AJ Zahnow — Resume

Summary

Firmware engineering leader with 15 years delivering 40+ embedded products at scale across consumer, SMB, and enterprise markets. Drove firmware strategy and integration across a 500+ developer global organization spanning 3 continents. Resolved critical customer escalations tied to $100M+ contracts and delivered the first product on a ground-up cross-platform codebase unifying inkjet, laserjet, and large-format architectures. Combines deep ARM/RTOS/Linux technical expertise with a track record of leading teams, mentoring 15+ engineers, and championing modern development practices across the organization.

Technical Skills

Languages: C, C++, Python, Bash, Assembly · OS: ThreadX (RTOS), Embedded Linux
Toolchains: GCC, GHS, Make, Yocto · 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, Jira, Docker, JTAG/SWD, GDB, Lauterbach TRACE32, oscilloscope, Saleae, LeCroy CATC/Advisor T3, Wireshark, ADICT, TestRails
Practices: Code review, CI/CD, Coverity (static analysis), Google Test, debugging/troubleshooting, cross-functional collaboration, schematic review
Domains: BSP, DMA, interrupt handling/ISR, memory management, RTOS concepts (semaphores, mutexes, task scheduling), power management, system performance, secure boot/root of trust, intellectual property protection, OTA firmware updates, firmware integration, manufacturing, regulatory compliance (EMC/RFI/ESD)
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

Lead firmware delivery for 3 product families serving SMB and enterprise markets, shipping hundreds of thousands of units monthly
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
Drive end-to-end firmware lifecycle — from silicon bring-up and board validation through production release — owning technical delivery across multiple hardware platforms
Led firmware validation for EMC/RFI/ESD regulatory compliance in Japan, achieving first-pass certification for international market launch
Mentored 7–8 engineers from onboarding through independent project ownership
Led beta test programs for new product introductions, coordinating cross-functional validation to ensure production readiness

BSP Firmware Team Lead & Subscription Platform Lead

~2016 – 2020

Led BSP team of 5 engineers delivering platform bring-up, bootloaders, drivers, and HAL for ARM-based custom ASICs powering 10 product lines
Led ASIC turn-on, block-level validation, and early silicon bring-up activities, establishing firmware readiness ahead of production silicon availability
Reverse-engineered an undocumented ASIC code-signing scheme (PKCS#11/RSA), built a C-based signing utility and mask ROM verification logic, and validated the full chain pre-silicon via gate simulation, fast models, and FPGA — establishing hardware root of trust through secure boot ROM
Concurrently led firmware team that built the embedded foundation for HP's subscription-based printing platform, enabling a recurring revenue business line
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
Managed vendor relationship for the flash pre-programming pipeline, ensuring continuity across product generations and mentoring 3+ successor engineers
Deployed to production facilities during full line-down events, rapidly diagnosing and resolving critical manufacturing defects to restore high-volume production throughput

BSP Firmware Engineer

2011 – ~2016

Engineered BSP firmware including bootloaders, peripheral drivers, and hardware initialization for ARM Cortex-M/R platforms, contributing to 10+ product launches
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

Drove adoption of AI-assisted development tools (GitHub Copilot in VSCode, GitHub Copilot CLI) across the firmware organization
Mentored 15+ engineers over a 15-year career, including on-site firmware training for offshore teams in South Korea, Shanghai, Bangalore, and Singapore; multiple mentees advancing into critical roles
Evaluated 50+ firmware engineering candidates across multiple years on the interview panel

Education

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

Tech Leadership Academy (HP Inc.) — 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