AJ Zahnow — Resume

Summary

Firmware engineer with 15 years of experience shipping 42 embedded products at scale across consumer, SMB, and enterprise environments. Coordinated firmware delivery across a 500+ developer global organization spanning 3 continents. Resolved critical customer escalations tied to $100M+ contracts. Delivered the first product on a ground-up cross-platform codebase spanning inkjet, laserjet, and large-format printers. Deep expertise in ARM-based systems, RTOS, and Linux firmware with a proven track record of mentoring engineers and driving technical innovation.

Technical Skills

Languages: C, C++, Python, Bash · OS: ThreadX (RTOS), Embedded Linux · Toolchains: GCC, GHS
Architectures: ARM (Cortex-M3, M7, R4, A7, A9, A35, PJ946) on custom ASIC platforms
Protocols: USB (subject matter expert), SPI, I2C, UART, network protocols
Tools: Git (Gerrit, GHE), Jenkins, ADICT, TestRails, Saleae, LeCroy CATC/Advisor T3, Wireshark
Domains: BSP, secure boot/root of trust, firmware integration, manufacturing, regulatory compliance (EMC/RFI)
AI Tooling: GitHub Copilot, Copilot CLI, Claude Code — early adopter and internal advocate

Professional Experience

HP Inc. — Boise, ID · 2011 – Present · LaserJet Firmware Organization

System Integrator & Product Lead Firmware Engineer

2020 – Present

Firmware product lead for 3 product families (color/mono Pro-series) for SMB and enterprise
Delivered 5 releases across 6 products in 3 years on a new cross-platform codebase
Coordinate integration and release across 500–600 developers in the Americas, Europe, and Asia
Own end-to-end delivery from board bring-up through production at hundreds of thousands of units/month
Facilitated regulatory testing (EMC/RFI) in Japan during early firmware bring-up
Mentored 7–8 new engineers from onboarding through independent project ownership

BSP Firmware Team Lead & Subscription Platform Lead

~2016 – 2020

Led BSP team: platform bring-up, bootloaders, drivers, HAL across ARM-based custom ASICs
Contributed embedded firmware ROM into ASICs with secure boot primitives establishing hardware root of trust
Concurrently led firmware team delivering the foundation for a new subscription-based product platform
Reduced RAM 64MB→8MB and ROM 16MB→8MB while maintaining 29 PPM — enabling an ultra-low-cost product tier
Organization's USB subject matter expert using LeCroy CATC/Advisor T3 for complex protocol analysis
Primary vendor liaison for flash memory pre-programming process; mentored successive engineers maintaining the system
Traveled to production lines to resolve high-priority manufacturing issues

BSP Firmware Engineer

2011 – ~2016

Developed BSP firmware: bootloaders, peripheral drivers, and hardware bring-up on ARM platforms
Sole engineer delivering control panel MCU firmware across multiple product lines — full ownership through production
Built a lightweight file system on SPI-NOR flash for open-source third-party component integration
Established institutional expertise in control panel architecture, becoming the org-wide reference
Architected flash memory pre-programming process with third-party vendor, transforming from 4-unit batch to high-speed reel-to-reel production — still in active use 10+ years later across multiple product lines

Leadership & Mentoring

Champion AI-assisted development tools (Copilot, Copilot CLI) across the firmware organization
Mentored engineers throughout career, many advancing into senior technical and leadership roles
Served on engineering interview panel for multiple years
Recognized by leadership for principal-level impact; encouraged to pursue Master/Principal promotion

Education

BS Embedded Systems Engineering Technology — Oregon Institute of Technology, 2011

Tech Leadership Academy — TrainUp.com · Business acumen program with capstone presentation to senior leadership

Projects & Interests

Embedded AI/TinyML (ESP32, Cortex-M) · DIY ATV tuning assistant (ESP32 + wideband O2 + air density sensors) · Multi-agent AI systems for developer productivity