Senior System Management Architect

Overview

• Our Host Management Team focuses on the holistic system- and board-level management of next-generation data center infrastructure.
• We architect the production, provisioning, management, power, and reset flows that keep complex, multi-silicon platforms operating securely and reliably.
• We bridge the gap between high-level orchestration (like Redfish and out-of-band management) and low-level hardware execution.
• We are seeking a Senior System Management Architect to lead the management architecture for our advanced SmartNIC cards.
• You will be the resident expert for SmartNIC system management, ensuring that NIC ASICs, Baseboard Management Controllers (BMCs), MCUs, CPUs, and CPLDs operate in perfect unison.
• You will own the lifecycle management specifications for SmartNIC platforms—from factory provisioning and day-one deployment to complex orchestrated reset flows and secure recovery.
• If you are someone who enjoys looking at a high-level system diagram and then immediately diving into the I2C/I3C bus topologies and PLDM command structures required to make it work, this role is for you.
• What you'll be doing: System Architecture & Flow Definition: Define and document comprehensive production, provisioning, update, recovery and reset flows for SmartNIC cards.
• Crucially, you will ensure that these board-level architectural decisions perfectly align with and support overarching platform-level needs, orchestrating seamless coordination between the NIC ASIC, BMC, CPU, and peripheral components.
• Security & Provisioning: Specify security provisioning flows including OTP fusing, secure boot enablement, attestation key injection, certificate chain management, RPMC key derivation, and PQC (Post-Quantum Cryptography) requirements.
• Define IPN-to-OPN transition and component locking procedures.
• Protocol Implementation & Guidance: Specify the use of standard management protocols (MCTP, PLDM, SPDM, NC-SI) across internal board interfaces to achieve secure boot, firmware updates, and telemetry gathering.
• Hardware/Software Intersect: Dive deep into device-level hardware and software behaviour.
• Define CPLD logic requirements, power-sequencing dependencies, and reset orchestration (e.g., handling PCIe PERST#, SBR, and forced resets) for multi-host and standalone SmartNIC environments.
• Interface Management : Architect intra-board communication pathways using PCIe, I2C/I3C, USB, and SPI, ensuring robust out-of-band (OOB) and in-band management connectivity.
• Cross-Functional Leadership: Collaborate tightly with Production teams, Hardware and Firmware Engineering, NIC FW/Driver teams, and QA to translate your architectural specifications into implementable, testable realities.
• Technical Documentation: Author rigorous technical specifications, test plans, and architectural design documents to guide both development and factory production.
• What we need to see: Deep System-Level Perspective: Proven ability to understand complex computing or networking systems top-to-bottom, with a specific background in SmartNIC boards, chassis, or network tray architectures.
• Device-Level Expertise: Hands-on experience debugging or architecting flows involving BMCs (e.g., OpenBMC), MCUs, CPUs, and complex networking ASICs.
• Protocol Fluency: Strong working knowledge of modern platform management and security protocols, specifically MCTP, PLDM (Type 2, 5, etc.), SPDM, and NC-SI.
• Hardware Interface Knowledge: Deep familiarity with board-level communication buses (I2C, I3C, SPI, USB) and system interconnects (PCIe architecture, including link states and reset mechanisms).
• Analytical Documentation Skills: Exceptional ability to write clear, unambiguous technical specifications, state-machine descriptions, and sequence diagrams.
• Experience Level: Typically requires a BS/MS in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field, alongside 8+ years of relevant industry experience.
• Ways to stand out from the crowd: Experience with Redfish API definitions and OOB network infrastructure.
• Familiarity with hardware root of trust (HRoT / eROT) concepts and secure boot architectures.
• Experience with PLDM firmware update bundle packaging and update agent implementation.
• Experience with production line tooling, factory provisioning, and manufacturing test flows.
• Networking Experience: Background in general networking principles, SmartNIC data-plane and offload operations, or high-speed data center topologies.