Principal Front-End Design Automation Engineer

Ampere; Portland (OR); On-site; USD 182,000 - 273,000; Full time

Job summary

Ampere, a semiconductor design company, is seeking a Principal Front-End Design Automation Engineer to advance pre-silicon productivity through automation and scalable tools.

You will partner with RTL and Verification teams to improve design workflows, deploy internal tools, and scale infrastructure across on-prem and cloud to drive higher design quality and AI-enabled verification outcomes.

Qualifications

• 6+ years of Front-End Design Automation experience in semiconductors.
• Proficient in Python or Perl scripting.
• Strong SystemVerilog DV/UVM/Coverage/Simulation/Debug skills.
• Experience with IP/SoC RTL design and verification workflows.
• Familiar with HPC scheduling tools like LSF or SLURM; CI/CD or cloud tooling.

Responsibilities

• Provide strong tech guidance for EDA tools and Ampere design/verification flows.
• Collaborate with RTL design and verification teams to deploy improved methods.
• Deploy and administer custom Ampere automation and services to streamline RTL design and verification.
• Enable and support EDA tools used for RTL design and verification (SystemVerilog simulation, Lint, CDC, RDC, UPF, debug).
• Connect with IT, EDA vendors, RTL teams to deliver high-performance, efficient solutions.

Skills

Front-End Design Automation

Python scripting

SystemVerilog DV/UVM

RTL design workflows

LSF/SLURM scheduling

Git/Perforce SCM

CI/CD / Cloud

Education

BS in EE/CE/CS; 8+ years

MS in EE/CE/CS; 6+ years

Job description

Invent the future with us. Ampere is a semiconductor design company for a new era, leading the future of computing with an innovative approach to CPU design focused on high-performance, energy efficient AI compute. As a pioneer in the new frontier of energy efficient high-performance computing, Ampere is part of the Softbank Group of companies driving sustainable computing for AI, Cloud, and edge applications.

About The Role

As a Principal Front-End Design Automation (EDA/DevOps) Engineer, you will partner closely with Ampere’s RTL and Verification organizations to drive measurable improvements in pre-silicon productivity through automation, systems, and platform capabilities. Collaborate with hardware, software, and IT stakeholders. You will also support EDA tooling guidance, architect or enhance internal tools, automate end-to-end workflows across on-prem and cloud, and contribute to infrastructure scaling to improve design quality and expand AI-enabled impact in verification and design.

What You'll Achieve

• Provide strong tech guidance for EDA tools and Ampere design/verification flows, establishing standards and mechanisms that measurably improve productivity and reliability.
• Collaborate with RTL design and verification teams to define and deploy new or improved methods of work.
• Deploy, and administer custom Ampere automation and services that streamline RTL design and verification, reducing cycle time and operational overhead for design teams.
• Enable and support EDA tools used for RTL design and verification (SystemVerilog simulation, Lint, CDC, RDC, UPF, debug).
• Connect with IT, EDA vendors, RTL design and verification teams to deliver high-performance, efficient solutions.

About You

• 6+ years of proven Front-End Design Automation (EDA/DevOps) expertise, in the technology sector (semiconductor design is preferred).
• Skilled in Python or Perl scripting.
• Strong SystemVerilog language expertise with background in DV/UVM/Coverage/Simulation/Debug and/or RTL static checks (Lint/CDC/RDC/UPF).
• Experience with IP and SoC RTL design and verification workflows.
• Knowledgeable with HPC scheduling/workload management, like IBM LSF (Load Sharing Facility) or SLURM (Simple Linux Utility for Resourc.e Management), for running EDA workloads.
• Additional skills highly desired: SCM/Source Code Management; Git/Perforce; RDBMS; CI/CD; Cloud Computing

Education

• BS degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or Computer Science & 8 years of related experience, MS degree & 6 years, or PhD & 3 years

What We’ll Offer

At Ampere we believe in taking care of our employees and providing a competitive total rewards package that includes base pay, cash long-term incentive, and comprehensive benefits. The full base pay range for this role is between $182,000 and $273,000.

Our benefits include health, wellness, and financial programs that support employees through every stage of life.

Benefits Highlights Include

• Premium medical insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, as well as income protection and a 401K retirement plan, so that you can feel secure in your health and financial future.
• Unlimited Flextime and 10+ paid holidays so that you can embrace a healthy work-life balance.
• A variety of healthy snacks, energizing espresso, and refreshing drinks to keep you fueled and focused throughout the day.

And there are much more than compensation and benefits. At Ampere, we foster an inclusive culture that empowers our employees to do more and grow more. We are excited to share more about our career opportunities with you through the interview process.

Ampere is an inclusive and equal opportunity employer and welcomes applicants from all backgrounds. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, citizenship, religion, age, veteran and/or military status, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, physical or mental disability, or any other basis protected by federal, state or local law.