Applications Engineering, Principal Engineer

Job Title

Applications Engineering, Principal Engineer

Role Summary

Customer-facing pre-sales Applications Engineering (FAE) role responsible for technical discovery, solution definition, customer evaluations/POCs, and technical closure for Interface IP across Korea. Works closely with Sales, R&D, Product Marketing, and Program Management to recommend and validate IP solutions for SoC/ASIC designs.

Experience Level

Senior level - principal/lead engineer. Typical experience: 10+ years in IC design, verification, or semiconductor IP; source specifies 12+ years with a Bachelor's or 10+ years with a Master's (see Education Requirements).

Responsibilities

Drive technical pre-sales engagements and act as the field technical expert for Interface IP in Korea.

• Own the pre-sales technical lifecycle: requirements discovery, solution definition, evaluation/POC planning, and technical close.
• Engage with customer SoC architects and design teams to recommend suitable Interface IP (SerDes, PCIe, DDR, USB, MIPI, D2D, Ethernet).
• Define evaluation criteria, test plans, configuration recommendations, integration approach, and risk mitigation.
• Lead technical presentations, architecture workshops, deep dives, and design reviews with customers.
• Support competitive situations with technical differentiation and objection handling.
• Translate customer issues into actionable requests for R&D and drive prioritization and resolution during evaluations and integration.
• Contribute technical content to proposals, RFI/RFP responses, and commercial execution as needed.
• Track technology and market trends and feed field insights into product roadmap planning.

Requirements

Must-have technical skills and experience for effective customer engagements and IP integration.

• Strong hands-on ASIC/SoC design and/or verification experience; deep understanding of integration and silicon bring-up challenges.
• Technical expertise in at least one major Interface IP domain (SerDes, PCIe, DDR, USB, MIPI, D2D, or Ethernet) including protocol and PHY architecture knowledge.
• Proven customer-facing pre-sales experience (FAE, Sales Engineer, Applications Engineer, or Technical Consultant) supporting evaluations and driving technical closure.
• Experience delivering technical presentations and leading customer workshops to both engineering and business stakeholders.
• Fluent in Korean and English (written and verbal).
• Ability to work in a matrix organization and coordinate across Sales, R&D, Product Marketing, and Program Management.
• Program/project management or leadership experience on complex SoC or IP integration efforts is a plus.
• Ability to diagnose integration issues, recommend practical solutions, and manage multiple customer engagements concurrently.

Education Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Electronics, or a related field with 12+ years of relevant experience, or a Master’s degree with 10+ years of relevant experience (as stated in the source). No alternative-equivalent language was provided beyond these degree-plus-experience formulations.

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.