Principal Front-End Design Automation Engineer

Ampere; Portland (OR); On-site; USD 182,000 - 237,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Premium medical insurance

401K retirement plan

Unlimited flextime

Job summary

Ampere, a semiconductor design company, seeks a Principal Front-End Design Automation (EDA/DevOps) Engineer to drive pre-silicon productivity through scalable automation and platform capabilities. You will guide EDA tooling, collaborate with RTL teams, and architect internal Ampere automation to shorten design cycles.

Join a cross-functional group spanning hardware, software, and IT, and help scale infrastructure for AI-enhanced design and verification across on-prem and cloud environments at

Qualifications

• 6+ years of Front-End Design Automation (EDA/DevOps) experience in technology (semiconductor preferred).
• Strong Python or Perl scripting skills.
• Deep SystemVerilog expertise with DV/UVM/Coverage/Simulation/Debug and RTL static checks (Lint/CDC/RDC/UPF).
• Solid IP and SoC RTL design and verification workflow experience.
• Experience with HPC scheduling/workloads (LSF/SLURM) for EDA tasks.
• Desirable: Git/Perforce, CI/CD, cloud computing, and RDBMS knowledge.

Responsibilities

• Provide expert guidance for EDA tools and Ampere flows to raise productivity and reliability.
• Collaborate with RTL design and verification teams to deploy improved workflows.
• Architect, document, deploy, and maintain custom Ampere automation and services for RTL design/verification.
• Enable and support EDA tools used for RTL design/verification (SystemVerilog, Lint, CDC, RDC, UPF).
• Partner with IT/EDA vendors to deliver high-performance, scalable solutions.
• Drive AI-enabled automation to accelerate analysis and issue resolution.

Skills

EDA/DevOps

Python/Perl scripting

SystemVerilog

DV/UVM/Coverage/Simulation/Debug

RTL design verification workflows

HPC scheduling (LSF/SLURM)

Git/Perforce

CI/CD

Cloud computing

RDBMS

Education

BS in Electrical/Computer Engineering or Computer Science

MS in Electrical/Computer Engineering or Computer Science

PhD in relevant field

Tools

Git

Perforce

LSF/SLURM

CI/CD tooling

Cloud platforms

RDBMS

Job description

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.

Join us at Ampere and work alongside a passionate and growing team — we’d love to have you apply!

About The Role

As a Principal Front-End Design Automation (EDA/DevOps) Engineer, you will strategically partner with Ampere’s RTL and Verification organizations to drive measurable gains in pre-silicon productivity through scalable automation, systems, and platform capabilities. You will lead cross-functional initiatives spanning hardware, software, and IT, aligning with design, verification, EDA, and IT stakeholders. You will also provide expert guidance for EDA tooling and Ampere flows, architect internal tools, automate end-to-end workflows across on-prem and cloud, and scale infrastructure to improve design quality and expand AI impact in verification and design.

What You’ll Achieve

• Provide expert 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.
• Architect, document, 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).
• Partner with IT, EDA vendors, RTL design and verification teams to deliver high-performance, efficient solutions.
• Drive AI-enabled automation for design and verification, accelerating analysis and decision-making while improving coverage and issue resolution speed.

About You

• 6+ years of proven Front-End Design Automation (EDA/DevOps) expertise, in the technology sector (semiconductor design is preferred).
• Highly talented Python or Perl scripting skills.
• Strong SystemVerilog language expertise with background in DV/UVM/Coverage/Simulation/Debug and/or RTL static checks (Lint/CDC/RDC/UPF).
• Solid experience with IP and SoC RTL design and verification workflows
• Proven experience with HPC scheduling/workload management, like IBM LSF (Load Sharing Facility) or SLURM (Simple Linux Utility for Resource 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 $237,000.

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.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.

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.