Senior Firmware R&D Engineer

HyperLight is at the forefront of the commercialization of thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) integrated photonics - a material and process technology that is enabling high-performance, scalable optical components across AI/datacom infrastructure, hyperscale computing, quantum computing, sensing, and beyond. Founded in 2018 and backed by leading venture capital, we’ve built a team and a platform focused on real-world mass deployment of TFLN photonics technology.

At the core of our work is the TFLN Chiplet™ platform — a modular, integrated architecture designed for scalability, manufacturability, and seamless integration into complex systems. It offers a rare combination of extraordinary performance and industrial readiness, enabling system developers across applications to deploy the technology fast and ready. We partner with our customers and suppliers from conceptualization, design, and prototyping phases, all the way through mass production to ensure smooth and rapid deployment of TFLN photonic technology.

We believe our platform is the key, in the golden age of integrated photonics, to empower humanity to the next level. We assembled a world class team covering engineering, business, and operations. We believe in the power of integrity, innovation, collaboration, and pragmatic solutions. Our diverse team thrives on challenges and is united by a shared commitment to excellence. We take pride in tackling complex challenges with curiosity, humility, and a deep sense of care for one another.

Our growing team is looking for a hands-on Firmware Engineer to develop and optimize firmware for cutting-edge optical transceiver reference designs. You'll work closely with hardware, DSP, and photonics teams to bring up and scale high-performance systems from early prototypes to production-ready platforms.

As part of your responsibilities, you will be:

• Own firmware for optical transceiver reference designs built around TFLN modulators
• Design, develop, and maintain embedded firmware for both IMDD and Coherent optical transceivers
• Implement and optimize CMIS-compliant firmware stacks
• Develop drivers and communication stacks for I2C and I3C interfaces
• Interface with DSPs for signal processing, control, tuning, and monitoring
• Support high-speed optical modules > 1.6Tbps
• Bring up hardware and debug issues
• Collaborate closely with hardware, optical, and system teams
• Develop internal tools (CLI/GUI) for diagnostics and configuration
• Ensure firmware reliability, performance, and standards compliance
• Contribute to system architecture and next-gen platform development

Requirements

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field
• Strong experience in embedded firmware development (C/C++ and others)
• Hands-on experience with CMIS and I2C/I3C protocols
• Experience with QSFP, OSFP, or similar form factors’ MSA specifications
• Experience working with DSP-based systems
• Solid understanding of high-speed communication systems (>400Gbps)
• Strong debugging skills in lab environments
  

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with TFLN, silicon photonics, or other advanced modulator technologies
• Background in coherent detection or PAM4 systems
• Experience building reference designs
• Experience developing GUI tools (Python, etc.)
• Familiarity with MDIO, SPI, or similar interfaces
• Experience with manufacturing test or automation

Key Skills

• Embedded systems & low-level programming
• High-speed interface protocols (I2C/I3C, CMIS)
• Optical transceiver experiences (QSFP/OSFP)
• DSP integration
• Debugging & system bring-up
• Tooling / GUI development

What Success Looks Like

• Early hardware becomes stable, reliable, and production-ready
• Firmware becomes a reference platform others build on
• Complex cross-domain problems (firmware + hardware + optics) are solved quickly
• System performance is pushed beyond conventional solutions

Benefits

• Competitive market-based compensation and benefits
• Professional growth and mentorship opportunities