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Silicon Motion

Senior Firmware Engineer(FTL)

Silicon Motion, Rancho Cordova, California, us, 95741

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Design and Maintain FTL Architecture

Develop and maintain the Flash Translation Layer (FTL) including I/O flow, Garbage Collection, and Wear Leveling algorithms to ensure data integrity and maximize NAND endurance.

Block Management and Metadata Handling

Implement bad block detection, isolation, and data migration mechanisms to manage block lifecycle.

Design robust metadata structures to support fast mapping table reconstruction and system boot.

Error Handling Mechanisms

Prevent and mitigate NAND‑related issues such as read disturb, program/erase failures, and retention loss.

Implement RAID encode/decode flows to guarantee data reliability.

Power‑Loss Protection

Design and implement power‑loss protection algorithms to maintain data consistency and metadata integrity during unexpected shutdowns.

Verify and optimize power‑loss recovery flow to ensure fast and reliable system startup.

Performance and Resource Optimization

Optimize channel/die/plane access scheduling and parallelism to improve throughput and reduce latency.

Enhance DRAM/SRAM usage efficiency and reduce write amplification for better endurance and performance.

Debugging and Validation

Develop and analyze FTL traces and logs for performance profiling and issue root‑cause analysis.

Conduct stress testing, mixed workload testing, power‑fail tests, and corner‑case verification to ensure firmware stability and reliability.

Collaborate with Validation, Hardware, and ASIC teams to resolve cross‑functional issues and ensure system robustness.

Minimum Requirements / Qualifications

Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related fields.

At least 3 years’ work experience in each of the following areas: Software/firmware application engineering

SSD controller/firmware architecture

Strong experience in C/C++ programming and data structures

Hands‑on experience with JTAG/ICE debuggers

Experience with version control software like Git

Competent to work independently as well as in a small team collaboration environment

Willingness to learn fast and execute as a team player

Good oral, written, and presentation skills for communication and documentation

Ability to work independently with a minimum of day‑to‑day supervision

Preferred Qualifications

Ability to operate logic analyzer, oscilloscope, and bus protocol analyzer

Familiarity with SATA/PCIe (NVMe) protocols

Familiarity with NAND flash protocols

Linux system debug experience

Fluent in reading and writing Mandarin (preferred)

Work Location: Rancho Cordova, CA

Estimated Base Pay Range (USD) for this full‑time position: $150,000 - $210,000 per annum. The exact starting base pay will be determined based on job‑related skills, experience, qualifications, work location and market conditions.

SMI‑USA: Compensation, Benefits, Rewards and Culture

Highly competitive salaries differentiated by performance.

Annual merit increases.

Year‑end bonus.

RSU for eligible employees.

Invention and Patent Awards.

401(k) employer matching.

Length of service awards.

Comprehensive health insurance plans for eligible employees and dependents.

For applying or for more information about the recruitment, please contact: jobs@siliconmotion.com

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