Staff Design Verification Engineer - CPU Core Verification (ALU)

Job Title

Staff Design Verification Engineer - CPU Core Verification (ALU)

Role Summary

Staff individual-contributor in the CPU Design Verification organization responsible for verification of high-performance CPU core execution functionality with primary focus on ALU and integer-execution microarchitecture.

Work with architecture, RTL, performance, and verification teams to define verification strategy, identify microarchitectural risk, and achieve signoff-quality verification across block- and core-level integration.

Experience Level

Senior - 7+ years of relevant experience in ASIC, CPU/core, or SoC design verification.

Responsibilities

Own verification for ALU and execution-focused CPU core functionality from block level through core integration and signoff.

• Define and drive verification strategy, test planning, coverage analysis, and closure for ALU and execution-pipeline behaviors.
• Create and maintain verification environments, checkers, scoreboards, assertions, stimulus, and coverage models to expose corner cases.
• Verify arithmetic/logical correctness, compare/branch-condition generation, dependency handling, bypass/forwarding, replay, flush/recovery, and exception interactions.
• Validate interactions between ALU execution and surrounding core logic, including speculative effects, structural conflicts, and integration with branch and load/store units.
• Drive failure analysis and root-cause debug across specification, RTL, tests, and verification infrastructure.
• Collaborate with architecture and design teams early to review specifications, clarify ambiguity, and improve debugability and verification completeness.
• Contribute reusable methodology, automation, and infrastructure to improve verification productivity across programs.
• Mentor peers through technical reviews, debugging guidance, and verification best practices.

Requirements

Must-have technical skills and experience; preferred skills summarized separately.

• Must-have: 7+ years hands-on experience in ASIC, CPU/core, or SoC design verification with ownership of complex verification problems appropriate for a Staff role.
• Must-have: Strong SystemVerilog-based verification experience and familiarity with modern verification methodologies.
• Must-have: Direct CPU/core verification experience and solid understanding of computer architecture and CPU microarchitecture.
• Must-have: Experience verifying ALU/execution areas (ALU pipelines, issue/dispatch, dependency handling, forwarding, replay, flush/recovery, exception behavior).
• Must-have: Strong verification flow knowledge: test planning, stimulus generation, failure analysis, coverage analysis, and coverage closure.
• Must-have: Strong debugging skills and ability to translate architectural intent into verification strategy.
• Must-have: Familiarity with Python, C/C++, or similar scripting languages used for verification infrastructure and automation.
• Preferred: Experience with high-performance out-of-order core verification, formal verification, emulation/acceleration, or developing high-value assertions and scoreboards for timing- or dependency-sensitive behavior.
• Preferred: Experience collaborating with performance, compiler, system verification, and software teams and influencing verification methodology through reusable infrastructure.
• Right to work in the United States, successful background/reference checks, and export-control authorization (employment contingent on any required licenses/approvals).

Education Requirements

Bachelor's or Master's degree (BS/MS) in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field.

About the Company

Company: SiFive

Headquarters: San Mateo, California, United States

SiFive is a pioneering company in the RISC-V ecosystem, focused on transforming the future of computing by delivering high-performance, data-intensive RISC-V solutions. Their compute platforms empower leading technology firms to innovate across various markets, including AI, machine learning, and automotive sectors. SiFive is recognized for its commitment to ongoing innovation and fostering collaboration among talented teams, impacting lives by enabling advanced chip design.