Principal Engineer, Applications Engineering

Job Title

Principal Engineer, Applications Engineering

Role Summary

Customer-facing technical role focused on PCIe and CXL controller IP integration into advanced SoCs. You will engage with strategic customer architects and engineering teams to define subsystem configurations, resolve system-level architecture decisions, and reduce integration risk.

Part of the IP high-performance computing applications engineering team, collaborating with Product Management and R&D to feed customer requirements into roadmaps and to accelerate design-win closure.

Experience Level

Senior — requires substantial hands-on and customer-facing experience; the role expects roughly 10+ years of relevant industry experience.

Responsibilities

Primary responsibilities include technical engagement, system analysis, and translating customer needs into product and engineering inputs.

• Lead technical architecture engagements for PCIe/CXL controller IP from requirements through architecture closure and initial deployment readiness.
• Define suitable PCIe/CXL subsystem configurations with customer architects and engineering teams for advanced SoC platforms.
• Analyze system-level trade-offs related to performance, power, reliability, validation, compliance, and interoperability.
• Translate customer platform requirements and integration constraints into clear feedback for Product Management and R&D.
• Support technical closure of design wins via architecture guidance, configuration recommendations, and competitive positioning.
• Create reusable technical materials and application notes based on engagements.
• Train FAEs and customer teams on architecture, integration trade-offs, validation expectations, and deployment best practices.

Requirements

Must-have skills and experience for successful performance in this role.

• 10+ years experience in PCIe/CXL architecture, SoC integration, silicon validation, systems/applications engineering, or customer-facing technical leadership.
• Strong working knowledge of PCIe and/or CXL controller IP: protocol concepts, configuration, integration, validation, compliance, and interoperability.
• System-level understanding of SoC integration with the ability to evaluate performance, power, reliability, validation, and software/firmware trade-offs.
• Proven experience engaging directly with customer architects, design and validation teams, and technical decision-makers.
• Ability to convert ambiguous customer requirements into concrete technical recommendations and product feedback.
• Excellent technical communication skills: clear written analysis and structured trade-off explanations; ability to align customers, sales, product, and engineering.

Nice-to-have:

• Experience with Linux, firmware bring-up, or software-driven debug of PCIe/CXL subsystems.
• Familiarity with advanced SoC architectures used in AI, HPC, storage, or networking platforms.
• Participation in PCI-SIG, CXL Consortium, or related standards/ecosystem activities.
• Knowledge of coherency, virtualization, RAS, memory expansion, or CXL-based platform architectures.

Education Requirements

Bachelor's and/or Master's degree in Electrical/Electronic Engineering, Computer Engineering, or Computer Science as stated by the employer.

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.