Senior Principal HW/SW Co-Design Lead

What You'll Do

• Technical lead for given SOC products in developing low‑level IP firmware (device drivers) for MCU platforms, ensuring high quality and reusability.
• Work closely with central SW teams to maximize reuse, consistency and ensure HW compatibility.
• Define and drive software architecture methodologies, standards, and best practices that enable consistent and reusable low‑level APIs across programs.
• Architect and deliver comprehensive IP firmware/driver solutions that support all phases of the lifecycle—RTL verification, virtual simulation, SoC verification, post‑silicon validation, and SDK integration Partner with pre‑silicon and post‑silicon teams to align HAL/SDK development with IP interface requirements and features.
• Work closely with HW, SW architects and SOC designers to initiate firmware development in parallel with hardware development.
• Review hardware register definitions and documentation early and regularly to remove disconnects and provide actionable feedback to improve software usability and long‑term maintainability.
• This role owns any gap closure.
• Establish and maintain backward‑compatible software interfaces as hardware IP evolves across products.
• Ensure linkage with HW IP and central SW team.
• Create architectural frameworks that promote consistency and scalability of driver implementations.
• Define best practices for delivering enablement drivers alongside hardware IP, ensuring smooth integration into SoC platforms and customer SDKs.
• Support multiple execution environments—simulation, emulation, and silicon—to ensure robust API behavior.
• Champion quality practices including design reviews, code reviews, static analysis, and adherence to coding standards.
• Produce clear, comprehensive technical documentation, reports, and presentations for stakeholders and milestone reviews.
• Use Git, JIRA, and Confluence to drive project execution, collaboration, and traceability.
• Mentor and guide junior and mid‑level software engineers, providing technical leadership and fostering a collaborative team environment.
• Contribute to ongoing optimization of firmware development workflows, tools, and cross‑team processes.
• Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, or a related field.
• Experience in RTL simulation and emulation.
• Must be able to understand how SOC’s are built and be able to work with RTL, HW and SW verification environments.
• Minimum of 15 years of experience in architecture and/or firmware development for MCUs/MPUs.
• Deep expertise in MCU/MPU SW architecture and low‑level firmware development, including RTL bring‑up, driver design, and platform‑level integration.
• Ability to lead by influence and bring cross‑functional teams together to accomplish goals.
• Experience leveraging AI capabilities to accelerate software development and documentation.
• Proficiency with ARM processor subsystems, tools, and debugging methodologies.
• Experience working with embedded RTOS and compilers.
• Competence in low‑level software testing and debugging for MCUs and MPUs.
• Ability to work in a multi‑site, multi‑time‑zone environment.
• Proficiency in C/C++/Assembly languages and at least one scripting language.
• Excellent problem‑solving, analytical, and debugging skills.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to effectively collaborate with cross‑functional teams and mentor junior engineers.
• Prior experience in a technical leadership role, driving projects and influencing technical direction is highly desirable. ----------- NXP is committed to equal pay for equal work and work of equal value and applies fair, consistent and transparent remuneration practices.
• As of the date of this posting, the estimated gross annual base salary range for this position in Italy is between 77,200 € and 106,300 € annually.
• This range is intended as a guideline.
• Actual compensation may vary based on qualifications, experience, skills, and specific business or organizational needs.
• This position falls under the applicable National Collective Labour Agreement (Metalmeccanica Industria).
• Where relevant, the total compensation package may also include additional elements such as annual incentive opportunities and/or equity, along with a competitive benefits package.
• More information about NXP in Italy... ----------- #LI-6710