Staff Firmware Test Developer at SK hynix memory solutions America Inc.
San Jose, CA
$110,000–$160,000from the description
Jul 23, 2026
San Jose, CA
Jul 24, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
This role centers on security validation for enterprise NVMe SSD firmware, covering standards such as Secure Boot, TCG OPAL, SPDM Firmware Attestation, and OCP NVMe Security Requirements across FPGA and ASIC platforms. The work involves designing and building automated test frameworks, debugging low-level firmware and hardware failures, and owning quality gates for security-critical features from architecture review through production release. It suits an experienced firmware or embedded security engineer with a background in storage platforms and test automation.
Senior level · 5+ years · San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA · Full-time
Advertised as Staff, but the requirements read as Senior.
“or” means any one of them counts — you don't need all of them.
We read this from the posting text with AI. Skim the description below before ruling yourself out.
How this req sits in the market our data
Roughly 15 people in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA area plausibly meet what this posting asks for (software quality assurance analysts and testers). range 4–20
Applicant volume Moderate — A normal amount of company. The rare requirements below are what will separate a shortlisted application from the rest.
Rare in this occupation — lead with these, and say what you built with them.
Most people in this occupation already list these. Still required — just not what gets you shortlisted.
What the occupation pays Median $170,192 (middle half $126,400–$188,281). This posting is about at that midpoint.
Estimated from BLS employment for this occupation and area, per-skill prevalence across our listing corpus, and published wage benchmarks — as of Jul 28, 2026. It is a model, not a headcount.
Why we read it this way (6)
The role title is 'Staff Firmware Test Developer' but the actual scope — 5+ years required, ownership of a security validation domain, cross-functional collaboration — aligns more closely with Senior than Staff on the standard career ladder. Staff is retained as the advertised level per the title.
The security protocol experience (Secure Boot, TCG OPAL, SPDM, OCP NVMe Security, TCG Storage Spec) is listed under Minimum Qualifications but with an explicit 'at least one of the following' qualifier, meaning only familiarity with one is gated. Each protocol is captured individually as preferred to reflect that no single one is a hard gate on its own; the capability area as a whole is required.
Degree requirement is marked None because the JD explicitly accepts 'equivalent practical experience in firmware or embedded security' in lieu of a Bachelor's or Master's degree.
Location is inferred as San Jose/Silicon Valley area based on SK Hynix Memory Solutions America's known US headquarters; no explicit city is stated in the posting.
SPDM experience in production firmware and open-source security test framework contributions appear under Preferred Qualifications.
The alt SOC (15-1252 Software Developers) reflects that the role involves significant test framework development and automation coding, not just test execution.
Read the full posting
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