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# Camera Software Engineer, Consumer Devices

- **Company:** OpenAI Inc.
- **Location:** San Francisco, CA, United States
- **Salary:** $293,000.0 - $325,000.0
- **Contract:** Permanent contract
- **Skills:** C++ (Programming Language), Software Debugging, Device Drivers, Firmware, Hardware Interface Design, Linux System Administration, Systems Integration, Hardware Debugging
- **Published:** September 4, 2026
- **Apply:** https://diversityjobs.com/main/sendform/8/8/28176/1/15240619?backUrl=%2Fcareer%2F15240619%2FCamera-Firmware-Engineer-Consumer-Products-California-San-Francisco

## About the Role

* Deep experience shipping embedded camera systems, including sensor bring-up, driver development, and board-level debugging.
 * Strong C/C++ experience with embedded or Linux-based systems; comfortable debugging across kernel and userspace boundaries.
 * Hands-on understanding of common camera hardware interfaces (for example, MIPI CSI and sensor control buses) and the practical realities of bring-up, including power, reset, clocking, and sequencing.
 * Proven track record of building reliable capture paths and effective debug workflows that accelerate iteration through reproducible failures and well-scoped fixes.

Preferred Qualifications

 * Experience with common mobile or embedded SoC camera stacks and vendor frameworks.
 * Experience integrating and debugging hardware acceleration blocks adjacent to camera pipelines, such as video encode and decode paths.
 * Familiarity building higher-level capture pipelines (for example, GStreamer) on top of low-level camera enablement.

## Description

As a Camera Firmware Engineer, you will own low-level camera enablement on custom hardware-from early board bring-up through stable production capture. You will develop and maintain the firmware and software that makes camera sensors reliable, controllable, and debuggable, forming the foundation for higher-level camera pipelines and product features.

This role is highly hands-on and systems-oriented. You will work close to the hardware, diagnose real-world timing and integration issues, and build tooling that accelerates iteration across the entire camera stack.

This role is based in San Francisco, CA. We follow a hybrid work model with four days per week in the office and offer relocation assistance to new employees.
In This Role, You Will

 * Bring up new camera sensors and modules on prototype and production boards, including link stability, sensor control, and correct power, reset, and clock sequencing.
 * Develop and maintain low-level camera software, including sensor drivers, board configuration, and camera subsystem integration across hardware revisions.
 * Enable and validate core capture paths for development and production, including RAW capture for debugging, still capture, and hardware-accelerated video encode and streaming with stable timestamps and long-duration reliability.
 * Stand up camera control and repeatability features, including basic 3A loop exposure, manual overrides and locks, and deterministic presets to support validation and debugging.
 * Build and maintain camera bring-up tooling, such as capture scripts, automated sweeps, manifests, and debugging utilities that make issues reproducible and easy to triage.
 * Partner closely with electrical engineering, camera pipeline owners, and systems teams to define interfaces, unblock integration, and keep the camera stack stable as the device evolves.