Embedded Firmware Engineer, Hardware Bring-up & Controls

About us:

Voyant Photonics builds silicon photonic chips that steer and switch light at high speed. They power next generation, chip-scale FMCW LiDAR for robotics and autonomy, and optical circuit switches (OCS) for AI data centers. Based in NYC, we’re a hands-on team designing, building, and deploying frontier hardware to solve problems that matter, from how machines see to how AI scales.

The Role:

We're hiring an embedded software engineer to bring up our new boards quickly and own the drivers and control firmware that run on them.

You care how an algorithm is implemented in firmware, but you're just as comfortable with the schematic open, a probe on the board and the soldering iron warm. About half your time goes to board bring-up, changing the firmware and the board together until everything comes up; the other half goes to implementing control loops and proving they work on hardware.

We are a collaborative, close knit team who love to solve complex problems and building robust systems. If you enjoy the challenge of working with frontier hardware, bringing up both brand new boards and cutting-edge control loops, we are excited to talk to you.

Your impact:

Code is cheaper to write than ever. Knowing what should be written, and what "done" means, is the job. A board is done when it works, not when the firmware compiles; a loop is done when it meets its requirements on hardware, not when the simulation looks good. We want someone with strong, well-reasoned opinions about how control algorithms and drivers should be implemented in firmware, and how to prove they work, who argues for them, and who changes their mind when the evidence says so.

A few strong opinions the team holds:

• Fix it at the source. A bug gets fixed where it lives, even when that's someone else's code. The friction of working in each other's areas is worth it.

• Live at the tip. Every repo tracks the latest of everything it depends on. Small, frequent bumps surface breaks while they're still cheap to fix.

• Duplicated code is broken code. Two copies drift apart, and then one of them is wrong.

• It doesn't work until someone else has run it on hardware. Your own simulation or bench is where you start, not where you're done.

Disagree with one? Tell us why when you apply.

What You'll Do

• Implement control algorithms in real-time embedded C++: discretization, sample-rate and latency budgets, anti-windup, saturation handling, and numerical robustness in fixed and floating point. Push back with measured data when the plant doesn't match the model.

• Write the drivers and firmware structure each new board needs, and keep them clean enough that the next board reuses them.

• Bring up each new board by changing the firmware and the board together: read the schematic and datasheets, probe signals, debug SPI, I2C, UART and custom chip interfaces, and make small SMT reworks when the board needs one.

• Prove it works: build the test setups and Python analysis that show each driver and loop meets its requirements on hardware, from single PID loops to tuning many switch elements across a large optical network.

• Feed what bring-up finds back to the hardware team so the next board revision comes up faster.

What We're Looking For

• BS in computer engineering, computer science or a related field, with 2+ years of embedded software experience in a professional environment.

• C or C++ on microcontrollers (ARM Cortex-M, STM32 or similar), bare-metal or RTOS. Our codebase is C++, but strong embedded C engineers are encouraged to apply.

• Working control theory: PID, loop shaping and stability margins, and state-space design, and a feel for what each costs in firmware.

• Board bring-up from the firmware side: schematics, datasheets, scopes and logic analyzers, and small reworks like swapping passives etc.

• Python for test automation and data analysis.

Nice to Have

• Measuring plant response and system identification on real hardware

• MIMO and decoupling, observers, PLLs and tracking loops, or online optimization (e.g. extremum seeking) of multi-channel systems

• Lab automation: scripting scopes, supplies and generators (SCPI/VISA)

• Debugging across an FPGA or ASIC boundary

• Thermal, motor/actuator or optical systems

What You'll Gain

• Ownership of how our firmware is built and how our boards come up, from first power-on to shipping: real decisions, not someone else's checklist.

• Close collaboration with the whole engineering org including hardware, optics, signal processing and firmware engineers, and real influence over technical direction at an early-stage company.

• Mentorship from leadership who have experience deploying billions of dollars of hardware to customers around the world.

• Equity in an early stage start up

Life at Voyant

We build frontier hardware from our lab and office in Midtown Manhattan, where optical tables, lab benches and electronics sit alongside traditional office space. Our work is hands-on and primarily in person, but we don’t run on a rigid 9-to-5. We partner with customers across time zones, so some calls start early or run late, and we adjust schedules around them. We run a high-trust, high-accountability environment: you’ll own meaningful work, move quickly and often wear more than one hat. Voyant provides catered lunch every day at HQ, and we’re a diverse group of food lovers from around the world who enjoy sharing food, culture and technical ideas around the lunch table.

How to Apply

No cover letter needed. If you find yourself starting one anyway, write a few sentences on one of these instead:

• What's an opinion you hold about how algorithms or drivers should be implemented in firmware, or how to prove they work, and when did evidence last change your mind?

• What's something you built just because you wanted to?

Equal Opportunity Employer

Voyant Photonics is an equal opportunity employer committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, pregnancy, marital or partnership status, age, national origin, citizenship, veteran or military status, disability, medical condition, genetic information, caregiver status, or any other characteristic protected by law.