Director of AI/ML Engineering (EDA & Semiconductor Design)

Job Title

Director of AI/ML Engineering (EDA & Semiconductor Design)

Role Summary

Lead definition and execution of AI/ML initiatives to integrate intelligent automation into semiconductor design workflows and engineering toolchains. Manage a cross-functional engineering team and collaborate with EDA, design, architecture, and platform teams to deliver production AI solutions that improve productivity and design quality.

Experience Level

Senior — requires extensive experience: 20+ years software development and 10+ years engineering management; 7+ years in the semiconductor and/or EDA industry.

Responsibilities

Primary accountabilities:

• Define and own the AI/ML strategy for engineering software and design flows.
• Transform frontend (modeling, synthesis, optimization) and backend (place-and-route, timing closure, physical optimization) semiconductor workflows with AI-driven solutions.
• Lead end-to-end integration of AI into engineering toolchains and production workflows.
• Establish scalable frameworks for data collection, labeling, pipeline management, model training, validation, and deployment.
• Collaborate with EDA, design, architecture, platform teams and external partners.
• Build and grow a high-performance engineering organization and mentor managers.
• Define KPIs to measure productivity, quality improvements, and ROI; ensure alignment with enterprise AI governance.
• Drive adoption of emerging AI/ML technologies and continuous innovation in semiconductor workflows.

Requirements

Must-have qualifications and skills:

• 20+ years of software development experience and 10+ years of engineering management experience, including leading managers or large teams.
• 7+ years of experience in the semiconductor and/or EDA industry.
• Proven experience applying ML/AI to real-world engineering or automation problems.
• Experience building and scaling AI/ML platforms (e.g., LangChain, vector databases, RAG architectures).
• Deep understanding of LLM ecosystems: embeddings, knowledge retrieval, and AI agent integration into production workflows.
• Strong software architecture, distributed systems, data pipeline, and ML workflow expertise.
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional initiatives and translate business/engineering needs into technical solutions.
• Familiarity with quality processes for project execution, delivery across geographies, and strong executive-level communication skills.
• Nice-to-have: hands-on experience with EDA tools and chip design flows; experience with ML frameworks (TensorFlow, PyTorch) and cloud scalable compute infrastructure.

Education Requirements

MTech or BTech in Electrical Engineering (EE) or Computer Science (CS) is indicated in the posting. The role also specifies senior-level practical experience expectations (extensive industry and management experience).

About the Company

Company: Renesas

Headquarters: Hitachinaka, Japan

Renesas is a global leader in embedded semiconductor solutions, providing high-quality products across automotive, industrial, infrastructure, and IoT sectors. With over 22,000 employees in more than 30 countries, the company focuses on scalable solutions that enhance user experience and drive innovation while committed to sustainability and energy efficiency.