Junior Firmware Engineer - Wireless Platforms (Qualcomm QSDK)

Job Description

Junior Firmware Engineer - Wireless Platforms (Qualcomm QSDK)

San Jose, California

Linksys (Fortinet)
About the Role

You will work on firmware integration for Qualcomm-based wireless platforms, focusing on enabling and validating Wi-Fi features using Qualcomm's SDKs. This role sits at the intersection of firmware, wireless performance, and hardware-software integration.

As a junior engineer, your work will focus on learning the platform, enabling existing features, testing behavior on real hardware, and assisting with performance tuning. Senior engineers own hardware architecture and bring-up; you will learn through guided, hands-on experience.
Location Context

This role is based in San Jose, California, our primary firmware engineering hub, where platform, wireless, and security engineers collaborate closely.
Key Responsibilities

• Customize and configure firmware based on Qualcomm SDKs
• Assist with enabling wireless features such as Wi-Fi 6/7 capabilities
• Test and validate firmware on development hardware
• Help diagnose and debug firmware issues with senior engineer support
• Write clear specifications and test plans for small enhancements
• Use profiling and test tools to evaluate wireless performance
• Collaborate with hardware, QA, and platform teams

Required Qualifications

• B.S. in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field (0-2 years experience)
• Strong C programming fundamentals
• Familiarity with Linux or embedded systems
• Basic understanding of wireless networking concepts
• Willingness to work with hardware in a lab environment
• Strong problem-solving and communication skills

Nice-to-Have Skills

• Exposure to OpenWrt, QSDK, Buildroot, or Yocto
• Basic ability to read schematics or use serial consoles
• Python scripting for automation or log analysis
• Interest in wireless performance and optimization

Prior QSDK or hardware bring-up experience is not required. These skills are learned during onboarding with mentorship.
Engineering Culture

Our team follows three core development practices that you'll learn during onboarding:

Spec-First Development: Write specifications before coding. You'll learn to document your design approach and expected behavior before implementation, with senior engineer guidance.

Test-Driven Development: Write tests alongside code. You'll learn to create automated tests that validate your work and catch regressions early.

AI-Augmented Workflow: Use AI tools responsibly. You'll have access to AI coding assistants to help with research, code generation, and problem-solving-always with human validation.
AI Usage Expectations

We provide AI coding tools (GitHub Copilot, internal assistants) to boost productivity. As a junior engineer:

• You're encouraged to use AI for navigating QSDK documentation, generating code templates, and analyzing logs
• You're responsible for validating all AI output against documentation and hardware testing-especially for low-level code where errors can brick devices
• Never include proprietary register definitions or confidential schematics in external AI prompts
• You must understand the code you commit-AI accelerates work but doesn't replace learning

We'll train you on safe AI usage practices (OWASP/NIST-aligned) during onboarding.

The US base salary range for this full-time position is $90,000-$160,000. Fortinet offers employees a variety of benefits, including medical, dental, vision, life and disability insurance, 401(k), 11 paid holidays, vacation time, and sick time, as well as a comprehensive leave program.

Wage ranges are based on various factors, including the labour market, job type, and job level. Exact salary offers will be determined by factors such as the candidate's subject knowledge, skill level, qualifications, experience, and geographic location.

All roles are eligible to participate in the Fortinet equity program. Bonus eligibility is reviewed at the time of hire and annually at the Company's discretion.

Why Join Us:

We encourage candidates from all backgrounds and identities to apply. We offer a supportive work environment and a competitive Total Rewards package to support you with your overall health and financial well-being.

Embark on a challenging, enjoyable, and rewarding career journey with Fortinet. Join us in bringing solutions that make a meaningful and lasting impact to our 660,000+ customers around the globe.

About Us

Fortinet (NASDAQ: FTNT) secures the largest enterprise, service provider, and government organizations around the world. Fortinet empowers its customers with intelligent, seamless protection across the expanding attack surface and the power to take on ever-increasing performance requirements of the borderless network - today and into the future. Only the Fortinet Security Fabric architecture can deliver security without compromise to address the most critical security challenges, whether in networked, application, cloud or mobile environments. Fortinet ranks number one in the most security appliances shipped worldwide and more than 500,000 customers trust Fortinet to protect their businesses.

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations for all qualified individuals with disabilities. If you require assistance or accommodation due to a disability, please contact us at

Fortinet is an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity in our company, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, military/veteran status or any other applicable legally protected characteristics in the location in which the candidate is applying.