OpenAI

Camera Firmware Engineer, Consumer Products

OpenAI2 months ago
Location

San Francisco

Type

Full Time

Salary

USD 293,000 – 325,000

Level

Senior

Role

Firmware Engineer

Posted

Dec 23, 2025

Full TimeSenior

The role

Summary

OpenAI's Consumer Products team is seeking a Camera Firmware Engineer to develop low-level camera systems for AI-powered hardware products. The role involves bringing up camera sensors on custom hardware, developing firmware drivers, and building reliable capture pipelines from prototype to production deployment in San Francisco.

What you'll do

Camera Sensor Bring-up: Bring up new camera sensors and modules on prototype and production boards, ensuring link stability, sensor control, and proper power/reset/clock sequencing
Low-level Driver Development: Develop and maintain camera software including sensor drivers, board configuration, and camera subsystem integration across hardware revisions
Capture Pipeline Validation: Enable and validate core capture paths including RAW capture for debugging, still capture, and hardware-accelerated video encode/streaming with stable timestamps
Camera Control Implementation: Implement camera control features including 3A loop exposure, manual overrides, locks, and deterministic presets for validation and debugging
Tooling Development: Build and maintain camera bring-up tooling such as capture scripts, automated sweeps, manifests, and debugging utilities for reproducible issue triage
Cross-team Collaboration: Partner with electrical engineering, camera pipeline owners, and systems teams to define interfaces, unblock integration, and maintain camera stack stability

What we look for

Technical

Embedded Camera SystemsDeep experience shipping embedded camera systems including sensor bring-up, driver development, and board-level debugging
C/C++ ProgrammingStrong experience with C/C++ in embedded or Linux-based systems, comfortable debugging across kernel and userspace boundaries
Camera Hardware InterfacesHands-on understanding of MIPI CSI, sensor control buses, and practical hardware bring-up including power, reset, clocking, and sequencing
Debug WorkflowsProven track record building reliable capture paths and effective debug workflows that accelerate iteration through reproducible failures

Education

Bachelor's DegreeBachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related technical field
Advanced Degree PreferredMaster's degree in relevant engineering discipline preferred for senior-level responsibilities

Experience

Firmware Development5+ years of experience in embedded firmware development with focus on camera or imaging systems
Hardware Integration3+ years of experience with hardware bring-up, debugging, and integration of camera modules and sensors
Production SystemsExperience shipping camera systems from prototype through production deployment with emphasis on reliability and scale

Skills

Required skills

C/C++ ProgrammingStrong proficiency in C/C++ for embedded systems development and firmware programming
Embedded LinuxExperience with Linux-based embedded systems, kernel development, and device drivers
Camera Hardware InterfacesUnderstanding of MIPI CSI, I2C, SPI, and other camera sensor communication protocols
Hardware DebuggingProficiency with logic analyzers, oscilloscopes, and other hardware debugging tools
Firmware DevelopmentExperience with embedded firmware development, cross-compilation, and debugging workflows

Nice to have

Mobile SoC Camera StacksExperience with mobile or embedded SoC camera frameworks and vendor-specific implementations
Hardware AccelerationExperience with video encode/decode acceleration blocks and hardware-accelerated pipelines
GStreamerFamiliarity with GStreamer framework for building multimedia capture and processing pipelines
3A AlgorithmsUnderstanding of auto-exposure, auto-focus, and auto-white-balance control systems
Power ManagementExperience with power sequencing, clock management, and low-power camera system design

Compensation & benefits

Salary

USD 293,000 – 325,000 (annual)

Stock options

Available

Benefits

Health Insurance

Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and their families

Equity Compensation

Stock options and equity participation in OpenAI's growth and success

Hybrid Work Model

Four days per week in San Francisco office with one day remote flexibility

Relocation Assistance

Comprehensive relocation support for new employees moving to San Francisco

Professional Development

Learning opportunities and career growth support in cutting-edge AI technology

Disability Accommodations

Reasonable accommodations provided for applicants and employees with disabilities

Interview process

  1. 1
    Application Review — Initial screening of resume, portfolio, and technical background in embedded camera systems
  2. 2
    Technical Phone Screen — 45-minute technical discussion covering C/C++ programming, embedded systems, and camera hardware interfaces
  3. 3
    Technical Deep Dive — 90-minute technical interview focusing on firmware development, debugging methodologies, and system design
  4. 4
    System Design Interview — Architecture discussion covering camera pipeline design, hardware integration, and scaling considerations
  5. 5
    Team Fit Interview — Cultural fit assessment and discussion of collaboration with cross-functional teams
  6. 6
    Final Interview — Senior leadership interview covering career goals, problem-solving approach, and alignment with OpenAI's mission
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OpenAI

OpenAI

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OpenAI is an American artificial intelligence research organization developing advanced AI models like GPT. Focused on ensuring AI benefits humanity, it creates tools for natural language processing and generative AI applications.

San Francisco, California, United StatesFounded 2015openai.com

Tech Stack

Languages
CC++Assembly
Frameworks
GStreamerLinux Kernel APIsV4L2
Tools
Logic AnalyzersOscilloscopesJTAG DebuggersGitBuild Systems
Other
MIPI CSII2C/SPIPower ManagementVideo Codecs3A Algorithms

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