Principal Firmware Engineer Jobs
Principal Firmware Engineer jobs are open across consumer electronics, automotive, defense, industrial automation, and medical devices, from senior firmware engineer to staff and principal, with specializations in embedded systems, RTOS development, and low-level hardware-software integration. See the openings below and apply to the ones that match your experience.
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In this position, the Principal BIOS / Firmware Architect will be responsible for architecting Server and Rack level solutions for customers in the Cloud Computing and Hyperscale Industry. The responsibilities for this position include working directly with our customers and core technology suppliers to understand and solve technical problems facing the customer. In addition, the position will include providing technical leadership and guidance to internal Engineering, Management, and Business Teams.
What You Will Do
- Develops long-term hyperscale server technology strategies based on technical and business footprint of the customer.
- Drives internal and external integration of system level engineering strategy.
- Develops long-term technical relationships with the core technology ecosystem. The relationships should create a technical interface, driving customer requirements into next generation designs.
- Identifies and develops differentiation opportunities and drives thought leadership discussions among engineering, customers, business, and management.
- Work directly with customers on concept and development of custom hyperscale server and rack designs.
- Determine how to solve performance/operational problems and deliver business value through ZT hardware.
What You Bring
- Experience with high-speed design, signal integrity issues, power distribution techniques and x86/ARM/GPU platform architectures.
- Experience with implementation of high-speed serial buses and Fabrics (SAS/SATA, PCIe, InfiniBand, Fibre Channel, Ethernet, etc.), high speed Memory Busses (DDR4/DDR5, HBM), and Processor/Accelerator Cache Coherent Links (CXL).
- Knowledge of server & rack architecture, system level design, board level design and overall server management.
- Strong knowledge of the Baseboard Management Controller (BMC) functionality, telemetry, and design for Security/RoT.
- Experience with new product development life cycle and driving cross-functional development efforts from concept to planning to development.
- Demonstrated ability to create detailed architecture specifications and drive business cases for new products and features.
- Strong understanding of network technologies and datacenter network topologies.
- Optional: Working knowledge of server operating systems including Windows Server and Linux (CentOS, Ubuntu, Fedora, SUSE).
- Optional: Experience with Server Virtualization Solutions (VMware, Citrix or Hyper-V).
- Optional: Knowledge of software driver implementation, IP schemas and network protocols. Demonstrated ability to discover, learn, and apply new technologies.
Competencies
- Innovates and develops intellectual property.
- Excellent communication, social, commercial and negotiation skills.
- Leadership of feasibility studies of system level concepts.
- Author technical papers, present at industry forums and participate in industry consortiums.
- Drive prototyping or proof of concepts of new technologies.
Education
- BS in Electrical, CS, or Mechanical Engineering
- MS in Electrical, CS or Mechanical Engineering (preferred but not required)
Experience
- 10 + years of direct industry experience
- System Architect – Server design
- Experience in developing server product architectures and carrying through to production.
- Experience with server motherboard design
- Experience with server chassis layout optimization
- Experience with rack-level and data-center design implementation
- System Architect – Power design
- AC/DC power converter design, System/Rack power budgeting and debug experience
- Rack and Data Center Level power infrastructure experience
- SW/FW Architect – UEFI FW, BMC FW, OS/Drivers
- Experience coding for AMI and/or OpenBMC based BMC FW
- Experience with DMTF Redfish
- Experience coding for UEFI FW (BIOS)
- Experience with industry security protocols, Root of Trust, and design for security Experience with Operating Systems and Driver design/usage
#LI:SL1
#ZTSANENG2025!
About ZT Systems
At ZT Systems, a Sanmina Company, you’ll get to do work you are proud of alongside smart, passionate people. Every day, there are opportunities to collaborate with the best in the industry to design, build, and deliver impactful solutions to world-class customers. Along the way, you will gain hands-on experience in a fast-paced environment that’s challenging, rewarding, and career-defining.
A culture built around our values we work hard and think fast. We view challenges as opportunities—to do better, push harder, and be faster than we were the day before. When we fail, we learn from it and move on together. And when we succeed, we use the momentum to go even further. We create value with everything we do, building the foundation of today—and transforming the future of tomorrow.
Join ZT Systems and help us build technology infrastructure that connects the world.
What We Offer
At ZT Systems, a Sanmina Company, we believe that investing in our people is key to our continued growth and innovation. When you join our team, you’ll gain access to a comprehensive and inclusive benefits package designed to support your well-being, financial security, and professional development—both now and in the future.
Compensation & Financial Security
- Competitive base salary
- Performance-based annual bonus eligibility
- 401(k) retirement savings plan
- Tuition reimbursement for eligible education programs
Health & Wellness
- Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with access to leading providers
-Mental health resources and employee wellness support programs-
- Company-paid life and disability insurance
Time Away & Work-Life Balance
- Paid time off (PTO) and company-paid holidays
- Parental leave and family care support programs
Growth & Purpose
- Structured training programs and on-the-job learning opportunities
- Matching gifts and volunteer programs to support causes you care about
These benefits are available to eligible employees and are designed to grow with you as your career evolves. Full benefits and eligibility varies by work location.
ZT Group Int’l. is an Equal Opportunity Employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any kind. ZT Systems provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.
Please be aware that certain positions may require the applicant to either 1) be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or 2) be eligible to obtain an export control license or license exception from the Bureau of Industry and Science & U.S. Department of Commerce. All offers of employment will be conditional subject to the foregoing.
In this position, the Principal BIOS / Firmware Architect will be responsible for architecting Server and Rack level solutions for customers in the Cloud Computing and Hyperscale Industry. The responsibilities for this position include working directly with our customers and core technology suppliers to understand and solve technical problems facing the customer. In addition, the position will include providing technical leadership and guidance to internal Engineering, Management, and Business Teams.
What You Will Do
- Develops long-term hyperscale server technology strategies based on technical and business footprint of the customer.
- Drives internal and external integration of system level engineering strategy.
- Develops long-term technical relationships with the core technology ecosystem. The relationships should create a technical interface, driving customer requirements into next generation designs.
- Identifies and develops differentiation opportunities and drives thought leadership discussions among engineering, customers, business, and management.
- Work directly with customers on concept and development of custom hyperscale server and rack designs.
- Determine how to solve performance/operational problems and deliver business value through ZT hardware.
What You Bring
- Experience with high-speed design, signal integrity issues, power distribution techniques and x86/ARM/GPU platform architectures.
- Experience with implementation of high-speed serial buses and Fabrics (SAS/SATA, PCIe, InfiniBand, Fibre Channel, Ethernet, etc.), high speed Memory Busses (DDR4/DDR5, HBM), and Processor/Accelerator Cache Coherent Links (CXL).
- Knowledge of server & rack architecture, system level design, board level design and overall server management.
- Strong knowledge of the Baseboard Management Controller (BMC) functionality, telemetry, and design for Security/RoT.
- Experience with new product development life cycle and driving cross-functional development efforts from concept to planning to development.
- Demonstrated ability to create detailed architecture specifications and drive business cases for new products and features.
- Strong understanding of network technologies and datacenter network topologies.
- Optional: Working knowledge of server operating systems including Windows Server and Linux (CentOS, Ubuntu, Fedora, SUSE).
- Optional: Experience with Server Virtualization Solutions (VMware, Citrix or Hyper-V).
- Optional: Knowledge of software driver implementation, IP schemas and network protocols. Demonstrated ability to discover, learn, and apply new technologies.
Competencies
- Innovates and develops intellectual property.
- Excellent communication, social, commercial and negotiation skills.
- Leadership of feasibility studies of system level concepts.
- Author technical papers, present at industry forums and participate in industry consortiums.
- Drive prototyping or proof of concepts of new technologies.
Education
- BS in Electrical, CS, or Mechanical Engineering
- MS in Electrical, CS or Mechanical Engineering (preferred but not required)
Experience
- 10 + years of direct industry experience
- System Architect – Server design
- Experience in developing server product architectures and carrying through to production.
- Experience with server motherboard design
- Experience with server chassis layout optimization
- Experience with rack-level and data-center design implementation
- System Architect – Power design
- AC/DC power converter design, System/Rack power budgeting and debug experience
- Rack and Data Center Level power infrastructure experience
- SW/FW Architect – UEFI FW, BMC FW, OS/Drivers
- Experience coding for AMI and/or OpenBMC based BMC FW
- Experience with DMTF Redfish
- Experience coding for UEFI FW (BIOS)
- Experience with industry security protocols, Root of Trust, and design for security Experience with Operating Systems and Driver design/usage
#LI:SL1
#ZTSANENG2025!
About ZT Systems
At ZT Systems, a Sanmina Company, you’ll get to do work you are proud of alongside smart, passionate people. Every day, there are opportunities to collaborate with the best in the industry to design, build, and deliver impactful solutions to world-class customers. Along the way, you will gain hands-on experience in a fast-paced environment that’s challenging, rewarding, and career-defining.
A culture built around our values we work hard and think fast. We view challenges as opportunities—to do better, push harder, and be faster than we were the day before. When we fail, we learn from it and move on together. And when we succeed, we use the momentum to go even further. We create value with everything we do, building the foundation of today—and transforming the future of tomorrow.
Join ZT Systems and help us build technology infrastructure that connects the world.
What We Offer
At ZT Systems, a Sanmina Company, we believe that investing in our people is key to our continued growth and innovation. When you join our team, you’ll gain access to a comprehensive and inclusive benefits package designed to support your well-being, financial security, and professional development—both now and in the future.
Compensation & Financial Security
- Competitive base salary
- Performance-based annual bonus eligibility
- 401(k) retirement savings plan
- Tuition reimbursement for eligible education programs
Health & Wellness
- Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with access to leading providers
-Mental health resources and employee wellness support programs-
- Company-paid life and disability insurance
Time Away & Work-Life Balance
- Paid time off (PTO) and company-paid holidays
- Parental leave and family care support programs
Growth & Purpose
- Structured training programs and on-the-job learning opportunities
- Matching gifts and volunteer programs to support causes you care about
These benefits are available to eligible employees and are designed to grow with you as your career evolves. Full benefits and eligibility varies by work location.
ZT Group Int’l. is an Equal Opportunity Employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any kind. ZT Systems provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.
Please be aware that certain positions may require the applicant to either 1) be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or 2) be eligible to obtain an export control license or license exception from the Bureau of Industry and Science & U.S. Department of Commerce. All offers of employment will be conditional subject to the foregoing.
See All 37 Principal Firmware Engineer Jobs
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Find JobsPrincipal Firmware Engineer Job Market
Who's Hiring
Top Industries Hiring
- Electronics & Hardware
What Employers Look For
The qualifications that appear most often in principal firmware engineer jobs.
- 7 or more years of professional firmware or embedded software engineering experience
- Deep expertise in C and C++ for bare-metal or RTOS-based embedded systems
- Hands-on experience with microcontrollers, SoCs, or DSPs from silicon bring-up to production
- Proficiency with JTAG, oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and hardware debugging techniques
- Experience architecting firmware for safety-critical or high-reliability applications
- Bachelor's degree or higher in electrical engineering, computer engineering, or a related field
Tips for Your Principal Firmware Engineer Job Search
Show ownership of full firmware lifecycle
Job descriptions at the principal level consistently ask for end-to-end ownership, from architecture through bring-up and production release. Restructure your resume so each role highlights the phase of the product lifecycle you led, not just tasks you contributed to.
Apply early to roles that fit
Migrate Mate lists principal firmware engineer openings from across the United States in one place, so you can find roles that match and apply directly to each listing.
Target postings that name your RTOS
FreeRTOS, Zephyr, ThreadX, and VxWorks attract very different hiring teams. Filter your search by the specific RTOS named in the job description rather than applying broadly, since principal-level interviewers will probe your scheduler, interrupt handling, and porting experience in detail.
Prepare a system design narrative for interviews
Principal firmware interviews frequently open with a whiteboard or live design session, not a coding problem. Practice explaining how you partitioned a hardware-software boundary, chose a communication protocol, or resolved a timing constraint, so you can walk through real trade-offs clearly and confidently.
Negotiate scope before negotiating compensation
At the principal level, the hardware roadmap you own and the number of engineers you mentor affect your long-term leverage far more than the starting package. Before your final conversation, clarify which product lines you will own and what escalation authority you will have.
Principal Firmware Engineer Jobs: Frequently Asked Questions
Which companies are hiring the most principal firmware engineers?
The companies hiring the most principal firmware engineers right now include Microsoft, Team TTI, and Milwaukee Tool, with the largest share of openings in California, Texas, and Wisconsin, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of November 2026. Demand is particularly concentrated in automotive electrification, consumer wearables, and defense electronics teams.
How many principal firmware engineer jobs are remote?
About 42% of principal firmware engineer openings are fully remote or hybrid as of November 2026, though the share varies significantly by industry. Roles in cloud-connected IoT and software-defined networking tend to offer more remote flexibility, while positions tied to hardware bring-up labs, cleanrooms, or classified defense programs almost always require on-site presence.
How do you become a principal firmware engineer?
Start by building deep expertise in a specific hardware platform, owning firmware from register-level bring-up through production release. Progress from individual contributor to technical lead by driving architecture decisions and mentoring junior engineers. Demonstrating that you can resolve cross-functional design conflicts, define coding standards, and ship reliable embedded software at scale is what moves candidates into principal roles.
Can you get hired as a principal firmware engineer with limited senior experience?
It is uncommon but possible if you can demonstrate ownership equivalent to the title rather than just years worked. Candidates who have single-handedly brought up a new hardware platform, authored the firmware architecture for a shipping product, or led a critical safety or security rework have landed principal offers without conventional progression. A strong portfolio of shipped embedded code matters more than time in grade.
What does the principal firmware engineer interview process look like?
Most principal firmware interview loops include an initial recruiter screen, a technical phone or video round focused on embedded systems fundamentals, one or two in-depth sessions on RTOS internals and hardware-software co-design, and a system design or architecture exercise. Final rounds often include a cross-functional panel where you discuss how you have influenced hardware decisions, resolved silicon errata, or set engineering direction across a team.
Where can I find and apply to principal firmware engineer jobs?
You can find and apply to principal firmware engineer jobs on Migrate Mate, which lists current openings from across the United States. Search for roles that match your hardware platform, industry, and seniority, then apply directly to each listing that fits your experience.
See All 37 Principal Firmware Engineer Jobs
Find roles that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
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