Chip Lead The Role The Chip Lead provides technical leadership for the architecture, design, integration, and execution of complex wireless System-on-Chip (SoC) products, from initial product definition through silicon bring-up and production.
This role requires deep technical expertise in SoC architecture, microarchitecture, and design, including processor subsystems, memory architectures, interconnects, clock and reset architectures, low-power design, digital and mixed-signal IP, and wireless connectivity. The Chip Lead is responsible for translating product requirements into a cohesive SoC architecture, driving key technical decisions and design tradeoffs, and ensuring that the chip meets its functional, performance, power, area, and cost objectives.
The Chip Lead works hands-on with engineering teams to drive subsystem design, IP integration, verification, physical implementation, and design closure. The role requires the ability to identify and resolve complex technical issues, challenge design assumptions, evaluate architectural alternatives, and make informed engineering decisions across multiple disciplines.
As the overall technical owner of the chip, the Chip Lead coordinates engineering execution across global design teams, establishes technical milestones, manages design dependencies and risks, and drives the SoC through tapeout, silicon bring-up, and production readiness.
Responsibilities - Lead the technical development and execution of complex wireless SoCs from product definition through design, silicon validation, and production.
- Work closely with product marketing, systems engineering, and SoC architects to review product requirements and contribute to the definition of the SoC.
- Serve as a key stakeholder in SoC architecture development, providing input on architectural decisions, design tradeoffs, technical feasibility, implementation complexity, and IP reuse.
- Identify technical risks, integration challenges, and cross-functional dependencies early in the development cycle.
- Develop the chip design execution plan, including technical milestones, design dependencies, and engineering resource requirements.
- Provide technical design collateral and engineering assessments to support product approval gates.
- Provide hands-on technical leadership throughout SoC design, integration, verification, and physical implementation.
- Work closely with functional and subsystem leads to drive design execution, resolve technical issues, and ensure successful integration of all SoC components.
- Review technical solutions, identify architectural and implementation issues, and collaborate with SoC architects and functional leads to resolve them.
- Work with verification teams to ensure comprehensive SoC verification, including system-level functionality, interfaces, power modes, and critical use cases.
- Drive technical readiness for tapeout, ensuring design completeness, verification closure, and resolution of critical design issues.
- Represent the design community to provide succinct weekly status and attend the cross functional meeting. Drive design action items to closure.
- Provide technical leadership during silicon bring-up, validation, characterization, and qualification.
- Work closely with validation, software, RF, analog, and product engineering teams to debug complex silicon issues and determine root causes.
- Correlate silicon behavior with design expectations, simulation results, and architectural specifications.
- Drive resolution of silicon issues through design changes, firmware workarounds, or silicon revisions as appropriate.
- Lead technical execution of silicon revisions, including metal-only and full-layer respins when necessary.
- Ensure the SoC meets its functional, performance, power, and quality requirements before production release.
Skills you will need: - Capable of leading complex IP, SOC development projects execution. Experience coordinating with contractors a plus.
- Top-down planning and execution of SOC projects.
- Experience in full-chip development cycle
- Able to build strong technical team.
- Hands-on experience in architecture, micro-architecture, digital design processes
- Knowledge of high-speed interfaces like USB, PCIe, Ethernet, Mobile DDR, Quad/Octa-SPI
- Knowledge of peripheral interfaces like SDIO, UART, I2S, I2C, PWM, CAN, etc.
- Knowledge of processors like RISC-V and ARM processors
- Knowledge of design signoff flows including Lint, CDC, Formal Verification, Synthesis, Constraints and STA Timing Closure
- Knowledge of DFT including Scan, ATPG, MBIST
- Knowledge of low power design methodology (static/dynamic clock gating, power gating, dynamic voltage and frequency scaling)
- Knowledge of hardware accelerators
- Knowledge of Verilog and System Verilog
- Knowledge of scripting languages like Perl, Python, Tcl, shell
- 12+ years of experience with Bachelor or Master's degree in Electrical or Computer Engineering
Benefits & Perks
You can look forward to the following benefits:
- Great medical (Choice of PPO or Consumer Driven Health Plan with HSA), dental and vision plans
- Highly competitive salary
- 401k plan with match and Roth plan option
- Equity rewards (RSUs)
- Life/AD&D and disability coverage
- Flexible spending accounts
- Adoption assistance
- Back-Up childcare
- Additional benefit options (Commuter benefits, Legal benefits, Pet insurance)
- Flexible PTO schedule
- 3 paid volunteer days per year
- Charitable contribution match
- Tuition reimbursement
- Free downtown parking
- Onsite gym
- Monthly wellness offerings
- Free snacks
- Company updates with our CEO
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The annualized base pay range for this role is expected to be between $160,650 - $298,350 USD. Actual base pay could vary based on factors including but not limited to experience, geographic location where work will be performed and applicant's skill set. The base pay is just one component of the total compensation package for employees. Other rewards may include an annual cash bonus, equity package and a comprehensive benefits package.
