Expert Hardware / RTL Engineer – SystemVerilog / Verilog

Job Title

Expert Hardware / RTL Engineer – SystemVerilog / Verilog

Role Summary

Work with an AI research team to evaluate advanced AI performance on real-world hardware-design tasks. You will apply deep, hands-on RTL expertise to review code-level scenarios and produce precise, written assessments used to train and validate AI systems.

This is a remote, contract-style engagement with variable task flow; work focuses on short, time-bounded evaluation tasks executed inside containerized repositories and CI-like environments.

Experience Level

Mid-level — typically 5+ years of professional or research RTL experience in SystemVerilog or Verilog is expected.

Responsibilities

Deliver clear, evidence-based evaluations of RTL code and engineering environments according to explicit criteria.

• Assess RTL (SystemVerilog/Verilog) code against professional standards and evaluation rubrics.
• Review code-level scenarios, testbenches, and verification setups and produce structured written judgments.
• Execute and interpret containerized (Docker) repositories and CI-style checks to verify engineering environments.
• Provide concise written rationales explaining correctness, idiomatic style, and potential issues.
• Complete defined, time-limited tasks reliably and communicate status and blockers.

Requirements

Must-have technical skills and working style for immediate contribution.

• Must-have: 5+ years of professional or research RTL experience in SystemVerilog or Verilog.
• Must-have: Hands-on RTL design experience and familiarity with testbench/UVM verification practices.
• Must-have: Practical experience with FPGA or ASIC flows and common EDA toolchains (examples: Vivado, Quartus, Synopsys, Cadence).
• Must-have: Comfortable working in Linux and Docker-based repository environments and reading automated/CI checks.
• Must-have: Ability to produce clear, written explanations of why code is correct, idiomatic, or problematic.
• Must-have: Availability to contribute ~20–40 hours per week and flexibility to handle variable task cadence, including occasional weekend availability.
• Nice-to-have: Backgrounds in semiconductor, telecom, defense/aerospace, national lab, or academic projects; non-traditional portfolios are acceptable.

Education Requirements

Not specified.

About the Company

Company: Obsidian

AI research organization that evaluates and advances AI systems' performance in specialized engineering domains. Engages expert hardware/RTL engineers (SystemVerilog/Verilog) to assess code-level designs, run containerized checks, and provide structured written evaluations to improve AI behavior on real-world hardware design tasks.