Applications Engineering, Principal Engineer
SynopsysJob Title
Applications Engineering, Principal Engineer
Role Summary
Principal-level, customer-facing applications engineering (FAE) role supporting Interface IP (SerDes, PCIe, DDR, USB, MIPI, D2D, Ethernet) across Korea. Partner with Sales, R&D, and product teams to drive technical discovery, evaluations/POCs, solution definition, and technical closure for IP opportunities.
Experience Level
Senior (Principal) — senior individual contributor level. This role expects extensive field and technical experience; see Education Requirements for the employer's stated years-of-experience guidance.
Responsibilities
Primary pre-sales and customer-engagement responsibilities.
- Own the pre-sales technical lifecycle for Interface IP opportunities in Korea: requirements discovery, solution definition, evaluation/POC planning, and technical close.
- Work directly with customer SoC architects and design teams to recommend appropriate IP solutions and integration approaches.
- Lead technical evaluations and IP selection: define success criteria, evaluation plans, configurations, and risk mitigation strategies (performance/power/area/schedule).
- Drive customer workshops, architecture reviews, deep dives, and follow-ups; ensure action items are closed.
- Support competitive situations by developing technical differentiation, handling objections, and guiding tradeoff decisions versus alternatives.
- Coordinate PHY IP porting and technical negotiations across process nodes and customer environments; align scope, assumptions, and timelines with internal stakeholders.
- Act as the technical bridge between customers and Synopsys R&D: translate field issues into engineering requests and drive prioritization and resolution.
- Contribute technical input to proposals, RFI/RFP responses, and commercial scope/effort estimates as needed.
- Track emerging technology and customer needs across segments (AI, automotive, data center) and feed field insights into product roadmap and go-to-market planning.
Requirements
Must-have technical and interpersonal qualifications. Degree details and years-of-experience are summarized under Education Requirements below.
- Extensive hands-on background in ASIC/SoC design and/or verification, with practical understanding of design flows, integration challenges, and silicon bring-up.
- Technical expertise in at least one major Interface IP domain (SerDes, PCIe, DDR, USB, MIPI, D2D, Ethernet); working knowledge of protocols, PHY architecture, and integration requirements.
- Proven customer-facing pre-sales experience (FAE / Sales Engineer / Applications Engineer / Technical Consultant) supporting evaluations and driving technical closure.
- Experience delivering technical presentations and leading customer workshops; able to translate complex technical concepts clearly for both engineering and business stakeholders.
- Fluent communication in Korean and English (written and verbal).
- Ability to work effectively in a matrix organization across Sales, R&D, Product Marketing, and Program Management; able to drive alignment without direct authority.
- Good program/project management or technical leadership on complex SoC or IP integration efforts is a plus.
Education Requirements
Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Electronics, or a related field with 12+ years of experience; or Master's degree with 10+ years of experience in IC design, verification, semiconductor IP, or related areas. (Source specifies degree plus years; no explicit mention of alternative-equivalent experience wording.)
About the Company
Company: Synopsys
Headquarters: Mountain View, California, USA
Synopsys is a leading company in electronic design automation (EDA) and semiconductor IP solutions. It provides tools and services for designing and verifying complex semiconductor devices and systems. The company plays a pivotal role in the semiconductor industry, helping engineers innovate and deliver higher-quality products faster. Synopsys is committed to advancing technology standards and offers a range of software and hardware solutions to its clients globally.
