Semiconductor Design Engineer Jobs in Toronto, Canada
Toronto's chip work has two centers of gravity: AMD's large design site, built on the old ATI GPU team, and a group of AI-accelerator startups led by Tenstorrent. Intel keeps a local design group as well, so the mix runs from established GPU and CPU work to newer machine-learning silicon.
On the AMD side, the work is graphics and SoC: RTL design, physical design, and verification for GPU blocks that ship in consumer and data center parts. The startups lean toward AI accelerators, where one engineer often owns a larger slice of the chip, from microarchitecture through bring-up. Either way, you will need to be fluent in SystemVerilog, UVM, and the usual Synopsys and Cadence flows. Much of that GPU work now targets the Instinct data center accelerators alongside the consumer Radeon line, so demand has tilted toward high-performance timing closure and power signoff.
AMD is the biggest employer, hiring across GPU and SoC design at its Markham and Toronto offices. Tenstorrent, headquartered in the city, builds RISC-V based AI processors and recruits hard across design and verification; our Tenstorrent AI chip roundup tracks the roles it opens. Untether AI and PerceptIn add more accelerator work, and the University of Toronto and University of Waterloo supply much of the talent.
That talent pool is the real reason so many AI-chip teams design here. Toronto has one of the deepest benches of machine-learning researchers outside Silicon Valley, centered on the University of Toronto and the Vector Institute, and the hardware teams sit close to it on purpose.
Pay for a mid-level design engineer in Toronto runs roughly C$95K to C$135K, with senior and staff roles reaching C$150K to C$200K, plus startup equity at the AI companies. Our salary guide breaks the numbers down by level.
For engineers outside Canada, the Global Talent Stream targets a two-week work-permit turnaround for roles like these, and Express Entry scores STEM experience well. If you are comparing Canadian cities, the West Coast has its own chip corner around semiconductor jobs in Vancouver.
Set a Toronto alert on semidesignjobs.com for your design domain, and new AMD and Tenstorrent roles will land in your inbox as they post.
FAQ
What semiconductor design companies are hiring in Toronto?
AMD runs a large design center in the Toronto area, built on the former ATI GPU team, and is the biggest local employer. Tenstorrent, an AI chip startup, is headquartered in the city, and Untether AI, PerceptIn, and Intel add more. The University of Toronto and University of Waterloo feed a steady stream of graduates into the local teams.
Is Toronto a good place for AI chip design specifically?
Yes. Toronto's machine-learning research base, anchored by the University of Toronto and the Vector Institute, is unusually deep, and accelerator companies such as Tenstorrent and Untether AI put hardware teams here to stay close to it. That makes it a strong place for hardware-software co-design and AI accelerator work in particular.
What immigration pathways exist for semiconductor engineers moving to Toronto?
Canada's Global Talent Stream offers expedited work-permit processing, often around two weeks, for in-demand roles including chip design. The Express Entry system also scores STEM experience favorably. Employers such as AMD and Tenstorrent regularly sponsor international engineers, so a job offer is usually enough to begin the process.