Firmware Engineer
Quick facts
- Pay
- $220,000 - $275,000 USD
- Type
- Full-time
- Location
- Mountain View, CA
- Skills
- Rust
- Industry
- Engineering — 264 open jobs
- Visa in listing
- H-1B, OPT
- Apply
- Free to apply — never pay anyone for a job offer or visa sponsorship
Job description
About the role
Own the platform firmware that brings our AI accelerator systems to life and keeps them secure, healthy, and observable — from secure boot and the hardware root of trust, through embedded-controller/BMC and device firmware, to power management, telemetry, and the debug infrastructure that keeps the platform running at scale.
What You'll Do
- Platform firmware — develop firmware across the stack: boot ROM/bootloaders, embedded controllers / BMC, and device firmware for our accelerator silicon and systems
- Secure boot & root of trust — measured/verified boot, code signing and chain-of-trust, authenticated firmware update (anti-rollback), and secure debug
- Power management — power sequencing, PMIC/voltage-rail control, DVFS, and power/thermal protection and budgeting
- Monitoring & telemetry — sensors, health/RAS, error logging, and platform management/observability interfaces
- Debug & bring-up — JTAG/scan and debug infrastructure; board and post-silicon bring-up
- Partner with silicon/architecture, hardware/board, and software teams on firmware interfaces, threat modeling, and HW/SW co-design
- Assisted tool flows to accelerate development and review
What We're Looking For
- Strong C and assembly for embedded/firmware; bare-metal or RTOS on ARM (or similar)
- 5+ years developing platform/system firmware — boot, BMC/embedded controllers, and device firmware
- Hands-on with secure boot / hardware root of trust, code signing, and secure/anti-rollback update
- Power-management firmware — power sequencing, PMIC/voltage regulators, DVFS, and thermal/power telemetry
- Platform monitoring & debug — sensor/telemetry, RAS/error handling, JTAG/debug, and management interfaces
- Comfort at the HW/SW boundary — reading datasheets/specs, lab bring-up, scopes/logic analyzers
- (Optional) Rust for firmware/embedded development; OpenBMC, UEFI/coreboot; accelerator/GPU/server firmware; applied crypto & key management; TEE (TrustZone); side-channel/fault-injection awareness; standards (NIST SP 800-193, FIPS 140-3); SBOM/supply-chain security
Compensation
Final offers depend on level, location, and skills relevant to the role. Additional compensation: equity grant per company guidelines; medical / dental / vision; 401(k); standard PTO.
Visa Sponsorship
DensityAI sponsors qualified candidates for H-1B, O-1, TN, E-3, and other employment-based visas, and we welcome applicants on F-1 OPT and STEM-OPT. Work authorization is required at start; we provide immigration support to secure or transfer status.
Export Controls
Aspects of this role may involve access to information subject to U.S. export controls (EAR/ITAR). We may discuss licensing or scope adjustments during the interview.
Equal Opportunity
DensityAI is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religious creed, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age (40+), sexual orientation, military or veteran status, pregnancy, or any other status protected by law. We comply with the California CROWN Act and provide reasonable accommodations on request.
Full compensation packages are based on candidate experience and relevant certifications.
California pay range
$220,000 - $275,000 USD
Compensation
Final offers depend on level, location, and skills relevant to the role. Additional compensation: equity grant per company guidelines; medical / dental / vision; 401(k); standard PTO.
Visa Sponsorship
DensityAI sponsors qualified candidates for H-1B, O-1, TN, E-3, and other employment-based visas, and we welcome applicants on F-1 OPT and STEM-OPT. Work authorization is required at start; we provide immigration support to secure or transfer status.
Export Controls
Aspects of this role may involve access to information subject to U.S. export controls (EAR/ITAR). We may discuss licensing or scope adjustments during the interview.
Equal Opportunity
DensityAI is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religious creed, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age (40+), sexual orientation, military or veteran status, pregnancy, or any other status protected by law. We comply with the California CROWN Act and provide reasonable accommodations on request.
Full compensation packages are based on candidate experience and relevant certifications.
Visa sponsorship record
No public sponsorship records foundWe didn't find H-1B, H-1B1, E-3 or green card (PERM) filings under the name DensityAI in the Department of Labor and USCIS data. That doesn't mean the job can't be sponsored — the company may file under a different legal name, be new to sponsorship, or sponsor a visa that isn't in these datasets (for example H-2B or J-1).
Tip: ask the recruiter early, in writing, which visa they sponsor and whether they cover the legal and filing fees.
Which visas can work for this job
Occupation: Software Developers (SOC 15-1252).
- Mentioned in the listing
H-1B, OPT
- H-1B cap-exempt employer
Regular cap-subject employer — a new H-1B needs to win the lottery in March (unless you already hold cap-counted H-1B status).
- TN (citizens of Canada and Mexico)
This kind of role may fit the USMCA profession “Computer Systems Analyst (or Engineer, for engineering-degree holders)” — it depends on the actual duties. No lottery, no cap; you need the matching degree or license.
- E-3 (Australia) and H-1B1 (Chile, Singapore)
Same degree requirement as H-1B, but no lottery and a separate quota that is rarely filled.
- O-1 (extraordinary ability)
For candidates with awards, publications, press, a high salary or critical roles at distinguished organizations. No cap, no lottery; the employer files a petition.
- STEM OPT extension (F-1 students)
Requires an E-Verify employer. We didn't find this company in the E-Verify list — ask HR.
Salary vs prevailing wage
Level II (qualified)Software Developers · San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA. Annual prevailing wages set by the Department of Labor (OFLC).
| Level | Prevailing wage | H-1B lottery odds* |
|---|---|---|
| Level I | $152,797 | ~15% |
| Level II | $187,075 | ~31% |
| Level III | $221,374 | ~46% |
| Level IV | $255,653 | ~61% |
This job pays $220,000–$275,000 a year — that's Level II (qualified). In the wage-weighted H-1B lottery a Level II registration gets 2 entries; estimated selection chance about 31%.
* Odds are DHS projections for the FY2027 wage-weighted lottery (actual results vary by year and employer). Since the FY2027 cap season the H-1B lottery is weighted by wage level: Level I = 1 entry, II = 2, III = 3, IV = 4. The level is set by the offered wage against the prevailing wage for the occupation and worksite. Separately, a $100,000 fee for new H-1B petitions for workers outside the US was announced in 2025; as of September 2026 a federal court ruling keeps it unenforceable while appeals continue — check the current status.
Sources: U.S. Department of Labor OFLC disclosure data (H-1B/H-1B1/E-3 LCA, PERM), OFLC prevailing wage data, USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub, E-Verify participating employers. Data loaded: LCA FY2024–FY2026, PERM, USCIS Data Hub, OFLC wages; updated 2026-10-03. Employers are matched by name, so records of companies with similar names can occasionally be mixed up. This is general information, not legal advice — talk to an immigration attorney about your case.