Principal Engineer, Firmware Engineering

Company Description

At Western Digital, our vision is to power global innovation and push the boundaries of technology to make what you thought was once impossible, possible.

At our core, Western Digital is a company of problem solvers. People achieve extraordinary things given the right technology. For decades, we’ve been doing just that. Our technology helped people put a man on the moon.

We are a key partner to some of the largest and highest growth organizations in the world. From energizing the most competitive gaming platforms, to enabling systems to make cities safer and cars smarter and more connected, to powering the data centers behind many of the world’s biggest companies and public cloud, Western Digital is fueling a brighter, smarter future.

Binge-watch any shows, use social media or shop online lately? You’ll find Western Digital supporting the storage infrastructure behind many of these platforms. And, that flash memory card that captures and preserves your most precious moments? That’s us, too.

We offer an expansive portfolio of technologies, storage devices and platforms for business and consumers alike. Our data-centric solutions are comprised of the Western Digital®, G-Technology™, SanDisk® and WD® brands.

Today’s exceptional challenges require your unique skills. It’s You & Western Digital. Together, we’re the next BIG thing in data.

Job Description

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Familiar with micro-processors and microcontrollers with working knowledge of ARM cores
• Perform C programming in embedded systems using real time operating systems (RTOS)
• Clear understanding of basic Boolean logic, be familiar with C syntax

• Good verbal and written communication skills

• Become the subject matter expert, owner of one or more components and provide technical leadership.

• Responsible for mentoring and innovation and defining the technical strategy. 

• Create design documents pertinent to the various phases of firmware development.
• Self-motivated to work both unsupervised and as part of a team. Collaborate to develop self and others within group.
• Participate in planning and coordinating significant technical investigations from problem statement to conclusions. Understand end to end product lifecycle.

Qualifications

REQUIRED: 

• Bachelor’s or Masters of Science degree in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, and 5-8 years of experience.
• >5 years of experience in design and development involving real-time embedded firmware for time-critical applications, preferably in storage industry. Experienced in Firmware Architecture of hard disk drive using RTOS-based multi-threaded and interrupt-driven code running on ARM microprocessor. 
• 5-8 years of experience with HDD and SSD technology. Expert on SATA and native command queuing (NCQ). Experienced in C/C++ programming using ARM processors (R5, M3), assembly, Python, Firmware Verification. Thorough knowledge of Software Version Control (Git, Subversion, etc.), Code Reviews (Gerrit, Code Collaborator), Coverity (static code analysis) and unit test development
• Familiarity with JDSU XGig analyzer/generator, LeCroy, SerialTek bus analyzers, IOMeter, Lauterbach T32 emulator and Jira or other issue tracking system

SKILLS:

• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills
• Interest in HDD, semiconductor, components, nonvolatile memory industry
• Strong C/C++ development skills
• Perform new firmware and customer features from the design, development, integration, trouble-shooting to customer deployment;
• Work on a variety of difficult and complex technical problems of moderate scope with little guidance;
• Apply discretion and independent decision-making in matters of critical importance to the company, such as in evaluating and interpreting the significance of technical or scientific data;
• Identify problems, generates alternatives and recommends solutions to difficult technical problems;
• Develop technical methodologies and provide essential input on technical strategy;
• Participate and provide input in critical requirements review, code reviews and design reviews as well as cross functional meetings with management in order to resolve development issues;
• Participate and contribute in a cross-functional team as firmware representative;
• Responsible for delivery of complex level algorithms with little guidance;
• Perform failure analysis and debugging failures;
• Develop embedded firmware for disk drives, as well as write technical documents;
• Perform feature design and implementation as well as customer design review calls;
• Determine root cause for disk drives that have failed for apparent firmware related iss