Senior Staff Firmware Engineer

Details

Groq delivers fast, efficient AI inference. Our LPU-based system powers GroqCloud™, giving businesses and developers the speed and scale they need. From our Bay Area roots to our growing global presence, we are on a mission to make high performance AI compute more accessible and affordable. When real-time AI is within reach, anything is possible. Build fast.

Mission

Own the end‑to‑end development of low‑level firmware that brings Groq’s AI‑accelerator hardware to life. Drive architectural decisions, mentor a growing team of firmware engineers, and champion best‑in‑class processes that accelerate time‑to‑market while raising the overall quality and reliability of our products.

Location

Strong preference for the Bay Area. #LI-Remote, #LI-Hybrid, #LI-Onsite — candidates in the United States and internationally will be considered; compensation for international candidates is dependent on the local market.

Responsibilities

• Technical leadership across the firmware stack (bootloader, drivers, RTOS, application-level services). Set vision, standards, and make trade-off decisions balancing performance, power, security, and maintainability.
• Team enablement: conduct design reviews, pair-programming, tech talks; mentor junior and mid-level engineers and create growth paths toward senior-staff or principal levels.
• Translate PRDs into detailed firmware specifications, architecture diagrams, and interface contracts.
• Define modular, reusable firmware frameworks applicable across multiple products.
• Leverage and maintain Embedded Linux and RTOS integrations, including crafting and maintaining Device Tree blobs for custom board integration.
• Design and document firmware-hardware interfaces and ensure integration with device tree and RTOS layers.
• Lead profiling, optimization, and validation of latency-critical paths (e.g., LPU DMA, interrupt latency, power-state transitions). Implement robust error-handling, watchdogs, and safety mechanisms to target > 99.99% uptime.
• Cross-functional collaboration with hardware, silicon, system-software, and AI-software teams to co-design interfaces (PCIe, DDR, high-speed SerDes, I²C, SPI, etc.) and drive integration-test strategies.
• Identify and implement process improvements: CI/CD pipelines for firmware, automated regression testing, static analysis, and code-review standards.
• Lead bring-up for new LPU silicon: bootloader development, peripheral bring-up, post-silicon validation; perform hands-on lab debugging with oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, JTAG/SWD, and in-system trace tools.
• Integrate security primitives such as secure boot, firmware encryption, and attestation; support product certification (FCC, CE) and go-to-market readiness.

Requirements

• B.S. in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field.
• 10+ years of professional firmware development experience on complex, high-performance SoC/ASIC platforms (preferably AI/ML accelerators).
• Deep knowledge of C/C++ (C‑11 or later), assembly, and low-level hardware interaction (memory-mapped I/O, interrupt handling, DMA, bootloader design).
• Proven experience with real-time operating systems (FreeRTOS, Zephyr, VxWorks, ThreadX) and/or bare-metal firmware for latency-critical workloads.
• Proficiency with high-speed interfaces (PCIe Gen3/4, DDR4/5, SerDes, Ethernet) and lower-speed buses (SPI, I²C, UART, CAN).
• Experience with profiling, optimization, validation, watchdogs/safety mechanisms, and post-silicon debug/bring-up.
• Experience implementing CI/CD, automated regression testing, and static analysis for firmware projects is strongly preferred.

Highly valued (not required)

• Prior work on firmware for AI/ML inference engines, tensor accelerators, or similar workloads.
• Datacenter exposure: understanding server-grade power, cooling, and reliability requirements.

Benefits / Why Join Us

• Purposeful, intentional hiring and a high-performing team.
• Opportunity to build core systems that shape the company and the AI compute ecosystem.
• Work on hard, impactful technical challenges with a high standard for excellence.
• Comprehensive compensation package including base salary, equity, and benefits. U.S. base salary range: $193,000 to $330,000 (location-, skills-, and experience-dependent). Compensation for international candidates varies by market.

Equal Opportunity & Accessibility

Groq is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to an inclusive environment. Reasonable accommodations are available for applicants with disabilities (contact: [email protected]). Offers contingent on verification of identity and employment authorization.