Principal Firmware/Middleware Engineer

Renesas is one of the top global semiconductor companies in the world. We strive to develop a safer, healthier, greener, and smarter world, and our goal is to make every endpoint intelligent by offering product solutions in the automotive, industrial, infrastructure and IoT markets. Our robust product portfolio includes world leading MCUs, SoCs, Analog and power products, plus Winning Combination solutions that curate these complementary products. We are a key supplier to the world’s leading manufacturers of electronics you rely on every day; you may not see our products, but they are all around you.

Renesas employs roughly 21,000 people in more than 30 countries worldwide. As a global team, our employees actively embody the Renesas Culture, our guiding principles based on five key elements: Transparent, Agile, Global, Innovative, and Entrepreneurial. Renesas believes in, and has a commitment to, diversity and inclusion, with initiatives and a leadership team dedicated to its resources and values. At Renesas, we want to build a sustainable future where technology helps make our lives easier. Join us and build your future by being part of what’s next in electronics and the world.

As the Principal Firmware Architect for UALink Switch Products, you will serve as the technical visionary responsible for defining, designing, and driving the end-to-end embedded software and firmware architecture for our next-generation AI cluster scale-up switches.

In this high-impact role, you will bridge the gap between cutting-edge silicon (ASICs) and upper-layer cluster orchestration software. You will define how firmware manages complex scale-up topologies, ensures raw hardware performance (maximizing bandwidth and minimizing latency), and maintains absolute reliability across thousands of connected AI accelerators.

1. Architectural Definition & Design

• Fabric Firmware Architecture: Architect and specify the low-level firmware running on internal microcontrollers within the UALink Switch ASIC.

• Hardware-Software Co-Design: Collaborate heavily with ASIC design, logic design (RTL), and verification teams to define hardware-software interfaces, registers, scratchpads, and memory maps.

• Protocol Implementation: Define the firmware stack to support UALink physical, link, and transport layers, managing credits, routing tables, and flow control.

2. Initialization, Boot, & Fabric Management

• Link Initialization & Training: Design deterministic, fast link-training state machines to bring up ultra-high-speed die-to-die and chassis-to-chassis UALink connections.

• Topology Discovery & Routing: Architect efficient algorithms for runtime topology discovery, dynamic routing, and credit management to prevent fabric congestion.

• Platform Orchestration: Lead the design of SDKs and APIs that expose switch functionality to baseboard management controllers (BMCs) using OpenBMC and Redfish APIs.

3. Performance, RAS, & Security

• Latency & Bandwidth Optimization: Fine-tune bare-metal execution paths to guarantee deterministic low latency for collective communication primitives (e.g., All-Reduce, All-to-All).

• Advanced RAS (Reliability, Availability, Serviceability): Design robust error-handling, telemetry, and fault-isolation micro-architectures (e.g., link degradation fallback, FEC, and error containment).

• Security & Root of Trust: Implement secure boot, cryptographic firmware authentication, and runtime attestation to ensure fabric integrity.

Education & Experience

• Degree: Bachelor’s or Master’s/Ph.D. in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related discipline.

• Experience: 15+ years of hands-on experience in embedded systems, server platform architecture, or low-level silicon firmware development.

Technical Skill Set

• Language Masteries: Expert-level proficiency in C for bare-metal and RTOS environments (e.g., ThreadX, FreeRTOS, Zephyr) and Python for hardware automation and modeling.

• Protocol Expertise: Deep technical understanding of high-speed scale-up/scale-out interconnect protocols (UALink, NVLink, CXL, or PCIe Gen5/Gen6).

• Network Switching Concepts: Comprehensive knowledge of credit-based flow control, packet routing, physical layer (PHY) equalization, and SerDes management.

• Tooling: Strong familiarity with hardware debuggers (JTAG, Lauterbach Lauterbach/TRACE32) and lab equipment (Oscilloscopes, PCIe/Protocol Analyzers).

The expected annual pay range for this position is $230,000-$270,000K. This position is also eligible for bonus opportunities. Please note that final offer amount will be dependent on geographic location, applicable experience, and skillset of the candidate.

Renesas is an embedded semiconductor solution provider driven by its Purpose, To Make Our Lives Easier. With a global team of over 21,000 engineers and problem solvers in more than 30 countries, we offer the opportunity to work on world-leading technology for Automotive, Industrial, Infrastructure, and IoT, shaping a safer, healthier, greener, and smarter future.

At Renesas, TAGIE is our culture, grounded in being Transparent, Agile, Global, Innovative, and Entrepreneurial. It shapes how we work, grow and deliver on our purpose together. This collaborative spirit and mindset drive our semiconductor technology to transform industries and impact millions of lives.

We believe in rewarding our employees with a competitive benefits package alongside their salary. More information will be provided during the hiring process.

Are you ready to join our team and shape the future with us?

Renesas Electronics is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer, committed to supporting diversity and fostering a work environment free of discrimination on the basis of sex, race, religion, national origin, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, military status, veteran status, or any other basis protected by law. For more information, please read our Diversity & Inclusion Statement.

Renesas Electronics deals with dual-use technology that is subject to U.S. export controls regulations. Under these regulations it may be necessary for Renesas to obtain U.S. government export license prior to release of technology to certain persons. The decision whether or not to file or pursue an export license application is at the sole discretion of Renesas.