Senior or Principal Firmware Engineer - Optical Transceivers

What You Will Do: Design, develop and verify CMIS-compliant firmware for optical transceivers Design, implement and calibrate control loops for electro-optical components Port, integrate and test DSP chip driver software on target platforms Design and develop firmware and GUI-based tools for evaluation boards (EVBs) to streamline debugging, lab testing and performance validation Ensure product performance, reliability and quality through critical code reviews, test design and analysis Enhance and maintain the firmware codebase, ensuring comprehensive documentation, robust version control and upgrade management Implement and maintain secure boot and signed firmware image workflows to meet customer and hyperscaler security requirements Apply AI coding agents across development, test and debug workflows — while owning correctness, timing and hardware behavior that agents cannot verify on their own Support New Product Introduction (NPI) and Application Engineering teams in bringing products to market Troubleshoot and resolve operational and customer issues by analyzing use cases, reproducing issues in the lab and implementing solutions Additional Scope at the Principal Level Set technical direction for firmware architecture across the transceiver product line Lead and mentor distributed design and development teams across multiple time zones Establish the review standards and guardrails governing the team’s use of AI coding agents Represent firmware engineering in cross-functional design reviews and customer engagements Who You Are (Basic Qualifications)Bachelor’s degree in computer engineering, electrical engineering, or a related field 7+ years of experience in firmware design and development for communication or related products Experience programming in C/C++ and Python Experience with bare-metal and RTOS-based firmware development and optimization Experience with bus protocols such as I2C, I3C, SPI, PCIe and MDIO Hands‑on experience with lab equipment such as oscilloscopes, signal generators, OSA and VOA Experience with PID control loops involving DAC, ADC, TEC and PICWhat Will Put You Ahead 10+ years of firmware development experience, including leading or mentoring engineers on technical projects (expected for consideration at the Principal level) Experience developing CMIS-compliant firmware for pluggable optical transceivers Experience with high‑speed form factors such as OSFP, QSFP‑DD or QSFP112 at 400G and above Experience porting and integrating vendor DSP or PHY driver SDKs on embedded targets Experience building GUI‑based lab and test tools using Qt, PyQt or an equivalent framework Experience using AI coding assistants in a professional development workflow, including reviewing and validating generated code Experience with Git version control and CI/CD pipelines Background in optical technologies and electro‑optical component behavior For this role, we anticipate paying $165,000 - $240,000 per year. This role is eligible for variable pay, issued as a monetary bonus or in another form. At Koch companies, we are entrepreneurs. This means we openly challenge the status quo, find new ways to create value and get rewarded for our individual contributions. Any compensation range provided for a role is an estimate determined by available market data. The actual amount may be higher or lower than the range provided considering each candidate's knowledge, skills, abilities, and geographic location. If you have questions, please speak to your recruiter about the flexibility and detail of our compensation philosophy. Hiring Philosophy All Koch companies value diversity of thought, perspectives, aptitudes, experiences, and backgrounds. We are Military Ready and Second Chance employers. Learn more about our hiring philosophy here.

Who We Are: At Koch, employees are empowered to do what they do best to make life better. Learn how our business philosophy helps employees unleash their potential while creating value for themselves and the company. Our goal is for each employee, and their families, to live fulfilling and healthy lives. We provide essential resources and support to build and maintain physical, financial, and emotional strength - focusing on overall wellbeing so you can focus on what matters most. Our benefits plan includes -medical dental vision flexible spending and health savings accounts life insurance ADD disability retirement paid vacation/time off educational assistance may also include infertility assistance paid parental leave adoption assistance Specific eligibility criteria is set by the applicable Summary Plan Description, policy or guideline and benefits may vary by geographic region. If you have questions on what benefits apply to you, please speak to your recruiter. Equal Opportunity Employer, including disability and protected veteran status. Except where prohibited by state law, some offers of employment are conditioned upon successfully passing a drug test. This employer uses E‑Verify. Please click here for additional information. (For Illinois E‑Verify information click here, aquí, or tu ).