmware development experience.
• Experience with camera pipelines, image signal processors, or video processing systems.
• Track record of bringing up firmware on new silicon or hardware platforms.
• Familiarity with pre-silicon development environments, including emulators and FPGA prototypes.
• Experience with firmware performance tuning, memory optimization, and power management.
• Proficiency with AI-assisted development tools and workflows.
• Understanding of low-level hardware interfaces and register-level programming.
• Ability to debug complex systems using hardware and software tools.
• Strong communication skills and ability to work effectively across teams.

Responsibilities

• Develop low-level ISP firmware for image-processing pipelines running on Apple system-on-chip designs.
• Drive ISP hardware validation, feature bring-up, and camera software stack integration on emulators during pre-silicon development and on silicon during initial bring-up.
• Identify and resolve system performance challenges involving power consumption, memory utilization, latency, and timing jitter.
• Collaborate with silicon designers to debug hardware-firmware interactions.
• Contribute to architecture decisions that shape future camera capabilities.
• Work with silicon design, silicon validation, and machine learning algorithm teams across the product lifecycle.

What This Job Offers

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