Assistant Computer Chip Engineer Jobs in Milpitas, CA

Nova's Materials Metrology Division is looking for a skilled Firmware Engineer (Embedded) to design, develop, and test firmware and software for our core hardware platforms. The engineer will collaborate closely with electrical and systems engineering teams to integrate software with physical components, participating in the entire software development life cycle from initial board bring-up, development, testing, and transition to production.

Pay Range: $130,000- $170,000 Annually (DOE)

• Nova provides insights into process control in the world’s most technologically advanced industry. We employ physics, math, algorithms, software and hardware expertise to redefine the limits of possible in semiconductors’ manufacturing.
• We invite you to join our dreamers and winners! Brilliant high-aimers who see impossible as the starting point to exciting challenges, and work together in multidisciplinary global teams to find answers.
• We dive deep to extract unique insights and provide our customers and partners with crucial decision‑making data. Each and every one of us helps redefine what people can achieve through technology.

We simply do things differently. What about you?

You’ll be joining the Material Metrology Division:

Materials Metrology Division is a competitive and familial environment. We work as a team, and individually, to drive the success of our business using our winning attitude!

• Develop and maintain firmware for highly reliable industrial electronics and electrical systems both existing and next generation NOVA metrology platforms.
• Design and implement efficient, robust, and maintainable C code targeting ARM cores and STM32 microcontrollers.
• Collaborate with hardware teams to bring up new boards, understand schematics, and design/modify device drivers.
• Analyze and optimize system performance, memory management, and process execution.
• Conduct hardware‑in‑the‑loop (HIL) testing, unit testing, and debugging using scopes, logic analyzers, and emulators.
• Adhere to continuous integration and deployment (CI/CD) pipelines, maintain version control, and write technical documentation.

• A minimum of a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a closely related field is required.
• 3+ years of professional experience in the development of embedded firmware and software systems is required.
• Demonstrated experience working at the hardware‑software interface, including reading and writing hardware registers, familiarity with assembly language, and the ability to interpret hardware specifications.
• Strong proficiency in programming languages such as C/C++ for embedded system development.
• Proven experience in compiling C code, including diagnosing and resolving compiler and linker errors; hands‑on experience with Windows‑based development environments is required.
• Experience with microcontrollers, microprocessors, and hardware‑software integration, along with familiarity with low‑level communication protocols such as I2C, SPI, UART, USB, or Ethernet.
• Practical experience using laboratory and debugging tools, including oscilloscopes, multimeters, and hardware debuggers (e.g., J‑Link), to diagnose and resolve complex system issues.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with software version control systems, such as Git.
• Experience with scripting languages, such as Python, for test automation and tooling.
• Familiarity with FPGA programming and development.
• Interpersonal and communication skills, both verbal and written.

Get to know us better:

Nova (NASDAQ: NVMI) is a global company and a leading provider of innovative metrology solutions for process control in semiconductor manufacturing.

With a team of ~1200 people in three R&D centers and 27 field offices, we bring insights into the world’s most advanced industry. We leverage multiple technology fields such as physics, optics, chemistry, and algorithms to develop hardware and software solutions that measure almost every advanced computer chip built in the world.

Nova dives deep into dimensions and layers at the atomic level to extract unique insights and provide our customers with crucial decision‑making data, managing critical challenges by providing unique, differentiated solutions.

Our outstanding people‑focused and innovative culture means every person at Nova has the power to make an impact and significantly redefine what people can achieve through technology.

Join us if you are

A dreamer and brilliant high aimer who sees the impossible as the starting point and loves working in a multidisciplinary global team to create innovative breakthroughs.

If you need assistance due to a disability, you may contact us at [emailprotected]

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