Principal Engineer, Hardware Design (AI2550)

SiMa.ai; Bengaluru; On-site; INR 6,000,000 - 12,000,000; Full time

Job summary

SiMa.ai is seeking a Principal Engineer, Hardware Design, to provide technical leadership for the RISC CPU IP used in our MLSoC. The role requires on-site presence in Bangalore, India, and ownership of architecture, design, modification, and integration with RTL and design implementation.

You will collaborate across architecture, verification, emulation, physical design, and SoC teams. The ideal candidate has 15+ years of CPU IP and SoC experience, deep CPU architecture knowledge, and a proven

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, or a related field.
• 15+ years of professional experience in CPU IP design, SoC design, or related hardware engineering.
• Deep understanding of CPU architecture and a track record in developing, modifying, or integrating CPU IP.

Responsibilities

• Set the technical direction for the RISC CPU IP and lead its ongoing development and integration.
• Drive CPU microarchitecture decisions with architecture and SoC teams, balancing functionality, performance, power, and constraints.
• Lead significant CPU RTL changes and optimisations, including design reviews and issue resolution.
• Guide the CPU IP through synthesis, timing analysis, and accuracy checks (CDC, linting).
• Partner with verification and emulation teams on strategy, debugging, and coverage closure.
• Collaborate with physical design on floor planning, timing, and implementation trade-offs.
• Lead CPU IP integration and support chip validation, silicon bring‑up, and characterization.
• Coordinate with ML accelerator and SoC teams to meet platform requirements.

Skills

CPU IP design

RTL design

ASIC development

SoC design

Mentoring

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s in Electrical/Computer Engineering

Job description

Description

Job Title: Principal Engineer, Hardware Design

Job Location: Bangalore, India (This position requires a full-time, on-site presence in our Bangalore, India Office)

Job ID: AI2550

SiMa.ai is looking for a Principal Engineer to provide technical leadership for the RISC CPU IP used in our MLSoC. In this role, you will guide the CPU IP’s architecture, design, modification, and integration, while working hands‑on with RTL and design implementation. You will partner with architecture, verification, emulation, physical design, and SoC teams to make key technical decisions and deliver a robust CPU IP that meets system‑level functionality, performance, and integration requirements. You will also help improve design methods and raise the quality of execution across the team.

Role & Responsibilities

• Set the technical direction for the RISC CPU IP and lead its ongoing development and integration.
• Drive CPU microarchitecture decisions with architecture and SoC teams, balancing functionality, performance, power, and implementation constraints.
• Lead significant CPU RTL changes and optimisations, including design reviews and resolution of complex design issues.
• Guide the CPU IP through synthesis, static timing analysis, equivalence checking, CDC, linting, and other quality checks.
• Partner with verification and emulation teams on verification strategy, debug, coverage closure, and issue resolution.
• Work with physical design teams on floor planning, timing closure, and implementation trade‑offs.
• Lead CPU IP integration and support chip validation, silicon bring‑up, and characterisation.
• Coordinate with ML accelerator and SoC teams to resolve system‑level dependencies and ensure the CPU IP meets platform requirements.
• Establish and improve design methodology, quality standards, and reusable flows for CPU IP development.
• Mentor engineers and provide technical guidance across teams.

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, or a related field.
• 15+ years of professional experience in CPU IP design, SoC design, or a related hardware engineering area.
• Deep understanding of CPU architecture and a strong record of developing, modifying, or integrating CPU IP.
• Extensive experience with RTL design and microarchitecture, including leading complex design changes.
• Strong experience across the ASIC development lifecycle, including synthesis, timing analysis, verification, emulation, physical design, or silicon bring‑up.
• Demonstrated ability to lead technical decisions and drive cross‑functional issues to resolution.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with RISC CPU cores.
• Experience with ARM CPUs and associated bus protocols.
• Experience integrating CPU IP into complex SoCs, especially SoCs that include ML accelerators.
• Experience mentoring engineers or leading technical work across teams.

Personal Attributes

• Provides clear technical direction and takes accountability for outcomes.
• Combines architectural thinking with practical, hands‑on problem solving.
• Communicates effectively across engineering teams and handles difficult technical discussions professionally.
• Builds alignment, shares knowledge, and helps others grow.
• Demonstrates integrity, sound judgment, and a collaborative approach.