Software/Firmware Engineer (Sr. Staff)

About Marvell

Marvell’s semiconductor solutions are the essential building blocks of the data infrastructure that connects our world. Across enterprise, cloud and AI, automotive, and carrier architectures, our innovative technology is enabling new possibilities.

At Marvell, you can affect the arc of individual lives, lift the trajectory of entire industries, and fuel the transformative potential of tomorrow. For those looking to make their mark on purposeful and enduring innovation, above and beyond fleeting trends, Marvell is a place to thrive, learn, and lead.

Your Team, Your Impact

The Optical Digital Signal Processing (ODSP) PHY SW Team works on Marvell's DSP products used in pluggable optical modules. These chips form the backbone of the internet, moving data within data centers, between data centers, between cities, and even continents over high bandwidth optical fibres. Marvell is the market leader in direct-detect optical DSPs, making chips to fit every application and use case from 100G to 1.6T. These products are in every major cloud data center and AI cluster around the world. Even the data used for this job description has traveled through many of Marvell's DSPs to reach your computer, and our products are a key part of the biggest AI clusters that power all the latest generative AI projects. Check out our products https://www.marvell.com/products/pam-dsp.html

The SW team owns all the SW components for the chips, including embedded FW, customer SDK, lab scripts, and GUI applications to interface with the chips. This team is a critical part of the product development flow from pre-silicon simulation, post-silicon lab bring-up, to field deployment. We're the go-to group for getting things done, whether in the field or the lab.

The software team is looking for a strong candidate with a positive attitude – ready to tackle any challenge. Join us and get the opportunity to make a meaningful impact on the projects we work on while gaining first-hand experience of what it is like to be part of a high-performing SW development team.

What You Can Expect

The core responsibilities for the SW team include:

• Embedded FW that runs on our RISC-V-based multi-core MCU, which controls our proprietary DSP data path
• C SDK provided to customers for interfacing and controlling our product
• Python-based GUI for in-field debug, status, and control
• Build, test, and automated regression infrastructure for the above

However the SW team is a key enabler for bringing a product to production, and the roll of a Sr-Staff Software Engineer is to work with SW/HW/Test teams to make that product launch a success. We work with a large and diverse cross-functional team including experts from HW, systems, test, customer support, and operations.

In this position you will be:

• Developing in C and Python
• The software expert on a block or portion of the design, working with the rest of the team to integrate, test, and deliver the feature to customers
• Responsible for the SW Architecture, Design, Development, and Testing of embedded C firmware for this block
• Taking lead on difficult to debug issues, drive to root causes with HW/Systems teams, and follow up with test/validation/customer support teams to make sure the issue is resolved
• Working with the cross-functional team to plan SW milestones, develop in sprints, closing tickets, work with multiple test disciplines, squash all the bugs, and roll out features for the product as a whole
• Traveling to offices worldwide for product development and chip bring-up (~3weeks/yr, Ottawa, California, Italy, Vietnam)

Some possible tasks will be:

• Training an intern or new hire when they first start to give them a leg up and help integrate into the team
• Develop python test scripts to configure, control, and get status from multiple DSP HW platforms for improving firmware stability
• Breaking-up and optimizing subroutines to make the best use of a multi-core MCU architecture
• Generating documentation, examples, user guides, and demonstrating how to use a complicated feature to the customer support teams
• Helping teammates to review code, analyze test results, and spitball ideas for how to debug a complicated customer issue
• Implement a new temperature tracking algorithm for a DSP/analog control to improve performance when device temperature changes

What We're Looking For

• Minimum Requirements:
• BS/MS degree in Computer Science, Electrical/Software Engineering, or related technical field(s)
• 5+ years of experience in memory constrained embedded C/C++ FW development
• Experience with technical ownership on embedded projects; task management, release planning, architecture, design, development, code reviews, testing, all the way through to customer volume production
• Understanding of embedded SoC, micro-controller architecture (RISC-V architecture a plus), memory-mapped hardware interfaces, GPIOs, ISRs, etc.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English, and able to collaborate in a large cross functional organization
• Excellent problem-solving and customer debug skills on real hardware in the lab
• Experience with using revision control and defect tracking systems (git & Jira or similar)

• Preferred but not required:
• Experience with SERDES, IM-DD/Coherent DSP, Ethernet/PCIe PHYs, and/or Optical Module SW
• Experience with designing/developing/debugging software state machines, transitions, context saving, error handling
• Experience with mixed-signal (analog+digital) control and monitoring, PID/feedback loop control, etc.
• Experience with bare-metal, RTOS, device driver, Linux kernel, etc.
• Familiarity with advanced compiler options and details (clang/gcc preferred)
• Proficient in C and Python, with knowledge of git, Linux, makefiles, gdb, IDEs, bash, etc.
• Familiarity with digital verification test flows, FPGA emulation, hardware languages such as Verilog
• Familiarity with lab equipment such as oscilloscopes, supplies, PNAs, ONTs, etc.
• Understanding of Ethernet networking from the OSI model, with emphasis on the PHY up to the data link level
• Familiarity with forward error correction, PCS framing, PMA/PMD, PRBS, and other PHY traffic schemes
• Understanding of signal processing: histograms, BER, SNR, sampling phase, Shannon limit, impulse & frequency response, FFT, etc.

Additional Compensation and Benefit Elements

With competitive compensation and great benefits, you will enjoy our workstyle within an environment of shared collaboration, transparency, and inclusivity. We’re dedicated to giving our people the tools and resources they need to succeed in doing work that matters, and to grow and develop with us. For additional information on what it’s like to work at Marvell, visit our Careers page.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or protected veteran status.

Interview Integrity

As part of our commitment to fair and authentic hiring practices, we ask that candidates do not use AI tools (e.g., transcription apps, real-time answer generators like ChatGPT, CoPilot, or note-taking bots) during interviews.

Our interviews are designed to assess your personal experience, thought process, and communication skills in real-time. If a candidate uses such tools during an interview, they will be disqualified from the hiring process.

This position may require access to technology and/or software subject to U.S. export control laws and regulations, including the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). As such, applicants must be eligible to access export-controlled information as defined under applicable law. Marvell may be required to obtain export licensing approval from the U.S. Department of Commerce and/or the U.S. Department of State. Except for U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, or protected individuals as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), all applicants may be subject to an export license review process prior to employment.

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