Technical Lead Manager (SSD Firmware)

Silicon Motion, Inc.

690 N. McCarthy Blvd., Suite 200, Milpitas, CA 95035, is seeking to hire a Technical Lead Manager in SSD Firmware.

Job Duties

1. Lead SSD Firmware and Application Development

   • Manage cross‑functional firmware and application engineering teams and coordinate roadmap alignment and collaborative development to meet Artificial Intelligent (AI) computing, Data Center, and hyperscaler requirements and business goals.
   • Deliver structured technical onboarding, training programs, and maintain up‑to‑date documentation to align U.S. SSD application engineers with internal architectures and toolchains.
   • Mentor team engineers by setting performance goals, conducting regular check‑ins, and defining long‑term engineering strategies tailored for the U.S. market.

2. Define SSD Architecture and Technical Ownership

   • Architect next‑generation PCIe Gen5 and Gen6 SSDs with a focus on controller logic, NAND interface optimization, DRAM architecture, and telemetry enablement.
   • Lead the design of secure boot flows, system‑level ECC, and NVMe host interface logic customized for AI computing, Data Center, and hyperscaler‑specific extensions.
   • Drive cross‑functional architecture reviews and collaborate with ASIC and software teams to define and deliver integrated firmware/hardware features.

3. Lead Engineering Team & Technical Execution for Next Generation SSD (PCIe Gen5 and Gen6)

   • Define engineering priorities, oversee project planning, and review technical designs to ensure consistency with corporate standards and quality benchmarks.
   • Facilitate code reviews, remove technical blockers, and manage delivery timelines through Agile best practices and milestone tracking.

4. Conduct NAND Flash Memory and FTL Customization

   • Optimize flash translation layer (FTL) functions, including garbage collection, wear‑leveling, and over‑provisioning strategies.
   • Customize firmware to accommodate evolving NAND geometries and client‑specific endurance and retention targets.
   • Use proprietary tools to validate NAND performance through profiling, ECC error analysis, and stress‑testing.

5. Conduct Architecture of PCIe Gen5 and Gen6 & NVMe Host Interface

   • Lead implementation of PCIe Gen5 and Gen6 initialization and link optimization features for performance and power efficiency.
   • Customize and extend NVMe protocol stacks to support cloud‑specific storage functionality, telemetry, and quality‑of‑service features.

6. Conduct Security Feature Development & SSD Reliability

   • Design and integrate secure firmware update mechanisms, encryption key management, and SED (Self‑Encrypting Drive) capabilities in line with AI computing, Data Center, and hyperscaler compliance requirements.
   • Develop custom diagnostic tools and logs to support post‑deployment failure analysis and improve reliability insights.

7. Work on Customer Enablement & Cross‑functional Collaboration

   • Act as primary customer contact for U.S.‑based AI computing, Data Center, hyperscaler and OEM partners during validation, bring‑up, and production deployment.
   • Translate AI computing, Data Center, and hyperscaler workload profiles and telemetry into actionable firmware customizations and performance tuning.
   • Collaborate with business development teams to support customer engagements through technical presentations, roadmap briefings, and feature demonstrations.

Job Requirements

• Master degree or equivalent in Computer Science, Computer Information Systems, Information Technology or related, and 2‑year experience in engineering manager occupation in firmware application for NAND.
• Knowledge of NAND flash memory, SSD firmware, DRAM, FTL, and real‑time operating systems, and Python and C programming.

Salary range: $239,200.00 - $240,000.00 per year.