Cadence Design Systems

Sr Principal Design Engineer

Cadence Design Systems$154K — $286K *
Information Technology
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • MSEE or advanced degree with 5+ years of relevant experience.
  • Hands-on expertise in Verilog/SystemVerilog RTL design.
  • Deep knowledge of RTL verification methods and tools.
  • Proven debugging skills for complex hardware and system issues.
  • Strong analytical skills for root cause analysis and solution development.
  • Excellent communication skills in English.
  • Ability to manage multiple projects in an agile environment.
  • High emotional intelligence for effective collaboration.

Responsibilities

  • Design and produce memory IP models for verification platforms.
  • Maintain and enhance existing memory IP products throughout their lifecycle.
  • Develop high-quality RTL using best practices in Verilog/SystemVerilog.
  • Execute verification strategies using simulation and emulation tools.
  • Resolve complex RTL and system issues through debugging analysis.
  • Create and update memory IP technical documentation.
  • Collaborate with customers to understand and resolve verification issues.
  • Manage project schedules and adapt to changing priorities.
  • Contribute to engineering processes to improve product reliability and quality.

Benefits

  • Paid vacation and holidays.
  • 401(k) plan with employer match.
  • Employee stock purchase plan.
  • Variety of medical, dental, and vision plan options.
Full Job Description
Position Overview

As a Senior Principal Design Engineer, you will be responsible for the design, development, and ongoing support of system-level memory IP models used in hardware-based verification products.

You will work across a broad range of memory technologies and interfaces, including SDRAM (LPDDR, HBM), NAND Flash (ONFI/QSPI/OSPI), eMMC, SD Card, DFI, and UFS. In addition to developing new memory models, you will maintain and enhance existing products to ensure performance, quality, usability, and long-term customer support.

This role is a highly collaborative individual-contributor position that requires strong RTL design and verification expertise, excellent debugging skills, and the ability to work directly with internal and external customers on complex emulation, simulation, and verification challenges.

Key Responsibilities
  • Design, develop, verify, and productize system-level memory IP models for hardware-based verification platforms.
  • Develop memory models supporting technologies and interfaces such as LPDDR, HBM, NAND Flash (ONFI/QSPI/OSPI), eMMC, SD Card, DFI, and UFS.
  • Maintain, enhance, debug, and support existing memory IP products throughout their lifecycle.
  • Develop high-quality RTL using Verilog/SystemVerilog, applying sound design and coding practices.
  • Develop and execute verification strategies using industry-standard simulation and emulation tools and methodologies.
  • Diagnose and resolve complex RTL, protocol, system, and customer issues through effective debugging and root-cause analysis.
  • Create and maintain technical documentation for memory IP, including design specifications, user documentation, and product support materials.
  • Work directly with internal and external customers to understand requirements, investigate issues, and develop effective solutions for emulation, simulation, and verification environments.
  • Plan and manage individual project schedules, priorities, deliverables, and technical tasks while adapting to changing business and customer needs.
  • Collaborate with cross-functional engineering teams to support cross-verification, knowledge sharing, and cross-training across memory IP products.
  • Contribute to and help evolve engineering lifecycle processes, methodologies, and quality practices to ensure reliable, maintainable, and high-quality products.
  • Proactively identify technical risks and opportunities for improvement and drive issues to resolution.


Required Qualifications
  • MSEE or equivalent advanced degree with a minimum of 5 years of significant experience designing complex protocols, RTL, and/or hardware systems.
  • Extensive hands-on experience with Verilog/SystemVerilog RTL design.
  • Strong understanding of RTL verification methodologies, tools, and flows.
  • Demonstrated ability to debug complex hardware, RTL, protocol, and system-level issues.
  • Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to identify root causes and develop practical solutions.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.
  • Proven ability to work effectively as an individual contributor while collaborating closely with engineering, product, and customer-facing teams.
  • Strong organizational and planning skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities, schedules, and deliverables in an agile and adaptive environment.
  • High emotional intelligence and a collaborative approach to communication, problem-solving, and conflict resolution.
  • Preferred Qualifications
  • Experience with Cadence simulation and/or emulation products.
  • Experience with hardware emulation, simulation, or other hardware-based verification platforms.
  • Programming or scripting experience with Perl, Tcl/Tk, C-shell, or similar languages.
  • Experience with memory subsystem architecture, design, and operation.
  • Experience designing or verifying memory protocols such as LPDDR, HBM, NAND Flash, eMMC, SD, DFI, or UFS.
  • Experience developing reusable IP models or verification components for complex SoC or system-level environments.


What Success Looks Like

Success in this role means delivering robust, reusable, and customer-ready memory IP models while continuously improving existing products. You will combine deep RTL and verification expertise with strong debugging, communication, planning, and collaboration skills to solve challenging problems and help advance the quality and capabilities of the overall memory IP portfolio.

The annual salary range for California is $154,000 to $286,000. You may also be eligible to receive incentive compensation: bonus, equity, and benefits. Sales positions generally offer a competitive On Target Earnings (OTE) incentive compensation structure. Please note that the salary range is a guideline and compensation may vary based on factors such as qualifications, skill level, competencies and work location. Our benefits programs include: paid vacation and paid holidays, 401(k) plan with employer match, employee stock purchase plan, a variety of medical, dental and vision plan options, and more.

About Cadence Design Systems

Cadence Design Systems, Inc. is an American multinational electronic design automation software and engineering services company, founded in 1988 by the merger of SDA Systems and ECAD, Inc. The company produces software, hardware and silicon structures for designing integrated circuits, systems on chips (SoCs) and printed circuit boards.
Learn more about Cadence Design Systems
Size
9,300 employees
Market Cap
$43.9 billion
Industry
Net Income
$590.6 million
Founded
2018
5 Year Trend
+10.5%
Revenue
$2.6 billion
NASDAQ

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