Director Hardware Engineering

Key Responsibilities:

• Strategic Leadership & Vision: Define and drive the technical roadmap for embedded systems and hardware bring-up, aligning with overall product strategy.
• Team Management & Development: Lead, mentor, and grow a team of embedded software and hardware engineers, fostering a culture of innovation and excellence.
• Architectural Design & Review: Oversee the architectural design of embedded systems, ensuring scalability, performance, and reliability. Conduct rigorous code and design reviews.
• Hardware Bring-up & Integration: Lead the entire hardware bring-up process, from initial board power-on to full system integration with the embedded Linux operating system.
• Embedded Software Development: Direct the development of embedded software, including bootloaders (e.g., U-Boot), board support packages (BSPs), device drivers, and user-space applications.
• Linux Kernel Expertise: Guide the team in Linux kernel development, customization, and optimization for specific hardware platforms, including device tree configurations.
• Networking Implementation: Oversee the design and implementation of networking protocols and drivers within the embedded Linux environment, potentially focusing on specific technologies like Datacom or Ethernet.
• Troubleshooting & Debugging: Provide expert guidance on debugging complex hardware/software interaction issues, kernel panics, and performance bottlenecks.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Collaborate effectively with hardware design, QA, product management, and other teams to ensure seamless product development and delivery.
• Process Improvement: Establish and refine best practices for embedded software development, testing, and continuous integration/delivery (CI/CD).

Required Skills and Experience:

• Extensive C Programming Expertise: Deep proficiency in C for embedded systems development, including low-level programming and memory management.
• Linux Kernel Development: Expert-level knowledge of Linux kernel internals, device drivers, system calls, and kernel-space programming.
• Hardware Bring-up: Proven experience in bringing up new embedded hardware platforms, including debugging and validating custom peripherals.
• Networking Protocols: Strong understanding of networking concepts and protocols (TCP/IP, Ethernet, Datacom, etc.) and their implementation in embedded Linux.
• Embedded Systems Architecture: Experience with various embedded architectures (e.g., x86, ARM, MIPS) and related development tools.
• Leadership & Management: Demonstrated ability to lead and manage engineering teams, including project planning, resource allocation, and performance management.
• Problem-Solving & Analytical Skills: Exceptional ability to diagnose and resolve complex technical challenges in embedded systems.
• Communication & Collaboration: Excellent communication skills for interacting with technical teams, stakeholders, and potentially customers.

Required Skills & Qualifications:

• • Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Electronics, Electrical Engineering, or a related field.
• An individual with 25 years of experience as a Director of Engineering for Hardware Bring-up is a senior leader responsible for all hardware engineering functions, from architectural definition to manufacturing. With this extensive background, they have deep technical and strategic expertise, including team management, cross-functional collaboration, and the delivery of high-quality products.
• Extensive experience in embedded software development, with a strong emphasis on C programming.
• Deep expertise in Linux kernel development, including device drivers, kernel modules, and system calls.
• Proven experience in hardware bring-up and debugging embedded systems.
• Familiarity with various embedded communication protocols (I2C, SPI, UART, USB, PCIe, etc.).
• Experience with embedded Linux build systems (e.g., Yocto, Buildroot, Rocky Linux).
• Strong understanding of networking concepts and protocols (TCP/IP, Ethernet, Datacom, etc.) and their implementation in embedded Linux.
• Drive the development, integration, and bring-up of BCM and Marvell SDK-based embedded systems.
• In-depth understanding of Broadcom's network silicon, specifically the Trident 4 and Tomahawk architectures.
• BIOS/UEFI: Expertise in UEFI bootloaders, storage protocols (SATA, NVMe, AHCI), and x86 architecture.
• Proven experience with hardware bring-up, bootloaders (like U-Boot), device trees, and basic hardware integration.
• Familiarity with high-speed SerDes, Ethernet/PCIe PHYs, optical modules, and Layer 1 (L1) hardware components
• Deep understanding of Intel's X86 architecture, microcontrollers, digital/analog circuit design, and associated development tools.
• Strong understanding of ARM and MIPS processor architectures and associated hardware interfaces.
• Proficiency with BMC technologies (e.g., OpenBMC) and IPMI/Redfish protocols.
• Strong knowledge of HROT principles and their implementation in hardware.
• Proficiency with debugging tools (e.g., GDB, JTAG, oscilloscopes, logic analyzers).
• Strong leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills.