Principal Validation Engineer

Job Title

Principal Validation Engineer

Role Summary

The Post‑Silicon Validation team within Performance Computing Power seeks a hands‑on technical leader to define and execute validation strategy for analog, digital, mixed‑signal, and power management ICs. The role leads validation methodology, test automation, and lab infrastructure improvements to ensure products meet electrical, functional, reliability, and performance requirements prior to production.

Based in Catania, Italy, the role works cross‑functionally with Design, Applications, Firmware, Product Engineering, and Quality to resolve complex silicon and system‑level issues and support NPI schedules.

Experience Level

Senior - typically 12–15 years of experience in power conversion, power management, semiconductor applications, or related system design; demonstrated technical leadership expected.

Responsibilities

Key responsibilities include:

• Validate analog, digital, mixed‑signal, and power management ICs against electrical, functional, and performance specifications.
• Define and drive validation strategies, methodologies, and technical roadmaps across products and technology platforms.
• Lead development of validation architectures, test frameworks, and automation to improve coverage and efficiency.
• Create comprehensive validation plans ensuring requirements traceability and coverage.
• Identify technical risks, define mitigations, and execute risk‑based validation to support releases.
• Improve laboratory infrastructure, measurement methodologies, and automation capabilities for post‑silicon evaluation.
• Investigate and resolve complex silicon and system issues through characterization and root‑cause analysis.
• Establish validation metrics and quality indicators to enable data‑driven decisions.
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to senior validation engineers and cross‑functional teams.
• Remain actively engaged in hands‑on lab work, including bench validation and development of custom evaluation hardware; assess product readiness and provide release recommendations.

Requirements

Technical requirements and skills.

Must-have:

• Proven technical leadership driving validation across multiple product generations or platforms.
• Expertise in validation methodologies, test strategy development, and coverage planning for mixed‑signal and power management ICs.
• Hands‑on experience with laboratory instrumentation (oscilloscopes, power supplies, electronic loads, source meters, DMMs, waveform generators, logic analyzers, thermal equipment).
• Strong proficiency in Python for test framework development, lab automation, and data analysis.
• Extensive board‑level analog and digital circuit design, schematic capture, PCB development, and hardware debugging experience.
• Extensive New Product Introduction (NPI) experience from first silicon through production release.
• Strong analytical and problem‑solving skills and the ability to translate characterization data into product recommendations.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills for global cross‑functional collaboration.
• Experience mentoring engineers and promoting validation best practices.
• Willingness to undertake occasional international travel and good command of written and spoken English.

Nice-to-have:

• Experience with system‑level architecture, thermal characterization, and power conversion systems.
• Experience designing custom evaluation hardware and scaling lab automation for multiple products.

Education Requirements

Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, or a related technical field as stated in the posting.

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.