Microsoft

Principal Silicon Design Verification Engineer

Microsoft • $142K — $274K *
Austin, TX 78745In-Person
Telecommunications & Hardware
Less than 5 years of experience
Today
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Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Doctorate, Master's, or Bachelor's in Electrical/Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field with extensive technical engineering experience.
  • 5+ years experience leading pre-silicon verification of IP and SoC designs.
  • Strong background in developing C/C++ tests and UVM environments for subsystem verification.
  • In-depth knowledge of verification principles and debugging complex designs.
  • Experience mentoring engineers and fostering best practices in verification.

Responsibilities

  • Develop C and C++ test content for subsystem and SoC levels, including complex test sequences.
  • Build and maintain C test infrastructure with essential low-level drivers and build flow setup.
  • Own the pre-silicon verification strategy for security IP blocks, overseeing integration into SoC.
  • Architect and extend SystemVerilog and UVM environments to enable combined stimulus scenarios.
  • Drive coverage signoff across functional and power-aware metrics, ensuring test plan completeness.
  • Act as verification lead, coordinating milestone delivery and maintaining project schedules.
  • Mentor junior engineers by reviewing practices and providing onboarding support.

Benefits

  • Comprehensive health and wellness packages.
  • Opportunities for professional growth and development.
  • Flexible work arrangements to promote work-life balance.
  • Access to cutting-edge technology and innovative projects.
Full Job Description
Responsibilities
  • Own the development of C and C++ based test content at the subsystem and SoC levels, including bare-metal bring-up code, directed and constrained-random test sequences, and self-checking tests that exercise complex multi-IP flows such as secure boot, key and fuse management, and processor and bus interactions.
  • Build and maintain the C test infrastructure that the broader team relies on, including startup code, low-level drivers, register access layers, and the build flow (Makefiles, linker scripts, and toolchain setup) needed to compile and run firmware-style tests against the design.
  • Own the pre-silicon verification strategy and execution for one or more security IP blocks and subsystems and their integration into the SoC, covering test planning, environment architecture, and signoff criteria from early design through tapeout and silicon bring-up.
  • Architect and extend SystemVerilog and UVM environments that host C-based stimulus, connecting embedded test code to the testbench so processor-driven and stimulus-driven scenarios run together.
  • Drive coverage signoff across functional, code, and power-aware coverage. Set goals, investigate and close gaps without unjustified exclusions, and apply constrained-random, formal, and gate-level techniques to find bugs and prove test plan completeness.
  • Act as verification lead and technical point of contact for customer and partner teams, owning milestone delivery at both the IP and SoC levels, keeping releases on schedule.
  • Mentor and guide less experienced engineers by reviewing test plans, C and SystemVerilog code, debug work, onboarding new team members, and establishing verification best practices the broader team can reuse.
  • Improve verification efficiency by building reference and prediction models, automation, and debug tooling in Python and other scripting languages, and by correlating pre-silicon C test results with FPGA prototyping platforms to accelerate firmware bring-up and post-silicon validation.


Qualifications

Required/minimum qualifications
  • Doctorate in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field AND 3+ years technical engineering experience OR Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field AND 6+ years technical engineering experience OR Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field AND 8+ years technical engineering experience OR equivalent experience.


Other Qualifications:


    Preferred Qualifications:
    • Doctorate in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field AND 5+ years technical engineering experience OR Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field AND 8+ years technical engineering experience OR Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field AND 12+ years technical engineering experience OR equivalent experience.
    • Experience developing tests in C/C++, SystemVerilog, and UVM, with emphasis on C/C++ test content for subsystem and SoC verification.
    • Experience leading pre-silicon verification of IP, subsystems, and SoCs through the full cycle, including SoC-level testbench development, test planning, and coverage signoff.
    • In-depth knowledge of verification principles, testbench architecture, and stimulus generation, with a track record of debugging complex designs.
    • Experience directing and mentoring individual engineers.
    • Experience collaborating across architecture, design, block-level DV, and firmware teams to execute functional verification, with communication skills.
    • Understanding of silicon and/or computer architecture.
    • Proficiency in a scripting language such as Python, Ruby, or Perl.
    • Experience with emulation, FPGA prototyping (such as HAPS or Xilinx), RTL design for FPGA or emulation, or post-silicon validation.
    • Experience with assembly, startup code, linker scripts, and Makefile-based build flows for software development.
    • Familiarity with industry protocols such as AMBA (AXI/AHB/APB), JTAG, SPI, I2C/I3C, or USB.
    • Hands-on hardware debug experience with tools such as JTAG debuggers, logic analyzers, oscilloscopes, and multimeters.


    Silicon Engineering IC5 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $142,800 - $274,800 per year. There is a different range applicable to specific work locations, within the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, and the base pay range for this role in those locations is USD $188,000 - $304,200 per year.

    Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here:
    https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/us-corporate-pay

    This position will be open for a minimum of 5 days, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled.

    About Microsoft

    Microsoft is an American multinational corporation that develops, manufactures, licenses, supports, and sells a range of software products and services. Microsoft’s devices and consumer (D&C) licensing segment licenses the Windows operating system and related software, Microsoft Office for consumers, and the Windows Phone operating system. The company’s computing and gaming hardware segment provides Xbox gaming and entertainment consoles and accessories, second-party and third-party video games, and Xbox Live subscriptions; surface devices and accessories; and Microsoft PC accessories. Its phone hardware segment offers Lumia smartphones and other non-Lumia phones. Its D&C segment provides Windows Store, Xbox Live transactions, and Windows phone store; search advertising; display advertising; Office 365 Home and Office 365 Personal; first-party video games; and other consumer products and services as well as operating retail stores. Microsoft’s commercial licensing segments license server products, including Windows Server, Microsoft SQL Server, Visual Studio, System Center, and related Client Access Licenses (CALs); Windows Embedded; Windows operating system; Microsoft Office for business, including Office, Exchange, SharePoint, Lync, and related CALs; Microsoft Dynamics business solutions; and Skype. Its commercial segment offers enterprise services, including premier support services and Microsoft consulting services; commercial cloud comprising Office 365 Commercial, other Microsoft Office online offerings, Dynamics CRM Online, and Microsoft Azure; and other commercial products and online services. The company markets and distributes its products through original equipment manufacturers, distributors, and resellers, as well as online.

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    Learn more about Microsoft
    Size
    181,000 employees
    Market Cap
    $1,762.4 billion
    Industry
    Enterprise Technology
    Net Income
    $51.3 billion
    Founded
    1975
    5 Year Trend
    +15.5%
    Revenue
    $153.2 billion
    NASDAQ
    MSFT
    * Ladders Estimates

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