Job Description

In an increasingly connected world, the pandemic has highlighted just how essential telecom networks are to keeping society running. The Network Infrastructure group is at the heart of a revolution to connectivity, pushing the boundaries to deliver more and faster network capacity to people worldwide through our ambition, innovation, and technical expertise

Join Optical Networks division, where innovation meets scale in the AI-driven data center era. With the recent acquisition of Infinera, we’ve united two industry leaders to create an optical networking powerhouse—combining cutting-edge technology with proven leadership to redefine the future of connectivity.

At Nokia, we are building the backbone of global connectivity. As a Firmware Engineer, you will work closest to the hardware, shaping the behavior, reliability, and performance of next‑generation optical networking platforms Your work will directly control and optimize how our systems interact with silicon, optics, and high‑speed interfaces.

We operate in a high‑trust, international engineering environment where robustness, determinism, and deep system understanding are key. Clean abstractions, precise control over hardware, and engineering excellence guide everything we do.

You will be a core contributor in a cross‑functional team spanning hardware, embedded software, systems, and optical engineering. This role covers the full firmware lifecycle, from early silicon bring‑up and board validation through production deployment and field diagnostics.

We empower firmware engineers to own technical challenges end‑to‑end. If you identify a performance issue, timing constraint, or hardware limitation, you are expected and trusted to drive the solution—from root‑cause analysis to implementation.

We actively integrate AI‑driven Development Lifecycle (DLC) tools into our workflow. These tools assist with register‑level code generation, test scaffolding, static analysis, and defect detection, allowing you to focus on hardware‑aware design, timing‑critical firmware, and system reliability rather than repetitive boilerplate.

Design and implement bare‑metal or RTOS‑based firmware in C/C++ for ARM‑based SoCs and embedded controllers.

• Develop device drivers for peripherals such as I2C, SPI, UART, MDIO, GPIO, PCIe, and memory‑mapped hardware.
• Control and monitor optical modules and subsystems at a register and protocol level.

Participate in board bring‑up activities: boot flow, clocking, reset sequencing, power management, and memory initialization.

• Diagnose hardware‑software interaction issues using JTAG, logic analyzers, oscilloscopes, and low‑level debug tools.
• Work closely with hardware teams to validate new designs and silicon revisions.

Implement deterministic, low‑latency firmware handling interrupts, DMA, and real‑time constraints.

• Optimize memory footprint, boot time, and execution efficiency for constrained embedded environments.
• Ensure system stability under stress, fault conditions, and long‑running operation.

Write unit, integration, and hardware‑in‑the‑loop (HIL) tests for firmware components.

• Support manufacturing test, diagnostics, and field‑upgrade mechanisms.
• Collaborate on root‑cause analysis of system failures across firmware, hardware, and optics.

Participate in architecture discussions spanning firmware, embedded software, and system design.

• Conduct high‑signal code and design reviews in a globally distributed environment.

Strong proficiency in C and C++ for low‑level, embedded systems.

• Solid understanding of computer architecture, memory models, interrupts, and concurrency at the firmware level.
• Experience with RTOS concepts (e.g., task scheduling, synchronization, timers) or bare‑metal systems.

Hands‑on experience with SoCs, microcontrollers, and custom boards

• Ability to read and interpret datasheets, schematics, and hardware reference manuals
• Familiarity with digital interfaces and hardware protocols used in networking platforms.

Experience with Git, cross‑compilation toolchains, and embedded build systems.

• Proficiency with debuggers (JTAG/GDB) and hardware‑level troubleshooting tools.
• Familiarity with Python or scripting for automation, test, and diagnostics.

Optical Networking Domain (Highly Valued)

• Knowledge or exposure to Layer 0 (DWDM) systems
• Familiarity with optical components such as ROADM, WSS, DGE, ILA, transceivers, and line cards.
• Experience interfacing firmware with optical control planes or management software is a strong plus.

A strong growth mindset, with curiosity for modern embedded and firmware practices.

• Fluency in English and the ability to collaborate effectively across cultures, disciplines, and time zones.

Education

• BSc or MSc in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field.