Firmware Manager

Overview

Firmware Manager | 460528

Location:
Plano, TX 75024 (onsite 5-days per week)

Position Type:
Direct-Hire

Hourly / Salary: to $150K + bonus structure

Vaco Technology is currently seeking a Firmware Manager for a Direct-Hire opportunity located in Plano, TX 75024 (onsite 5-days per week). The Firmware Manager will anchor a hardware-accelerated network visibility and security platform by leading a top-tier team to develop the full firmware stack (bootloaders / controllers / FPGAs / ASICs) for 25G-400G packet processing, threat detection, and traffic optimization. The Firmware Manager will direct the end-to-end lifecycle from silicon bring-up to production.

The Firmware Manager will deliver robust, secure, scalable code that meets stringent performance targets. The Firmware Manager will shape the multi-generational switch strategy for seamless integration with enterprise security tools and real-time analytics. The Firmware Manager will drive cross-functional alignment with hardware, validation, software, and manufacturing teams to solve system-level challenges and accelerate market delivery. The Firmware Manager will build a culture of excellence through mentorship and talent acquisition in high-stakes, data-intensive environments.

By transforming raw traffic into actionable intelligence, the Firmware Manager will create differentiated, future-proof solutions for complex hybrid and AI-driven infrastructures. The Firmware Manager must possess expertise in embedded systems, high-speed networking, and leadership as it is critical to driving platform evolution and market dominance.

• Team Leadership / Talent Development:
  Leading and mentoring firmware engineers while fostering a culture of excellence and results.
• Ensuring the firmware team drives product quality, attracting talent to innovate on next-gen visibility tools that reduce blind spots, enhance threat detection, and is core to the 24/7 network protection ethos.
• Technical Strategy for High-Speed Network Solutions:
  Guiding strategy for 25G / 40G / 100G / 400G network switch solutions from concept to production.
• Ensuring firmware is designed for ultra-high-bandwidth environments in data centers and hybrid clouds, evolving to support faster, more scalable architectures, aligning with the emphasis on modular, investment-protecting hardware that integrates seamlessly with existing infrastructure for optimized security tool performance.
• End-to-End Firmware Lifecycle Management:
  Overseeing requirements, design, implementation, testing, integration, validation, and release processes to meet hardware/software milestones.
• Ensuring timely, high-quality updates that enable features (DPI / traffic replication / filtering), key to delivering 100% network visibility without downtime, directly supporting compliance and performance guarantees.
• Silicon Bring-Up / Debugging Expertise:
  Leading silicon bring-up, debugging, and collaboration with hardware / validation teams.
• Accelerating product readiness, minimizing risks in bring-up phases, and ensuring robust firmware that powers secure, high-performance monitoring (relying on custom silicon for efficient, low-latency processing of network packets), essential for safeguarding critical infrastructures against breaches.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration / System Integration:
  Partnering with validation, PCB design, hardware, software, and manufacturing teams to define test plans and address system challenges.
• Bridging firmware with broader engineering efforts, ensuring cohesive products that provide actionable insights via software interfaces (Intelli View, etc.) while maintaining version control for validated builds - vital for scalable, customizable deployments.
• Project / Resource Management:
  Balancing priorities, deadlines, and resources across concurrent projects; supporting Agile delivery of firmware updates, aligning with modular chassis systems and automated alerts to meet diverse enterprise needs without compromising security or uptime (customer-base spanning 40+ countries with multiple integrations / custom configurations).

• 5+ years as Firmware Manager - Leading Full Firmware Stack Development Teams in Packet Processing / Threat Detection / Traffic Optimization, etc.
• 9+ years in Firmware Product Development / hands-on - Ethernet Switching / Routing Products
• Software Development (hands-on) - C/C++ / Rust / Assembly within Embedded Environments
• Multi-Thread Computing - design / debug firmware running on multiple concurrent threads with RT performance in switches
• Inter-Chassis Communication - Protocols / MLAG / Stacking etc. for seamless failover across distributed hardware
• High-Availability Techniques - Redundancy / Failover / Hitless Upgrades / State Synchronization
• Microcontrollers / Microprocessors - ARM Cortex-M / NXP / Broadcom SOCs; firmware for embedded CPUs; RTOS or Linux control planes
• Database Concepts - Embedded data storage / schema design / indexing / query efficiency for configuration…