Senior/Principal Firmware Engineer – Optical Transceivers (On-site)

About Polaris Electro-Optics

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Polaris Electro-Optics is a rapidly growing photonics company developing breakthroughoptical interconnect technology for data centers, AI, and high-performance computing.Their proprietary FenGlass™ platform integrates ferroelectric nematic materials into siliconphotonics, enabling faster, compact, and more energy-efficient solutions. Located in SanDiego and backed by substantial funding, Polaris is scaling to meet demand from hyperscalecustomers and transceiver suppliers.
Role SummaryWe are looking for a Senior or Principal Embedded Firmware Engineer to develop the control firmware and software infrastructure supporting our next-generation optical interconnect platforms and evaluation systems.This is a hands-on role focused on MCU-based control, device configuration, telemetry, calibration support, power sequencing, hardware bring-up, and host interfaces. The engineer will work closely with mixed-signal hardware, high-speed hardware, photonics, and systems teams to bring complex electro-optical hardware to stable and repeatable operation.ResponsibilitiesDevelop embedded firmware for board bring-up, device configuration, telemetry, calibration, and hardware control.Implement MCU-based control of ADCs, DACs, regulators, temperature sensors, MZM heaters, drivers, TIAs, and other peripheral devices.Own implementation and maintenance of CMIS-based module management, including state-machine behavior, configuration, telemetry, alarms, control functions, and host management interfaces. Develop SPI, I²C, UART, USB, GPIO, and related low-level device drivers.Develop calibration and initialization routines for optical and electrical hardware.Support MZM bias/heater calibration, monitor photodiode acquisition, driver/TIA configuration, and telemetry collection.Work with systems engineers to expose appropriate control and diagnostic functionality for system bring-up and automated testing.Debug firmware/hardware interactions in the lab.Develop logging, diagnostics, fault reporting, and firmware update mechanisms.Establish firmware release, versioning, regression-test, and CI practices to support repeatable development and qualification. Maintain firmware architecture, source control, documentation, and release processes.Support integration with higher-level test automation and system-control software.QualificationsB.S. or M.S. in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field.Strong embedded C/C++ experience.Hands-on experience with CMIS-based optical module management, including module state control, telemetry, configuration, and firmware interfaces. Experience with ARM Cortex-M or similar embedded processors.Strong understanding of SPI, I²C, UART, USB, GPIO, interrupts, timers, ADCs, DACs, and peripheral interfaces.Experience with board bring-up and hardware/firmware debug.Ability to read schematics and work directly with hardware engineers during bring-up.Experience implementing power sequencing, telemetry, fault handling, and device configuration.Comfortable working in a laboratory environment with first-generation hardware.PreferredExperience with optical transceivers, photonics, datacom, or high-speed communications systems.Experience implementing and validating CMIS across multiple optical transceiver platforms or product generations. Experience developing calibration and control firmware for analog or mixed-signal hardware.Familiarity with Python or another scripting language for firmware test and automation. xzbcwsv Experience with bootloaders, firmware update mechanisms, manufacturing tests, or field diagnostics.