Director, Firmware Verification Engineering

Sandisk understands how people and businesses consume data and we relentlessly innovate to deliver solutions that enable today’s needs and tomorrow’s next big ideas. With a rich history of groundbreaking innovations in Flash and advanced memory technologies, our solutions have become the beating heart of the digital world we’re living in and that we have the power to shape.

Sandisk meets people and businesses at the intersection of their aspirations and the moment, enabling them to keep moving and pushing possibility forward. We do this through the balance of our powerhouse manufacturing capabilities and our industry-leading portfolio of products that are recognized globally for innovation, performance and quality.

Sandisk has two facilities recognized by the World Economic Forum as part of the Global Lighthouse Network for advanced 4IR innovations. These facilities were also recognized as Sustainability Lighthouses for breakthroughs in efficient operations. With our global reach, we ensure the global supply chain has access to the Flash memory it needs to keep our world moving forward.

As Director of Firmware verification engineering, you will lead Firmware Verification Team that design and develop white box and grey box tests to verify firmware designs of Storage systems for AI workloads. You will be working closely with product architects, firmware engineers, cross functional teams and customers to formulate a fool proof validation strategy, lead its implementation & improve the effectiveness of the same while establishing a high quality firmware that rolls in to the final product.

In this role, you will scale the team in terms of size & skill set leading on technical & people front , contributing to test strategy, test development, integrating the tests using various development platforms. This role demands strong hands-on experience with understanding of NAND architecture design, data path validation, handling of NAND level errors, and firmware/hardware debugging across multiple platforms (pre-silicon, emulation, silicon bring-up)

Key Responsibilities

• Collaborate closely with firmware engineers & architects on product architecture and designs to define the comprehensive verification plan to deliver a high quality product to customers on time
• Lead the team in design & development of white box and gray box tests inline with latest methodologies
• Conduct test plan reviews and code reviews to ensure the tests are scalable and meeting the requirements
• Participate in driving failure analysis and collaborate with integration/execution engineers for test deployment.
• Work with memory (NAND ) systems team, to understand the implementation of algorithms handling IO paths, behavior of NAND when single bit or double bit level error occurs, correction mechanisms, etc
• Work with firmware engineers, understand the logs/events to triage and debug test failures
• Lead the Firmware verification team – setting the goals, tracking the KPIs, training and mentoring the team, hiring, project tracking, etc
• Use SanDisk proprietary tools and open-source test frameworks to run, monitor, and triage test suites

Required Qualifications & Skills:

• BE/B.Tech/ME/M.Tech degree in in Electronics & Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering or related field
• Strong understanding of NAND Flash architecture, NAND interface protocols, and error management.
• Proficiency in scripting and automation using Python, C/C++, or Bash
• Comprehensive understanding of embedded software fundamentals and Storage fundamentals with Knowledge on NVMe/PCIe specification
• Experience in verifying the memory with NAND Emulated model
• Experience with embedded systems, firmware-hardware debugging, and low-level protocol analysis.
• Minimum 12+ years of experience in firmware development or validation in storage, semiconductor, or non-volatile memory development with minimum experience of 5+ years in managing teams
• Strong architectural review skills with the ability to provide guidance and review test development efforts and test coverage.
• Test development using AI tools and hands on experience on GPU verification is an added advantage
• Knowledge on Git, CI & source code management flow and agile development practices.

Soft Skills:

• Ability to build a high performance team from grounds up
• Strong problem-solving skills focusing on status quo
• Collaborative and proactive communication style
• Attention to detail and quality assurance mindset
• Ability to work effectively in a global, cross-functional team in high paced environment

Sandisk thrives on the power and potential of diversity. As a global company, we believe the most effective way to embrace the diversity of our customers and communities is to mirror it from within. We believe the fusion of various perspectives results in the best outcomes for our employees, our company, our customers, and the world around us. We are committed to an inclusive environment where every individual can thrive through a sense of belonging, respect and contribution.

Sandisk is committed to offering opportunities to applicants with disabilities and ensuring all candidates can successfully navigate our careers website and our hiring process. Please contact us at [email protected] to advise us of your accommodation request. In your email, please include a description of the specific accommodation you are requesting as well as the job title and requisition number of the position for which you are applying.