Principal Digital Design Engineer - MCU

Job Title

Principal Digital Design Engineer - MCU

Role Summary

Lead the digital design of high-performance microcontroller System-on-Chip (SoC) products within a new NXP MCU engineering team in Catania. Deliver RTL, synthesis, timing, verification and support post-silicon validation while coordinating with analog, mixed-signal and software teams.

Experience Level

Senior — the role requests senior-level experience; the posting specifies a minimum of 10+ years in digital IC design.

Responsibilities

Accountable for end-to-end digital IC design activities and technical leadership on complex MCU SoC projects.

• Lead and execute full digital IC design flow: specification, architecture, RTL coding (Verilog/SystemVerilog), synthesis, static timing analysis, formal checks, and power analysis.
• Implement and verify design-for-test (DFT) features and coordinate DFT activities.
• Collaborate with analog/mixed-signal and software teams to define interfaces and ensure system integration.
• Develop digital architectures and methodologies to meet performance, power, and area targets.
• Perform verification using simulation, formal techniques, and hardware emulation.
• Participate in post-silicon validation and debug to resolve silicon issues.
• Mentor and provide technical guidance to junior engineers; drive process and methodology improvements.
• Produce design documentation, specifications, and test plans.

Requirements

Must-have skills, tools, and experience for the role.

• Minimum of 10+ years of hands-on digital IC design experience on complex projects.
• Expert in RTL coding and verification with Verilog/SystemVerilog.
• Proven experience with EDA tools for synthesis and STA (examples: Synopsys Design Compiler, Cadence Genus, PrimeTime).
• Experience with simulation and formal verification tools (examples: VCS, QuestaSim, Synopsys Formality).
• Strong understanding of clock domain crossing (CDC), power integrity, and low-power design techniques.
• Scripting and automation skills (Python, Perl, Tcl) to optimize flows.
• Familiarity with mixed-signal integration and verification challenges.
• Excellent problem-solving, debugging, communication, and team-collaboration skills; ability to lead technical discussions independently.

Education Requirements

Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, or a related field.

About the Company

Company: NXP Semiconductors

Headquarters: Nijmegen, Netherlands

NXP Semiconductors N.V. is a global semiconductor company that provides High Performance Mixed Signal and Standard Product solutions. With over 45,000 employees and operations in more than 35 countries, NXP is a leader in secure connectivity solutions for embedded applications, catering to automotive, industrial IoT, mobile, and communication infrastructure markets. The company is committed to innovation and sustainability, advancing a smarter, safer, and more sustainable world through technology.