This role will be on-site 5 days a week in NW Austin.ScopeThe Staff Power Validation Engineer is a senior technical individual contributor responsible for defining and executing power validation strategies for Ambiq's next-generation ultra-low-power SoCs.
Reporting to the Senior Manager, Silicon Validation Engineering, this role serves as the technical expert for post-silicon power validation, characterization, and optimization. Working closely with Architecture, Design, Verification, Firmware, Systems Engineering, and Product Engineering, the Staff Engineer will develop scalable validation methodologies, create advanced automation frameworks, and help deliver industry-leading power efficiency across multiple product families.
This position combines deep hands-on technical expertise with cross-functional technical leadership, influencing product architecture, validation methodology, and power optimization throughout the silicon development lifecycle.
Key Responsibilities- Lead power validation, characterization, and optimization for complex mixed-signal SoCs and edge AI devices.
- Develop validation methodologies, automation frameworks, and reusable software tools for power analysis and characterization.
- Design and execute validation plans covering system-, subsystem-, and block-level power behavior.
- Develop embedded firmware and automation software for silicon bring-up, current profiling, and data collection.
- Partner with Architecture, Design, Verification, Firmware, Systems, and Product Engineering teams to optimize power performance and resolve complex silicon issues.
- Design validation hardware and specify laboratory equipment for precision power measurement and ultra-low-current characterization.
- Analyze power behavior across operating modes, sleep states, AI workloads, and peripheral activity.
- Mentor engineers and provide technical leadership on power validation best practices.
Required Qualifications - BS or MS in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field.
- 5+ years of experience in silicon validation, power characterization, or low-power SoC development.
- Strong understanding of mixed-signal SoCs, embedded systems, and advanced power management architectures.
- Experience developing validation automation using Python, TCL, C/C++, or similar languages.
- Hands-on experience with oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, source measurement units (SMUs), picoammeters, and other precision measurement equipment.
- Experience with embedded firmware development and ARM-based SoCs.
- Proven ability to analyze and debug complex hardware, firmware, and system-level power issues.
- Strong communication and collaboration skills with cross-functional engineering teams.
- Experience validating ultra-low-power SoCs and edge AI devices.
- Familiarity with AI accelerators, DSP architectures, and heterogeneous compute systems.
- Experience with dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS), multiple power domains, retention modes, and advanced low-power techniques.
- Experience with statistical characterization, production correlation, and silicon debug.
- Experience developing reusable validation infrastructure and laboratory automation.
