Optical Firmware Engineer, Principal
Astera Labs
Apply to this jobAstera Labs (NASDAQ: ALAB) provides rack-scale AI infrastructure through purpose-built connectivity solutions. By collaborating with hyperscalers and ecosystem partners, Astera Labs enables organizations to unlock the full potential of modern AI. Astera Labs’ Intelligent Connectivity Platform integrates CXL®, Ethernet, NVLink, PCIe®, and UALink™ semiconductor-based technologies with the company’s COSMOS software suite to unify diverse components into cohesive, flexible systems that deliver end-to-end scale-up, and scale-out connectivity. The company’s custom connectivity solutions business complements its standards-based portfolio, enabling customers to deploy tailored architectures to meet their unique infrastructure requirements. Discover more at www.asteralabs.com.
We are seeking to hire an Optical Firmware Engineer, Principal develop, optimize, and maintain embedded firmware for optical engines, photonic integrated circuits (PICs) optical modules. This includes control of lasers, modulators, photodetectors, thermal management, calibration, and high-speed link optimization in silicon photonics systems. The role sits at the intersection of embedded systems, photonics, and hardware.
Key Responsibilities:
- Design, develop, and debug real-time firmware for optical transceivers or PIC/EIC engines (e.g., in C/C++ for microcontrollers or embedded processors).
- Implement algorithms for laser control, automatic power control (APC), temperature compensation, wavelength locking, and link training/adaptation.
- Integrate firmware with hardware (DSP, drivers, ADCs/DACs) and higher-level software (e.g., via I2C, SPI, or custom interfaces).
- Develop diagnostic, calibration, and telemetry features for manufacturing test, field monitoring, and reliability.
- Optimize for low latency, power efficiency, and high reliability in high-speed (400G/800G/1.6T+) optical links.
- Collaborate with optical, electrical, DSP, and system validation teams to characterize and tune performance.
- Support bring-up, debugging, and qualification of silicon photonics prototypes.
- Handle firmware updates, version control, and compliance with standards (e.g., OIF, CMIS).
Required Qualifications:
- BS/MS/PhD in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Physics, or related field + 12+ years of industry experience.
- Strong experience in embedded firmware development (bare-metal or RTOS) for optical or high-speed communication systems.
- Knowledge of photonics concepts: lasers, modulators, photodiodes, TIA, thermal tuning.
- Proficiency in C/C++, Python (for scripting/tools), and debugging tools (JTAG, oscilloscopes, optical test equipment).
- Experience with high-speed SerDes, signal integrity, or optical link optimization is a plus.
- Familiarity with silicon photonics, or pluggable optics (QSFP, OSFP) is highly valued.
We know that creativity and innovation happen more often when teams include diverse ideas, backgrounds, and experiences, and we actively encourage everyone with relevant experience to apply, including people of color, LGBTQ+ and non-binary people, veterans, parents, and individuals with disabilities.
Summary
Develop and optimize embedded firmware for high-speed optical transceivers and photonic integrated circuits.
Job title
Optical Firmware Engineer, Principal
Experience level
12+ years
Minimum experience
12+ years exp
Industry
technology
Location requirements
San Jose, California, United States; remote not specified
Salary
Not specified
Visa sponsorship
H-1B sponsor history
Management role
No
Required skills
Preferred skills
Specializations
Structured locations inferred from the posting.
San Jose, CA, USA