Senior Software Development/Firmware Engineer (m/f/x)

Company Profile 

Coherent empowers market innovators to define the future through breakthrough technologies, from materials to systems. We deliver innovations that resonate with our customers in diversified applications for the industrial, communications, electronics, and instrumentation markets. Headquartered in Saxonburg, Pennsylvania, Coherent has research and development, manufacturing, sales, service, and distribution facilities worldwide. For more information, please visit us at www.coherent.com

The Finisar Germany GmbH, a Coherent subsidiary serves multiple businesses within Coherent. One focus area is the development of leading-edge high performance, high capacity optical front-end solutions for long reach optical transmission. A special field is utilizing advanced photonic technologies in support of driving highly integrated coherent products. Another focus area is high speed detectors, scaling up to frequencies of up to 100GHz, utilized in research and test & measurement but more and more in communication applications too. 

We owe our worldwide technological leadership to the profound knowledge and experience of our employees. This awareness characterizes our corporate culture - which is open and communicative and ensures trusting cooperation. Each individual contributes to the company's success with his or her knowledge and responsibility. The passion and commitment of our team are the engine of our company!

The Finisar Germany GmbH, a Coherent subsidiary serves multiple businesses within Coherent. One focus area is the development of leading-edge high performance, high capacity optical front-end solutions for long reach optical transmission. A special field is utilizing advanced photonic technologies in support of driving highly integrated coherent products. Another focus area are high speed detectors, scaling up to frequencies of up to 100GHz, utilized in research and test & measurement but more and more in communication applications too. 

We owe our worldwide technological leadership to the profound knowledge and experience of our employees. This awareness characterizes our corporate culture - which is open and communicative and ensures trusting cooperation. Each individual contributes to the company's success with his or her knowledge and responsibility. The passion and commitment of our team are the engine of our company!

Responsibilities

We are looking for an experienced Software/Firmware Engineer to develop and maintain hardware-near software and embedded firmware for our optical communications test systems. In this role, you will work closely with R&D and production teams to ensure reliable, automated testing of next-generation optoelectronic components.

A development path toward a Team Lead position is available for candidates with leadership ambition and potential.

• Development, optimization, and debugging of software for controlling hardware test equipment.
• Implementation of instrument drivers, communication protocols, and automated test sequences.
• Creation and maintenance of firmware for microcontrollers used in test fixtures and support electronics.
• Integration of new test concepts into existing software frameworks.
• Development of simple GUIs for engineering and production tests.
• Support of software/firmware transfer from R&D to NPI and mass production.
• Collaboration with cross-functional engineering teams; optional leadership responsibilities.

Qualifications

• Several years of experience in hardware-near software development or automated test systems.
• Strong skills in C#, C, C++ (VB.NET/VB6 experience beneficial for legacy support).
• Experience with hardware interfaces: GPIB, RS232, USB, Ethernet, and embedded communication (SPI, I²C, UART).
• Ability to read and understand electronic datasheets, schematics, and basic hardware documentation to interface software with test hardware.
• Familiarity with version control (e.g., Git/Bitbucket).
• Basic understanding of optoelectronics, semiconductor testing, or production environments.
• Ability to work hands-on with lab equipment and test setups and hardware prototypes.
• Very good English skills. German is an advantage

Nice-to-Have

• Experience with Python for scripting, data handling, or quick test automation.
• Experience with database-based data handling especially using Microsoft SQL Server or Oracle (logging, traceability, analysis).
• Willingness to grow into a leadership role

Your Chance

We offer an interesting and diversified opportunity in an internationally minded engineering team of a market-leading high-tech company in the field of high-speed optoelectronic components.