Principal Firmware Engineer

Verizon•Irving, TX

5d•Hybrid

About The Position

We are seeking a highly experienced Principal Embedded Firmware Engineer to architect, drive, and optimize the firmware lifecycle for our next-generation networking devices. In this senior role, you will tackle our most complex technical challenges across Wi-Fi routers, gateways, and access points. From writing robust C/C++ code to leading deep packet analysis and system triage, you will set the technical standard for the team. If you are a seasoned expert in embedded Linux environments and wireless networking protocols, we want you to help shape our core technology.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree or four or more years of work experience.
Six or more years of relevant experience required, demonstrated through one or a combination of work and/or military experience, or specialized training.
Willingness to travel up to 25% of the time.
Hands-on firmware or software development experience in networking and embedded systems, with deep, specialized expertise in Wi-Fi routers, gateways, or access points.
Master-level expertise writing production-quality code in C and C++ (C++11/14).
Deep command of Linux/Unix terminal environments, including advanced core commands, standard debugging tools, shell scripting, and system/memory process monitoring.
Extensive, authoritative experience capturing and analyzing core network protocols (TCP/IP, UDP, DNS, DHCP, ARP, ICMP) using industry-standard tools.
Comprehensive understanding of IEEE 802.11 standards (a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be), wireless security protocols (WPA2/WPA3), WPS, and the physical/MAC layer mechanisms behind common RF performance bottlenecks.

Nice To Haves

Experience architecting, configuring, and deploying applications using Docker and containerized embedded development environments.
Strong working knowledge of open-source router operating systems (OpenWrt, prplOS, RDK-B) or proprietary vendor-specific router SDKs (e.g., Qualcomm, Broadcom, MediaTek).
Hands-on experience designing hardware test environments, including RF sniffers, chambers, and network traffic generators (e.g., Spirent, Ixia, or iPerf).

Responsibilities

Architect, develop, and optimize high-performance firmware applications using C and modern C++ (C++11/14) in embedded Linux environments.
Lead deep packet inspection and network traffic analysis using Wireshark, tcpdump, and wireless sniffers to resolve the most difficult connectivity dropouts, protocol anomalies, and latency issues.
Drive the diagnosis of critical system issues via shell terminals (SSH, serial). Extract and analyze log bundles, investigate complex kernel/application-layer crashes, and isolate root causes that evade standard debugging.
Oversee the rigorous validation of end-to-end Wi-Fi performance across all bands (2.4GHz / 5GHz / 6GHz). Ensure bulletproof stability for band/AP steering, mesh networking, and core router features (DHCP, NAT, Firewall, QoS, and Parental Controls).
Set the standard for engineering documentation. Produce highly detailed bug reports with reproducible steps, system state observations, log files, and packet captures (.pcap) to accelerate cross-functional resolution.
Design and maintain robust Python and shell scripting frameworks to automate complex test cases, streamline log collection, and execute large-scale soak testing routines.