Director- RandD Technical Head

Semtech; Hyderabad; On-site; INR 6,000,000 - 9,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Semtech is seeking an accomplished engineering leader to own the end-to-end chip design strategy across SoC, Analog, Digital, and packaging domains. You will guide architecture, drive EDA tool adoption, and lead a multi-discipline team from architecture through tapeout, ensuring milestones and high-quality silicon.

You will partner with HR on talent acquisition, manage 12–20+ engineers, and communicate progress and risks to senior leadership in a global context.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electronics & Communication Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or VLSI Design; Master’s degree preferred.
• 20+ years in semiconductor/VLSI with at least 5 years in senior engineering leadership.
• Hands-on experience across the complete chip design flow: SoC Architecture, Physical Design, Analog Design, Product & Test Engineering, Design Packaging, Verification Digital RTL Design, and DFT.
• Proficient with industry-standard EDA tools: Cadence Innovus/Virtuoso, Synopsys Design Compiler/IC Compiler/PrimeTime.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English to present to executives.

Responsibilities

• Define and own the end-to-end chip design strategy, methodology, and technology roadmap across all design verticals.
• Establish design standards, best practices, and quality benchmarks to ensure silicon correctness, PPA targets, and first-silicon success rates.
• Evaluate and adopt state-of-the-art EDA toolchains to maintain competitive advantage.
• Provide architectural guidance on SoC partitioning, IP integration, mixed-signal co-design, and DFM across advanced process nodes.
• Directly manage all vertical leads and engineering managers SoC, Analog, Digital, Product & Test Engineering, Design Packaging, Verification and DFT.
• Set clear goals, conduct reviews, and create development plans to build a high-performing organization.
• Drive talent acquisition strategy with HR; define interview frameworks for senior hires.
• Foster a culture of technical excellence, collaboration, and learning across 12-20+ reports.
• Engage with vertical leaders and PMs to monitor status, interdependencies, risks, and blockers.
• Supervise R&D projects from architecture to tapeout; ensure milestones and escalation handling.

Skills

Leadership

Communication in English

Strategic planning

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Electronics & Communication Engineering / Electrical Engineering / VLSI Design

Master’s degree strongly preferred

Tools

Cadence Innovus/Virtuoso

Synopsys Design Compiler/IC Compiler/PrimeTime

Job description

Job Description:

Responsibilities

• Define and own the end-to-end chip design strategy, methodology, and technology roadmap across all design verticals — SoC, Analog, Digital, Product & Test Engineering, Design Packaging, Verification and DFT.
• Establish design standards, best practices, and quality benchmarks to ensure silicon correctness, power-performance-area (PPA) targets, and first-silicon success rates.
• Evaluate and adopt state-of-the-art EDA toolchains (Cadence, Synopsys, Siemens EDA) and emerging design methodologies to maintain competitive advantage.
• Provide architectural guidance on SoC partitioning, IP integration, mixed-signal co-design, and design-for-manufacturability (DFM) across advanced process nodes.

Team Management & People Leadership

• Directly manage all vertical leads and engineering managers SoC, Analog, Digital, Product & Test Engineering, Design Packaging, Verification and DFT.
• Set clear goals, conduct regular reviews, and create individual development plans to build a high-performing, future-ready engineering organization.
• Drive talent acquisition strategy in partnership with HR; define technical interview frameworks and competency benchmarks for senior engineering hires.
• Foster a culture of technical excellence, collaboration, and continuous learning across a team of 12-20+ direct and indirect reports.

Project Monitoring & Cross-Vertical Coordination

• Engage regularly with all vertical leaders and project managers to understand project status, interdependencies, resource constraints, and technical risks.
• Supervise and monitor all active R&D projects from architecture definition through tapeout, ensuring milestones are met and technical blockers are resolved promptly.
• Facilitate cross-functional design reviews, tapeout readiness reviews, and silicon bring-up planning sessions to align all engineering verticals.
• Serve as the primary technical escalation point for critical design issues, guiding root-cause analysis and resolution across SoC, analog, digital, physical, and DFT domains.

Stakeholder Communication & Reporting

• Prepare and present comprehensive R&D project status reports, technical risk assessments, and resource utilization dashboards to senior leadership.
• Interface with global counterparts, foundry partners (e.g., TSMC, GlobalFoundries), and IP vendors to optimize design flows and process node qualifications.

Other Duties

• Champion R&D innovation initiatives; evaluate emerging technologies such as advanced packaging, chiplets, AI-driven EDA, and next-generation process nodes.
• Support IP strategy, design reuse frameworks, and internal knowledge management across the India R&D center.
• Undertake additional responsibilities as assigned by executive leadership.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree (B.E. / B.Tech) in Electronics & Communication Engineering, Electrical Engineering, VLSI Design, or a closely related field; Master’s degree (M.E. / M.Tech / M.S.) strongly preferred.
• 20+ years of progressive experience in the semiconductor / VLSI industry, with a minimum of 5 years in a senior engineering leadership or technical management role.
• Proven, hands-on expertise across the complete chip design flow: SoC Architecture, Physical Design, Analog Design, Product & Test Engineering, Design Packaging, Verification Digital RTL Design, and DFT.
• Demonstrated experience managing and delivering multiple concurrent chip design projects from specification through GDS tapeout.
• Deep proficiency with industry-standard EDA tools: Cadence Innovus/Virtuoso, Synopsys Design Compiler/IC Compiler/PrimeTime.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English with demonstrated ability to present complex technical concepts to executive stakeholders.

Desired Qualifications

• Experience in leading R&D organizations of 25+ engineers across geographically distributed teams.
• Exposure to advanced packaging technologies (2.5D/3D IC, chiplet architectures) and multi-die integration methodologies.
• Familiarity with AI/ML-assisted EDA flows and next-generation design automation trends.
• Prior experience with automotive-grade semiconductor design (AEC-Q100, ISO 26262 / ASIL compliance) or high-reliability industrial semiconductor products.
• Strong publication record or patents in semiconductor design, device physics, or related fields.
• Experience working with global foundry partners (TSMC, GlobalFoundries) on advanced process node qualification and PDK evaluation.
• Demonstrated track record in building and scaling engineering teams; prior exposure to HR processes including headcount planning, compensation benchmarking, and performance management.

Requirements: