Post-Silicon Validation Engineer

Etched.ai, Inc.; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision packages

Housing subsidy of $2k per month

Relocation support for new employees

Wellness benefits

Daily lunch + dinner

Job summary

Etched.ai, Inc. in San Jose is seeking a Post Silicon Validation Engineer to validate and characterize ASICs. The ideal candidate will have 7+ years of experience in ASIC development, especially in AI/ML accelerators, and proficiency in C and Python. Responsibilities include driving first silicon bring-up, collaborating with design teams, and executing performance validations. Benefits include comprehensive medical coverage, housing subsidies, and daily meals. Join us to redefine AI infrastructure.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in post-silicon validation, especially with AI/ML accelerators.
• Proven expertise in early silicon bring-up, debug, and validation.
• Deep knowledge of peripheral interfaces and board-level debug.

Responsibilities

• Drive early bring-up of first silicon, including debug of ASICs.
• Collaborate with design and verification teams to resolve issues.
• Conduct stress testing and corner case analysis.

Skills

post-silicon validation

ASIC debug

C programming

Python scripting

problem-solving

Education

Bachelor's in Electrical Engineering or related field

Master's preferred

Tools

oscilloscope

analyzers

Job description

About Etched

Etched is building the world’s first AI inference system purpose-built for transformers - delivering over 10x higher performance and dramatically lower cost and latency than a B200. With Etched ASICs, you can build products that would be impossible with GPUs, like real-time video generation models and extremely deep & parallel chain-of-thought reasoning agents. Backed by hundreds of millions from top-tier investors and staffed by leading engineers, Etched is redefining the infrastructure layer for the fastest growing industry in history.

Job Summary

We are seeking a highly skilled and motivated Post Silicon Validation Engineer to join our dynamic team. The ideal candidate will be responsible for bringing up, validating, and characterizing ASICs from first silicon through the production ramp. This role is crucial in ensuring functional correctness, performance, and reliability of our AI/ML accelerator hardware, enabling successful deployment of our cutting‑edge products.

Key Responsibilities

• Drive early bring‑up of first silicon, including boot, initialization, and debug of ASICs.
• Perform deep‑dive debug of silicon issues across RTL, firmware, and system levels.
• Collaborate closely with design, verification, and board teams to root‑cause and resolve functional and electrical issues.
• Validate and characterize custom IP blocks and accelerator components.
• Execute functional and performance validation of compute units and specialized processing elements.
• Conduct IP‑level and full‑chip stress testing and corner case analysis to ensure robust operation.
• Develop and extend post‑silicon validation infrastructure, automation, and test suites.
• Implement efficient result capture, analysis, and regression frameworks.
• Utilize lab instrumentation (oscilloscopes, analyzers, BERTs, pattern generators) for detailed signal and system characterization.
• Define validation strategies and coverage metrics across design blocks and subsystems.
• Partner with RTL, DFT, ATE, firmware, and system architecture teams to ensure smooth transition from pre‑silicon verification to post‑silicon validation.
• Provide critical feedback on test escapes, yield issues, and silicon errata, influencing silicon revisions and firmware/driver workarounds.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in post‑silicon validation, bring‑up, and debug of ASICs (preferably including AI/ML accelerators)
• Proven expertise in early silicon bring‑up, debug, and validation
• Deep knowledge of peripheral interfaces and board‑level debug
• Proficiency in C, Python, and scripting for validation automation
• Hands‑on expertise with oscilloscopes, logic/protocol analyzers, and other validation lab tools
• Familiarity with firmware, bootloaders, and low‑level silicon debug environments
• Strong problem‑solving, analytical, and collaboration skills across hardware and software teams
• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field (Master's preferred)

Optional / Additional Experience

• Low‑speed peripheral interfaces (I2C, SPI, UART, JTAG)
• High‑speed protocols (PCIe, Ethernet)
• Memory subsystems (HBM, DDR)
• Performance and thermal characterization
• AI/ML model profiling and workload correlation
• System‑level validation of accelerators or server platforms

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision packages with generous premium coverage
  • $500 per month credit for waiving medical benefits
• Housing subsidy of $2k per month for those living within walking distance of the office
• Relocation support for those moving to San Jose (Santana Row)
• Various wellness benefits covering fitness, mental health, and more
• Daily lunch + dinner in our office