Senior Lead Pre/Post-Silicon Validation Engineer - SoC Security & Access Control
QualcommJob Title
Senior Lead Pre/Post-Silicon Validation Engineer - SoC Security & Access Control
Role Summary
Lead validation of hardware security IP and their integration into SoCs, driving pre-silicon (FPGA/emulation) and post-silicon validation to ensure reliable product delivery. Work as an individual contributor and mentor junior engineers within the System Validation & Emulation (SVE) team.
Collaborate with architecture, design, verification, software/firmware, test, and program teams to define test plans, develop test content, debug failures, and close validation gaps across product segments (Automotive, Mobile, Modem, Compute, IoT/XR).
Experience Level
Senior level. Typical guidance: 5–8 years relevant industry experience in SoC security, access control, or related hardware validation; minimum-qualification alternatives described in the posting.
Responsibilities
Define and execute functional validation for security IP and SoC-level integration on emulation and silicon; debug and triage issues to closure.
- Create validation/test plans from HDDs, PRDs, and micro-architecture documents and develop test content.
- Execute tests on pre-silicon (FPGA/emulation) and post-silicon platforms and analyze results.
- Perform root-cause analysis and coordinate cross-functional debug with architecture, design, SW/FW, ATE, and quality teams.
- Lead and mentor junior engineers and drive validation across product segments.
- Maintain and improve validation methodologies and tooling to reduce silicon turns and accelerate software enablement.
Requirements
Must-have technical skills and experience required to perform the role.
- 5–8 years experience in SoC security, access control, Trusted Platform Module usage, or hardware security validation of encryption accelerators and RNGs.
- Proficiency in C/C++ and Python for test content development and scripting.
- Familiarity with ARM SoC concepts and components such as SMMU, GIC, and Coresight.
- Strong silicon and system-level debugging skills; experience with protocol analyzers, logic analyzers, oscilloscopes, and Lauterbach debuggers.
- Experience validating hardware accelerators for symmetric/asymmetric crypto and random number generators.
- Ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams and communicate technical findings clearly.
- Nice-to-have: CC EAL5+ familiarity or related certification for security evaluation.
- Nice-to-have: experience with display interfaces, and power or performance measurement of SoCs.
Education Requirements
Bachelor's, Master’s, or PhD in Electrical/Electronic Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Science, Engineering or a related technical field is cited. The posting also permits equivalent practical experience (examples given: Bachelor's + 3+ years, Master’s + 2+ years, PhD + 1+ year of ASIC design/verification/validation/integration 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.
