Pre-Silicon Validation Engineer

Job Title

Pre-Silicon Validation Engineer

Role Summary

Work on pre-silicon validation and emulation for complex SoC designs to enable early hardware/software co-validation. The role supports development, deployment, and debugging of ASIC and FPGA emulation environments and collaborates with RTL, verification, architecture, and software teams.

Experience Level

Entry-level / early-career. Typical experience: 0–2+ years in ASIC verification, FPGA prototyping, or hardware emulation. Candidates at junior or more experienced levels may be considered depending on scope.

Responsibilities

Key duties include building and running emulation-based validation flows, debugging system-level behavior, and automating regression and debug tasks.

• Develop, deploy, and maintain ASIC/FPGA emulation environments for complex SoC designs.
• Port RTL designs to emulation platforms (emulators and FPGA prototypes) and optimize for performance and resource use.
• Enable hardware/software co-validation with RTL, verification, architecture, and software teams.
• Create testbenches, transactors, and verification infrastructure using SystemVerilog and C/C++.
• Analyze and debug functional, performance, and system-level issues using waveform analysis and signal tracing.
• Automate regressions, debug workflows, and toolchains using Python and shell scripting.
• Apply AI-assisted tools and automation to accelerate verification, debug, and data analysis.
• Document findings and present results to cross-functional teams and leadership.

Requirements

Must-have technical skills and experience; preferred items listed after.

• 0–2+ years of practical experience in ASIC verification, FPGA prototyping, or hardware emulation.
• Proven experience with SystemVerilog and RTL verification/debugging.
• Proficiency in C/C++ and working in Linux environments with shell scripting.
• Python scripting for automation, regression control, and debug tooling.
• Hands-on experience with ASIC and FPGA emulation or prototyping platforms and RTL waveform analysis.
• Familiarity with SoC architectures, bus protocols, and hardware/software interaction for system-level validation.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills; ability to perform root-cause analysis of failures.

Nice-to-have:

• Experience with Cadence Palladium, Protium, Siemens Veloce, Synopsys ZeBu, or FPGA prototyping flows (Xilinx/Intel).
• Exposure to AI/ML tools for engineering productivity and cloud-based compute or large-scale regression management.
• Knowledge of high-speed interfaces such as PCIe, CXL, DDR, or Ethernet.

Education Requirements

Bachelor's or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field; or equivalent practical experience.

About the Company

Company: Qualcomm

Headquarters: San Diego, California, United States

Qualcomm is a global leader in semiconductor and telecommunications equipment, specializing in mobile technologies and innovations. Known for its Adreno GPUs, the company provides solutions enabling advancements in mobile gaming, AI, VR/AR, and autonomous driving. Qualcomm's cutting-edge technology and commitment to high-performance, power-efficient designs drive the evolution of mobile graphics and connectivity worldwide.