STEM OPT Firmware Engineer Jobs
Firmware Engineer roles sit squarely within STEM OPT eligibility, letting you work up to 36 months total on your F-1 authorization, including the 24-month STEM extension. Your employer must be enrolled in E-Verify, and your degree in computer engineering, electrical engineering, or a related STEM field must align with the role.
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Company Description
Sandisk understands how people and businesses consume data and we relentlessly innovate to deliver solutions that enable today’s needs and tomorrow’s next big ideas. With a rich history of groundbreaking innovations in Flash and advanced memory technologies, our solutions have become the beating heart of the digital world we’re living in and that we have the power to shape.
Sandisk meets people and businesses at the intersection of their aspirations and the moment, enabling them to keep moving and pushing possibility forward. We do this through the balance of our powerhouse manufacturing capabilities and our industry-leading portfolio of products that are recognized globally for innovation, performance and quality.
Sandisk has two facilities recognized by the World Economic Forum as part of the Global Lighthouse Network for advanced 4IR innovations. These facilities were also recognized as Sustainability Lighthouses for breakthroughs in efficient operations. With our global reach, we ensure the global supply chain has access to the Flash memory it needs to keep our world moving forward.
Job Description
We are seeking a Security Firmware Engineer to join Sandisk Security Platform team and contribute to the development of firmware-level security features across our product lines.
This role requires hands-on experience with security firmware and/or applied cryptography. It is suitable for early-career engineers with direct security firmware exposure as well as mid-level engineers who have already delivered security or crypto-related features in production firmware.
The engineer will work closely with firmware, silicon, and security architecture teams on secure boot, secure update, and device attestation mechanisms, contributing across design, implementation, debug, and validation.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Design, implement, and integrate cryptographic functionality and security-critical firmware features, such as secure boot, secure update, encryption, attestation, and key management.
- Collaborate with firmware, hardware, and system security architects to define and implement trust boundaries and root-of-trust designs.
- Debug, optimize, and validate security firmware on Simulation/ ASIC / FPGA platforms.
- Investigate security-related firmware issues, perform root-cause analysis, and drive fixes to closure.
- Support security validation, vulnerability testing, and certification or audit activities as required.
- Participate in secure development lifecycle activities, including threat modeling, security design reviews, and secure code reviews.
Qualifications REQUIRED:
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or related field.
- 2–6 years of embedded firmware experience, with demonstrated hands-on experience in at least one of the following:
- Security firmware features (e.g., secure boot, authentication, secure update, device identity, key management), or
- Implementation or integration of cryptographic functionality in embedded or firmware environments.
- Strong proficiency in C and/or C++ and/or RUST for low-level firmware development.
- Experience debugging firmware using JTAG, logs, hardware bring-up tools, or simulators.
- Practical understanding of security fundamentals, such as:
- Roots of trust and boot chains
- Cryptographic primitives (hashes, symmetric/asymmetric crypto, certificates)
- Firmware trust boundaries and privilege levels
- Ability to reason about security impact, correctness, and failure modes in low-level systems.
Preferred / Additional Qualifications
- Experience with secure boot, measured boot, or attestation implementations.
- Familiarity with key provisioning, secure storage, or certificate chains.
- Experience with SoC architecture, ROM/FW interaction, or storage firmware.
- Exposure to security vulnerabilities and mitigations in embedded systems.
- Experience with Python or scripting for security testing, validation, or tooling.
- Familiarity with secure coding guidelines and industry best practices.
Additional Information
Sandisk is committed to providing equal opportunities to all applicants and employees and will not discriminate against any applicant or employee based on their race, color, ancestry, religion (including religious dress and grooming standards), sex (including pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, breastfeeding or related medical conditions), gender (including a person’s gender identity, gender expression, and gender-related appearance and behavior, whether or not stereotypically associated with the person’s assigned sex at birth), age, national origin, sexual orientation, medical condition, marital status (including domestic partnership status), physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, protected medical and family care leave, Civil Air Patrol status, military and veteran status, or other legally protected characteristics. We also prohibit harassment of any individual on any of the characteristics listed above. Our non-discrimination policy applies to all aspects of employment. We comply with the laws and regulations set forth in the "Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal” poster. Our pay transparency policy is available here.
Sandisk thrives on the power and potential of diversity. As a global company, we believe the most effective way to embrace the diversity of our customers and communities is to mirror it from within. We believe the fusion of various perspectives results in the best outcomes for our employees, our company, our customers, and the world around us. We are committed to an inclusive environment where every individual can thrive through a sense of belonging, respect and contribution.
Sandisk is committed to offering opportunities to applicants with disabilities and ensuring all candidates can successfully navigate our careers website and our hiring process. Please contact us at jobs.accommodations@sandisk.com to advise us of your accommodation request. In your email, please include a description of the specific accommodation you are requesting as well as the job title and requisition number of the position for which you are applying.
Based on our experience, we anticipate that the application deadline will be 08/13/2026 (3 months from posting), although we reserve the right to close the application process sooner if we hire an applicant for this position before the application deadline. If we are not able to hire someone from this role before the application deadline, we will update this posting with a new anticipated application deadline.
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Compensation & Benefits Details
- An employee’s pay position within the salary range may be based on several factors including but not limited to (1) relevant education; qualifications; certifications; and experience; (2) skills, ability, knowledge of the job; (3) performance, contribution and results; (4) geographic location; (5) shift; (6) internal and external equity; and (7) business and organizational needs.
- The salary range is what we believe to be the range of possible compensation for this role at the time of this posting. We may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range and this range is only applicable for jobs to be performed in California, Colorado, New York or remote jobs that can be performed in California, Colorado and New York. This range may be modified in the future.
- You will be eligible to participate in Sandisk's Short-Term Incentive (STI) Plan, which provides incentive awards based on Company and individual performance. Depending on your role and your performance, you may be eligible to participate in our annual Long-Term Incentive (LTI) program, which consists of restricted stock units (RSUs) or cash equivalents, pursuant to the terms of the LTI plan. Please note that not all roles are eligible to participate in the LTI program, and not all roles are eligible for equity under the LTI plan. RSU awards are also available to eligible new hires, subject to Sandisk's Standard Terms and Conditions for Restricted Stock Unit Awards.
- We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid vacation time; paid sick leave; medical/dental/vision insurance; life, accident and disability insurance; tax-advantaged flexible spending and health savings accounts; employee assistance program; other voluntary benefit programs such as supplemental life and AD&D, legal plan, pet insurance, critical illness, accident and hospital indemnity; tuition reimbursement; transit; the Applause Program, employee stock purchase plan, and the Sandisk's Savings 401(k) Plan.
- Note: No amount of pay is considered to be wages or compensation until such amount is earned, vested, and determinable. The amount and availability of any bonus, commission, benefits, or any other form of compensation and benefits that are allocable to a particular employee remains in the Company's sole discretion unless and until paid and may be modified at the Company’s sole discretion, consistent with the law.
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Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding STEM OPT Authorization as a Firmware Engineer
Verify your CIP code matches the role
Pull your official transcript and confirm your degree's Classification of Instructional Programs code maps to computer engineering, electrical engineering, or computer science. A mismatch between your CIP code and the firmware role's SOC code is the most common reason DSOs flag I-983 training plans.
Search for E-Verify enrollment before applying
Ask recruiting contacts whether the company is enrolled in E-Verify before you spend time on take-home assessments. Hardware and embedded-systems startups frequently lack E-Verify enrollment even when they're eager to hire, which disqualifies them as STEM OPT employers entirely.
Build your portfolio around bare-metal projects
Firmware hiring managers evaluate RTOS experience, peripheral driver code, and bootloader work far more than academic coursework. Push documented embedded projects to a public repository before applications go out so interviewers can assess signal-to-noise work, not just your resume claims.
Use Migrate Mate to filter verified STEM OPT employers
Target companies whose DOL Labor Condition Application filings confirm active sponsorship for engineering roles. Migrate Mate surfaces this filing history by occupation code, so you can focus outreach on employers already familiar with STEM OPT obligations rather than educating every recruiter from scratch.
Submit your I-983 training plan before your start date
Your DSO must file the STEM OPT extension with USCIS at least 90 days before your initial OPT expires, and the I-983 must be signed by an authorized company official, not just a recruiter. Confirm your offer letter names a supervisor who can execute that document.
Check prevailing wage before evaluating offers
Run your target job title and work location through the OFLC Wage Search to see the DOL wage levels for your SOC code. Employers enrolling you in STEM OPT must attest you're paid at least at the Level I prevailing wage, so offers below that threshold signal compliance gaps.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a firmware engineer role qualify for the STEM OPT extension?
Yes, if your degree is in a qualifying STEM field such as computer engineering, electrical engineering, or computer science and your employer classifies the role under a matching SOC code. USCIS evaluates both your CIP code and the job's occupational classification when reviewing the STEM OPT extension. Your DSO confirms eligibility before filing, so bring both documents to that meeting.
What E-Verify requirement applies to my firmware employer?
Every employer who supervises a STEM OPT student must be enrolled in E-Verify at the hiring site where you'll physically work. If your team is distributed or you're placed at a client site, the E-Verify enrollment must cover that specific location, not just the parent company's headquarters. Confirm enrollment status with HR before signing your offer letter, since a non-enrolled employer cannot legally supervise your STEM OPT period.
What goes into the I-983 training plan for a firmware role?
The I-983 requires your employer to document specific learning objectives tied to your STEM degree, the supervision structure, how your performance will be evaluated, and how the training relates to your academic field. For firmware roles, this typically includes goals around embedded systems design, debugging methodologies, or protocol implementation. Both you and an authorized company official must sign it, and you're required to conduct a formal review with your supervisor at the six-month and twelve-month marks.
How does cap-gap protection work if my H-1B is selected while on STEM OPT?
If your employer files an H-1B visa petition on your behalf before your STEM OPT expires and you're selected in the lottery, cap-gap automatically extends your work authorization through September 30 of that year. You don't need to file separately for cap-gap; USCIS extends it by operation of law once the petition is accepted. You can continue working your firmware role without interruption during this bridging period.
Where can I find firmware engineer jobs at STEM OPT-eligible employers?
Migrate Mate filters firmware and embedded systems roles by employers with confirmed E-Verify enrollment and active DOL Labor Condition Application filing history in engineering occupation codes. That lets you skip the step of manually vetting each company's sponsorship track record and focus your applications on employers already equipped to support STEM OPT students. You can filter by location, role type, and employer filing activity directly on the platform.