Firmware Engineer
Los Angeles, CA
Mesh Optical Technologies was founded on the belief that photons will unlock the next evolution of human technology. Today, we're putting that vision into practice by developing the world's most advanced optical computing hardware.
We believe in engineering to the limit of physics, building our own factories, and writing software that maximizes the capability of our hardware. As we embark on this journey, we're seeking a Firmware Engineer who is motivated by our goal to operate the highest volume optical manufacturing facility in North America.
As our Software Engineer, you'll play a critical role in the software that controls and produces our first product:
Optical Interconnects — High-bandwidth optical interconnects are fundamental to the future of computing. As our Firmware Engineer, you'll architect and implement bare-metal firmware that performs automatic eye opening, link training, and real-time diagnostics—ensuring every unit links up cleanly and runs reliably in the field. From bootloaders and device initialization to timing-critical signal control, you'll push the hardware to its limits. You'll also own firmware validation, production flashing, and fault recovery mechanisms—making sure every unit that ships is tested, trusted, and ready for deployment.
What you'll do
- Architect and implement low-level firmware that controls all aspects of transceiver behavior, including link bring-up, signal conditioning, and real-time diagnostics.
- Develop and tune algorithms for automatic eye opening, link training, and adaptive signal optimization under varying conditions.
- Design robust boot, initialization, and fail-safe mechanisms, ensuring reliable startup and recovery across thousands of deployed devices.
- Own firmware validation and release workflows, including automated test coverage, factory flashing procedures, and traceability of shipped code.
- Interface directly with hardware teams to define control schemes for custom silicon, power management, thermal behavior, and I/O signaling.
- Continuously optimize for performance, power, and reliability, pushing bare-metal systems to operate at the limits of the hardware platform.
Basic Qualifications
- BS in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering or related discipline.
- Demonstrated experience bringing up real-time embedded systems from scratch.
- Proficiency in C or C++ and Python
- Experience writing and optimizing high-performance drivers for I²C, SPI, ADC sampling, DMA, or similar protocols.
- Familiarity with application development and distributed systems architecture in a Linux environment.
- Strong first-principles problem-solving skills and a focus on designing bug-free, maintainable software.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills; able to work effectively in dynamic, cross-functional teams.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience reviewing hardware schematics and defining HW/SW interfaces.
- Demonstrated expertise architecting and implementing high-performance DSP and signal-processing algorithms.
- Hands-on familiarity with real-time operating systems, build systems, and hardware-in-the-loop testing.
- Background in robotics, controls, or physical-systems integration.
- Leadership experience mentoring engineers and driving complex firmware/software projects to completion.
Compensation and benefits
- Competitive cash salary commensurate with experience and merit.
- Eligibility for long-term incentives including company stock options and discretionary bonuses awarded for exceptional achievements.
- Comprehensive medical, vision, and dental insurance.
- Paid parental leave and flexible PTO (3 weeks vacation + 10 company holidays).
- Relocation assistance to sunny Los Angeles.
Apply
Send your resume to join at meshoptical dot com.