Senior Silicon Engineer - ASIC Verification (Data Processing Unit)

Job Title

Senior Silicon Engineer - ASIC Verification (Data Processing Unit)

Role Summary

Join the Data Processing Unit (DPU) team within Microsoft Silicon, Cloud Hardware, and Infrastructure Engineering to validate programmable, high-performance ASICs for datacenter workloads. The team develops SoC-level solutions that accelerate data movement and processing for Microsoft cloud services.

This individual contributor role focuses on pre-silicon verification and post-silicon validation across IP, subsystem, and SoC levels to ensure correctness, performance, and reliability in a production datacenter environment.

Experience Level

Senior-level. The role expects substantial hands-on verification experience and impact on complex SoC projects; see Education Requirements for formal degree/experience equivalencies.

Responsibilities

Primary responsibilities include defining and executing verification and validation strategies for DPU silicon.

• Own verification at IP, subsystem, and SoC levels using UVM/SystemVerilog-based testbenches.
• Design verification strategies and test plans in partnership with architects and design teams.
• Develop verification environments, run simulations, analyze failures, and debug root causes.
• Apply random-stimulus and coverage-driven techniques to achieve test-plan goals.
• Create stress and performance scenarios; run pre-silicon verification and post-silicon validation tests.
• Work cross-functionally with software, firmware, and hardware teams to integrate and validate system behavior.
• Contribute to verification process improvements and quality metrics.

Requirements

Must-have technical skills and screening requirements. Degree and specific years of experience are summarized under Education Requirements.

• Strong RTL and verification skills: Verilog, SystemVerilog, UVM methodology, simulation and debug flows.
• Experience with SoC verification, processor interfaces, and peripheral interconnect protocols.
• Familiarity with networking blocks (Ethernet, MAC/PCS, TCP/IP) is highly desirable.
• Hands-on experience developing verification environments, creating tests, and using coverage-driven verification.
• Experience with pre-silicon verification and post-silicon bring-up and validation.
• Ability to isolate complex failures, develop reproducible tests, and drive cross-team resolution.
• Self-motivated, effective working independently and in multidisciplinary teams.
• Must be able to meet Microsoft and customer security screening requirements (e.g., Microsoft Cloud Background Check).
• Preferred: prior RTL verification experience using UVM/C and proven track record on complex SoCs.

Education Requirements

Required: One of the following combinations — Doctorate (PhD) in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field plus 1+ year technical engineering experience; OR Master’s degree in those fields plus 4+ years technical engineering experience; OR Bachelor’s degree in those fields plus 5+ years technical engineering experience; OR equivalent practical experience. Fields referenced: Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related technical fields.

About the Company

Company: Microsoft

Headquarters: Redmond, Washington, United States

Microsoft is a global technology company that develops and sells software, services, devices, and solutions. Known for its Windows operating system, Office suite, and Azure cloud platform, Microsoft aims to empower individuals and organizations around the world to achieve more. The company fosters a culture of innovation and inclusion, focusing on delivering trusted experiences to customers and partners globally.