[Hiring] Principal Embedded Firmware Engineer @Cornelis Networks, Inc.

Role Description

Cornelis Networks builds high-performance fabric solutions for AI and HPC. We're looking for a principal-level embedded engineer to help architect firmware across our next-generation networking silicon. A key focus of the role is the management firmware that boots, secures, and controls the on-chip compute engines that accelerate collective communication (all-reduce, broadcast, reduce-scatter), alongside broader embedded architecture work across the platform. You'll own the infrastructure layer that makes these engines trustworthy and production-ready, not the collective algorithms themselves.

This role is a mixture of hands-on architecture, firmware development, technical leadership, and mentorship, with heavy use of AI tools across design, implementation, and testing.

Location: Remote (US)

What You'll Do

• Architect and implement bare-metal C firmware on a RISC-V management core that provisions, boots, and supervises arrays of on-chip acceleration engines.
• Own the secure firmware-loading pipeline: fetch images from flash, coordinate hardware root-of-trust authentication, and distribute verified images into each engine's local memories through on-chip fan-out/DMA hardware.
• Build per-engine bring-up, reset sequencing, and health validation driven by control/status registers, with solid timeout and error handling and enforced security invariants.
• Scale firmware distribution and bring-up across many engines and multiple dies, including runtime re-boot and in-field firmware updates.
• Define the hardware/software contract with ASIC/RTL teams using a datamodel-first workflow (e.g., SystemRDL, Kaitai, YAML → generated code).
• Validate firmware against functional simulators (e.g., QEMU) with automated unit and integration tests.
• Set architecture standards, review designs and code, and mentor engineers.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of embedded/firmware engineering, with a track record of software architecture and technical leadership.
• Expert C (C++ a plus) and working Python.
• Deep experience with bare-metal firmware on constrained cores, including manually managed local memories and low-level bring-up.
• Experience with secure boot / image authentication and hardware root-of-trust integration.
• Experience programming hardware CSRs and co-designing register-level interfaces with silicon teams.
• Demonstrated, hands-on AI-assisted engineering proficiency, plus the judgment to validate what the AI produces.

Preferred Qualifications

• RISC-V firmware and toolchain experience.
• Firmware orchestration for multi-core accelerator arrays.
• Hardware root-of-trust ecosystems (e.g., Caliptra) and SHA-2/signature verification.
• Code-generation toolchains (SystemRDL, Kaitai, CMake) and simulator-based co-verification.
• Familiarity with emerging AI/HPC interconnect standards: Ultra Ethernet (UEC), UALink, and ESUN.
• Background in HPC/AI networking, RDMA, or libfabric.

Location

Remote: This role fully supports remote work for employees residing within the United States.

Benefits

• Competitive compensation package that includes equity, cash, and incentives.
• Health and retirement benefits.
• Dynamic, flexible work environment.
• Access to a broad range of benefits, including medical, dental, and vision coverage.
• Disability and life insurance.
• Dependent care flexible spending account.
• Accidental injury insurance and pet insurance.
• Generous paid holidays.
• 401(k) with company match.
• Open Time Off (OTO) for regular full-time exempt employees.
• Other paid time off benefits include sick time, bonding leave, and pregnancy disability leave.