Principal Digital Design Engineer / Chip Lead

1000 Micron Technology, Inc.; Boise (ID); On-site; USD 178,000 - 389,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental and vision plans

Paid time off

Equity

Job summary

Micron Technology, Inc. seeks a Principal Digital Design Engineer / Chip Lead to own architecture, RTL design, and integration for high‑speed interface chips.

You will lead a small, senior team, drive timing closure, synthesis, and verification, coordinating with DV staff and IP blocks to tape out a next‑gen PHY solution. This role requires 10+ years of ASIC/digital design, expert SystemVerilog, and a proven tape‑out track record, with strong communication and leadership in a startup‑like

Qualifications

• BS, MS, or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field.
• 10+ years of ASIC/digital design with at least one tape-out in a chip lead role.
• Expert-level SystemVerilog RTL design and coding best practices.

Responsibilities

• Define top-level chip architecture, partition hard/soft IP, and integrate hard macros with soft IP.
• Author, review, and maintain synthesizable SystemVerilog RTL for control blocks and top-level integration.
• Lead timing closure, create timing constraints, and guide constraints to Digital/Physical teams.
• Drive logic synthesis (DC/Genus) and optimize for PPA across all blocks.
• Coordinate DV with assertion-based and coverage-driven verification strategies.
• Define IP interfaces and manage integration agreements with vendors.

Skills

SystemVerilog RTL

Synthesis (DC/Genus)

Timing Closure

Static Timing Analysis

Assertion-based Verification

Tape-out Leadership

IP integration

Technical leadership

RTL Simulation

Cross-functional leadership

Education

BS, MS, or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field

Tools

Synopsys Design Compiler

Cadence Genus

PrimeTime/Tempus

VCS/Xcelium

Verdi/DVE

SpyGlass/JasperGold

Job description

Our vision is to transform how the world uses information to enrich life for all. Micron Technology is a world leader in innovating memory and storage solutions that accelerate the transformation of information into intelligence, inspiring the world to learn, communicate and advance faster than ever.

Principal Digital Design Engineer / Chip Lead

About the Role At Micron, we transform how the world uses information to enrich life for all. As a global leader in memory and storage innovation, we develop technologies that accelerate intelligence and enable the next era of AI, ML, and advanced computing. Micron's Interface Pathfinding team operates at the leading edge of that mission — driving performance‑scaling innovation across circuits, signaling, packaging, and interconnects with a 3–5 year technology horizon. A core part of that work is silicon‑based validation of novel PHY solutions, and we are building the team to execute it. As the Digital Design Engineer / Chip Lead, you will be the technical anchor of a deliberately small, senior team whose collective experience spans world‑class analog and digital design, decades of hands‑on layout, silicon characterization, and physical design and design verification — united around the goal of carrying high‑speed interface innovations from architecture to tape‑out.

What You’ll Own

• Chip Architecture & Integration: Define top‑level chip architecture, partition responsibilities across hard and soft IP blocks, and own the integration of hard macros alongside third‑party soft IP.
• RTL Design: Author, review, and maintain synthesizable RTL (SystemVerilog) for all soft IP control blocks, CSR/register file, clocking control logic, and top‑level integration.
• Timing Closure Leadership: Develop and own chip‑level timing constraints (SDC), define clock domain crossing strategy, and provide timing budgets per block to the Physical Design engineer.
• Synthesis: Drive logic synthesis (DC / Genus) and guide optimization for PPA targets across all design blocks.
• Verification Coordination: Partner with DV staff to apply assertion‑based verification, coverage‑driven verification, formal methods and constrained‑random techniques to ensure high quality verification of control logic, interfaces, and system behaviors.
• IP Management: Define interfaces between PHY hard macro, third‑party soft IP, and internally designed blocks; manage IP integration agreements and vendor coordination.
• Tape‑Out Ownership: Own and drive the tape‑out checklist sign‑off process, coordinating across Physical Design, Verification, and analog team members to achieve clean handoff to the foundry.
• Design Documentation: Author architecture specifications, block‑level design specifications, and interface control documents that serve as the authoritative reference for the team.
• Follow‑On Roadmap: Capture design decisions, lessons learned, and architectural rationale to accelerate follow‑on chip development.

What You Bring

• BS, MS, or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field.
• 10+ years of ASIC/digital design experience with at least one prior tape‑out in a chip lead, design lead, or senior designer role.
• Expert‑level proficiency in SystemVerilog RTL design and coding best practices.
• Strong experience with logic synthesis tools (Synopsys Design Compiler or Cadence Genus) and static timing analysis (PrimeTime or Tempus).
• Proficiency with industry‑standard RTL simulation and debug tools (VCS, Xcelium, or equivalent; Verdi or DVE for waveform debug).
• Solid understanding of CDC analysis methodologies and tools (SpyGlass, JasperGold CDC, or equivalent).
• Demonstrated experience integrating hard and soft IP blocks in a mixed‑signal or PHY‑adjacent chip environment.
• Ability to work effectively as a technical lead on a small team — comfortable making decisions with incomplete information and owning the outcomes.
• Strong written communication skills — this role produces specifications, not just code.
• Experience partnering with design verification teams to define verification plans, review coverage metrics, and drive closure of functional and corner‑cases prior to tape‑out.
• It is expected that the candidate will be proficient in leveraging AI for productivity.
• Preferred Experience with high‑speed PHY architectures (SerDes, DDR, or equivalent analog I/O structures).
• Familiarity with I2C management bus architecture, Eye Monitor control logic, or PRBS‑based error counting implementations.
• Experience with DFT strategy definition including scan insertion, ATPG planning, and boundary scan for high‑speed I/O.
• Familiarity with OTP/fuse‑based trim and calibration architectures for PHY analog parameters.
• Prior experience in a small team or startup‑like environment where role boundaries are defined by need rather than org chart.

Why This Role

You will have full technical ownership of a chip from day one — no waiting for a senior engineer to hand you a subsystem. You will work alongside genuinely exceptional analog designers — including engineers with deep SerDes and clocking expertise — in an environment where analog and digital engineers work as genuine collaborators, not in silos. The team is intentionally small and senior — decisions get made quickly, bureaucracy is minimal, and your judgment will be trusted. You are joining an active program with real momentum – your technical leadership will directly shape its trajectory and scope going forward.

A Note to All Candidates

These roles are part of a deliberate effort to build a long‑term, high‑caliber team around a compelling PHY technology program. We are looking for engineers who want to own something, build something, and grow with a program. If that description resonates, we’d like to hear from you.

US Base Salary Range

The US base salary range that Micron Technology estimates it could pay for this full‑time position is: $178,000.00 - $389,000.00 a year. Additional compensation may include benefits, bonuses and equity. Our salary ranges are determined by role, level, and location. The range displayed on each job posting reflects the minimum and maximum target base pay for new hire salaries of the position across all US locations. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional job‑related factors, including knowledge, skills, experience, tenure and relevant education or training. The pay scale is subject to change depending on business needs. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your preferred location during the hiring process. Please note that the compensation details listed in US role postings reflect the base salary only, and do not include bonus, equity, or benefits.

Benefits

• Micron benefits are designed to help you stay well, provide peace of mind and help you prepare for the future.
• We offer a choice of medical, dental and vision plans in all locations enabling team members to select the plans that best meet their family healthcare needs and budget.
• Micron also provides benefit programs that help protect your income if you are unable to work due to illness or injury, and paid family leave.
• Additionally, Micron benefits include a robust paid time‑off program and paid holidays.
• For additional information regarding the Benefit programs available, please see the Benefits Guide posted on micron.com/careers/benefits.

Equal Opportunity

Micron is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, citizenship status, disability, protected veteran status, gender identity or any other factor protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws.

Contact

To request assistance with the application process and/or for reasonable accommodations, please contact Micron’s People Organization at [e-mail] or 1‑800‑336‑8918 (select option #3). Micron Prohibits the use of child labor and complies with all applicable laws, rules, regulations, and other international and industry labor standards. Micron does not charge candidates any recruitment fees or unlawfully collect any other payment from candidates as consideration for their employment with Micron.