Staff Engineer, Post Silicon Validation

Job Title

Staff Engineer, Post Silicon Validation

Role Summary

The Staff Engineer will develop FPGA-based prototyping platforms and lead post-silicon bring-up, validation, and debug for SoC products. The role bridges pre-silicon and post-silicon activities and interfaces with RTL, design, verification, and software teams to ensure functional correctness and production readiness.

Experience Level

Senior — 4–10 years of relevant experience (FPGA prototyping, post-silicon validation, or SoC validation).

Responsibilities

Primary responsibilities include FPGA prototyping, system bring-up, and comprehensive post-silicon validation and debugging.

• Develop and maintain FPGA-based prototyping platforms to validate SoC/IP features and system behavior.
• Use FPGA emulation to reproduce real-world scenarios for early validation and faster debugging.
• Perform post-silicon bring-up, validation, and debug at chip, board, and system levels.
• Define and execute validation plans covering features, corner cases, and system scenarios.
• Validate functionality, performance, and interfaces across PVT and use-case conditions.
• Debug hardware, firmware, and system-level interactions with cross-functional teams.
• Develop test programs, automation scripts, and validation frameworks (Python/C/C++).
• Use lab equipment (oscilloscope, logic analyzers, power supplies) for validation and debug.
• Analyze validation data, perform root-cause analysis, and drive issue closure to signoff.
• Improve validation efficiency through automation, reuse, and standardization; report progress and risks to stakeholders.

Requirements

Must-have skills and experience required to perform the role; separated from desirable additions below.

• 4–10 years' experience in FPGA prototyping, post-silicon validation, or mixed-signal/SoC validation.
• Strong understanding of digital design fundamentals and SoC/embedded system architecture.
• Hands-on FPGA development or FPGA-based system validation experience.
• Experience in post-silicon validation, board bring-up, and hardware debugging.
• Familiarity with standard interfaces/protocols (I2C, SPI, UART, PCIe, Ethernet).
• Experience using lab equipment and established hardware debugging techniques.
• Proven debugging skills across hardware, firmware, and system-level issues.
• Experience developing validation plans, test cases, and automation frameworks.
• Proficiency in Python, C, and/or C++ for test automation and data analysis.
• Ability to own validation of complex features from bring-up through closure and collaborate across global teams.

• Experience with hardware emulation/prototyping platforms (FPGA boards, Zebu, Palladium, Veloce).
• Exposure to pre-silicon verification or RTL development flows.
• Embedded software/firmware experience (Linux, bare-metal).
• Board design, schematics, or hardware bring-up experience.
• Familiarity with automotive or functional safety standards (e.g., ISO 26262).
• Experience building automation frameworks or regression environments.

Education Requirements

Not specified.

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.