diff --git a/src/main/scala/firrtl/options/StageAnnotations.scala b/src/main/scala/firrtl/options/StageAnnotations.scala
index 2b12dd4e6d..584f2842ad 100644
--- a/src/main/scala/firrtl/options/StageAnnotations.scala
+++ b/src/main/scala/firrtl/options/StageAnnotations.scala
@@ -71,7 +71,33 @@ trait CustomFileEmission { this: Annotation =>
     val name = view[StageOptions](annotations).getBuildFileName(baseFileName(annotations), suffix)
     new File(name)
   }
+}
+
+/** A buffered version of [[CustomFileEmission]]
+  *
+  * This is especially useful for serializing large data structures. When emitting Strings, it makes
+  * it much easier to avoid materializing the entire serialized String in memory. It also helps
+  * avoid materializing intermediate datastructures in memory. Finally, it reduces iteration
+  * overhead and helps optimize I/O performance.
+  *
+  * It may seem strange to use `Array[Byte]` in an otherwise immutable API, but for maximal
+  * performance it is best to use the JVM primitive that file I/O uses. These Arrays should only
+  * used immutably even though the Java API technically does allow mutating them.
+  */
+trait BufferedCustomFileEmission extends CustomFileEmission { this: Annotation =>
+
+  /** A buffered version of [[getBytes]] for more efficient serialization
+    *
+    * If you only need to serialize an `Iterable[String]`, you can use the `String.getBytes` method.
+    * It's also helpful to create a `view` which will do the `.map` lazily instead of eagerly,
+    * improving GC performance.
+    * {{{
+    *  def getBytesBuffered: Iterable[Array[Byte]] = myListString.view.map(_.getBytes)
+    * }}}
+    */
+  def getBytesBuffered: Iterable[Array[Byte]]
 
+  final def getBytes: Iterable[Byte] = getBytesBuffered.flatten
 }
 
 /** Holds the name of the target directory
diff --git a/src/main/scala/firrtl/options/phases/WriteOutputAnnotations.scala b/src/main/scala/firrtl/options/phases/WriteOutputAnnotations.scala
index 0e26a5f714..2cf4c92f10 100644
--- a/src/main/scala/firrtl/options/phases/WriteOutputAnnotations.scala
+++ b/src/main/scala/firrtl/options/phases/WriteOutputAnnotations.scala
@@ -4,7 +4,16 @@ package firrtl.options.phases
 
 import firrtl.AnnotationSeq
 import firrtl.annotations.{Annotation, DeletedAnnotation, JsonProtocol}
-import firrtl.options.{CustomFileEmission, Dependency, Phase, PhaseException, StageOptions, Unserializable, Viewer}
+import firrtl.options.{
+  BufferedCustomFileEmission,
+  CustomFileEmission,
+  Dependency,
+  Phase,
+  PhaseException,
+  StageOptions,
+  Unserializable,
+  Viewer
+}
 
 import java.io.{BufferedOutputStream, File, FileOutputStream, PrintWriter}
 
@@ -38,9 +47,17 @@ class WriteOutputAnnotations extends Phase {
         filesWritten.get(canonical) match {
           case None =>
             val w = new BufferedOutputStream(new FileOutputStream(filename))
-            a.getBytes match {
-              case arr: mutable.WrappedArray[Byte] => w.write(arr.array.asInstanceOf[Array[Byte]])
-              case other => other.foreach(w.write(_))
+            a match {
+              // Further optimized emission
+              case buf: BufferedCustomFileEmission =>
+                val it = buf.getBytesBuffered
+                it.foreach(bytearr => w.write(bytearr))
+              // Regular emission
+              case _ =>
+                a.getBytes match {
+                  case arr: mutable.WrappedArray[Byte] => w.write(arr.array.asInstanceOf[Array[Byte]])
+                  case other => other.foreach(w.write(_))
+                }
             }
             w.close()
             filesWritten(canonical) = a
diff --git a/src/test/scala/firrtlTests/options/phases/WriteOutputAnnotationsSpec.scala b/src/test/scala/firrtlTests/options/phases/WriteOutputAnnotationsSpec.scala
index e9b8454090..edc56425f7 100644
--- a/src/test/scala/firrtlTests/options/phases/WriteOutputAnnotationsSpec.scala
+++ b/src/test/scala/firrtlTests/options/phases/WriteOutputAnnotationsSpec.scala
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import java.io.File
 import firrtl.AnnotationSeq
 import firrtl.annotations.{DeletedAnnotation, NoTargetAnnotation}
 import firrtl.options.{
+  BufferedCustomFileEmission,
   CustomFileEmission,
   InputAnnotationFileAnnotation,
   OutputAnnotationFileAnnotation,
@@ -171,6 +172,25 @@ class WriteOutputAnnotationsSpec extends AnyFlatSpec with Matchers with firrtl.t
     result should equal(data)
   }
 
+  it should "write BufferedCustomFileEmission annotations" in new Fixture {
+    val file = new File("write-CustomFileEmission-annotations.anno.json")
+    val data = List("hi", "bye", "yo")
+    val annotations = Seq(
+      TargetDirAnnotation(dir),
+      OutputAnnotationFileAnnotation(file.toString),
+      WriteOutputAnnotationsSpec.Buffered(data)
+    )
+    val serializedFileName = view[StageOptions](annotations).getBuildFileName("Buffered", Some(".Emission"))
+    val out = phase.transform(annotations)
+
+    info(s"file '$serializedFileName' exists")
+    new File(serializedFileName) should (exist)
+
+    info(s"file '$serializedFileName' is correct")
+    val result = scala.io.Source.fromFile(serializedFileName).mkString
+    result should equal(data.mkString)
+  }
+
   it should "error if multiple annotations try to write to the same file" in new Fixture {
     val file = new File("write-CustomFileEmission-annotations-error.anno.json")
     val annotations = Seq(
@@ -215,4 +235,12 @@ private object WriteOutputAnnotationsSpec {
 
   case class Replacement(file: String) extends NoTargetAnnotation
 
+  case class Buffered(content: List[String]) extends NoTargetAnnotation with BufferedCustomFileEmission {
+
+    override protected def baseFileName(a: AnnotationSeq): String = "Buffered"
+
+    override protected def suffix: Option[String] = Some(".Emission")
+
+    override def getBytesBuffered: Iterable[Array[Byte]] = content.view.map(_.getBytes)
+  }
 }