Firmware Engineering Manager

Monarch Quantum•San Diego, CA

9d•$175,000 - $225,000

About The Position

Monarch Quantum is hiring a Firmware Engineering Manager to build and lead its firmware engineering function as the company scales. This is a hands-on leadership role in a fast-paced startup environment, working closely with company leadership and cross-functional teams to establish firmware engineering practices and support the company’s mission and growth. The manager will oversee firmware engineering projects from requirements development and system architecture through implementation, integration, verification, validation, qualification, production support, and maintenance. The work includes firmware for complex laser, photonic, and electro-optical systems, including FPGA- and SoC-based architectures that combine HDL fabric, embedded C/C++ processors, and hybrid hardware/firmware solutions for high-speed, high-precision control applications. The position is part of the cross-functional leadership team and is responsible for project planning and execution on schedule and to budget, including firmware scope, technical risks, and mitigation strategies. The manager will establish company-wide processes, standards, development environments, coding practices, tools, and documentation, and collaborate with Electrical, Software, Optical, Mechanical, Systems, Manufacturing, Program Management, and Project Engineering teams. Access to export-controlled information is required; employment is contingent on the applicant being a U.S. person as defined by 8 U.S.C. § 1324b(a)(3).

Requirements

Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field.
At least 7 years of relevant experience, including pursuit of relevant higher education.
Proven record of building and leading engineering teams that execute multiple parallel, complex firmware and embedded-systems projects through development, qualification, fielding, and maintenance cycles.
Strong technical background in FPGA and embedded development, including FPGA-based solutions combining HDL fabric with embedded C/C++ microprocessor architectures.
Strong understanding of digital logic, computer architecture, electronics, and hardware/firmware interfaces for complex electro-optical and controls systems.
Experience with FPGA development toolchains such as Xilinx Vivado/Vitis, including simulation, integration, verification, implementation, and debugging.
Experience architecting and developing hybrid SoC and soft-microprocessor solutions for real-time embedded applications.
Proficiency in C/C++ for real-time embedded development and familiarity with HDL-based FPGA development.
Experience with device-level and high-speed communication protocols such as SPI, I2C, Ethernet, serial interfaces, and SerDes.
Creative and flexible, willing to wear multiple hats, passionate about building systems from the ground up, and comfortable with ambiguity and change.
Must be a U.S. person as defined by 8 U.S.C. § 1324b(a)(3), because the position requires access to export-controlled information.

Nice To Haves

Relevant experience ideally gained within a startup or technology company.

Responsibilities

Recruit, develop, and manage a team of firmware engineers.
Contribute to the architecture, design, integration, verification, and transition to production of firmware for complex laser, photonic, and electro-optical systems.
Create and maintain company-wide firmware engineering processes, standards, development environments, coding practices, and tools.
Execute firmware engineering projects from requirements development and system architecture through implementation, integration, verification, validation, qualification, and production support.
Lead development of FPGA- and SoC-based architectures using HDL fabric, embedded C/C++ processors, and hybrid hardware/firmware solutions for high-speed and high-precision control applications.
Plan and execute company projects on schedule and to budget, including firmware scope, technical risk identification, and mitigation strategies.
Partner with Electrical, Software, Optical, Mechanical, Systems, Manufacturing, Program Management, and Project Engineering teams to support system-level integration.
Establish and enforce firmware engineering best practices, including architecture and design reviews, code reviews, coding standards, design patterns, configuration management, performance optimization, and verification practices.
Establish firmware development, integration, verification, release, and production-support processes suitable for low-to-mid-volume, high-complexity systems and future scaling.
Partner with Electrical and Software teams to define and maintain hardware/firmware/software interfaces and support system integration.
Maintain engineering documentation, including firmware architecture and design documents, interface control documents, coding standards, verification plans, test procedures, release documentation, and traceability to system requirements.
Lead troubleshooting, root-cause analysis, and corrective-action activities for firmware and system-level issues throughout development, production, and field deployment.
Lead teams through complex FPGA implementation and timing-closure challenges involving dense IP, high-speed interfaces, and algorithmic processing.