Senior ASIC Modeling Software Engineer

Upscale; Kentucky; On-site; USD 130,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Upscale, Inc. is building the high-performance simulation platform for next-generation AI networking ASICs.

You will develop, test, and maintain a functionally accurate software model across multiple ASIC generations to enable software development and customer validation before silicon is available. You will translate architectural specs into high-fidelity C++ models, optimize for performance, and collaborate with RTL engineers to ensure model-to-silicon correlation, contributing to scalable,

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in C/C++ architecture model development, cycle-aware simulation, or ASIC verification.
• Expert-level C++ programming (modern C++17).
• Deep understanding of switch/router architecture, forwarding tables, QoS, ACLs.
• Experience with packet processing pipelines and dataplane simulation.
• Familiarity with Verilog/SystemVerilog and RTL reading.
• Experience with IPC: gRPC/Protocol Buffers, and C++ unit testing (Google Test).
• Familiarity with Python for test automation and tooling.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement software model components that simulate ASIC behavior (forwarding engines, schedulers, memory subsystems).
• Translate architectural specs into high-fidelity C++ models, from functionally accurate to performance-accurate per subsystem.
• Develop and maintain the register model, memory map, and configuration interfaces.
• Implement packet processing pipelines across multiple forwarding modes.
• Optimize model performance for large-scale simulations; collaborate with RTL engineers for model-to-silicon correlation.
• Work with architecture, SDK, and platform teams to enable development and validation on the model.
• Support multiple ASIC versions with configurable, maintainable model architecture.

Skills

C++ architecture

ASIC verification

Network switch arch

Dataplane simulation

gRPC/Protobuf

Unit testing

Python scripting

Debugging HW/SW

Tools

Verilog/SystemVerilog

Google Test

ns-3

HTSim

gRPC

Protobuf

Job description

Why join Upscale, Inc.
Upscale, Inc., is building the high-performance infrastructure powering the next generation of artificial intelligence. Backed by over $500M in funding and rapid global adoption, we are scaling systems designed for the world’s most demanding AI workloads.

Upscale, Inc., is building the high-performance infrastructure powering the next generation of artificial intelligence. Backed by over $500M in funding and rapid global adoption, we are scaling systems designed for the world’s most demanding AI workloads. We focus on first-principles engineering across silicon, systems, and networking—where performance, scale, and execution are critical. Our team is talent-dense and high-performing. We value ownership, technical rigor, and speed, and we offer the opportunity to work on foundational problems with immediate, real-world impact. If you’re looking to do high-impact work, move fast, and help define the infrastructure behind the future of AI—Upscale is where you can produce meaningful work at the frontier—and operate at a high standard.

Position Overview

About the Role

We're building the simulation platform for UpscaleAI's next-generation AI networking ASICs. The platform is a functionally accurate software model of our ASIC architecture, enabling software development, verification, and customer validation before silicon is available. You'll be responsible for developing, testing and maintaining the platform across multiple ASIC generations, ensuring it accurately represents hardware behavior and scales to support our customers' demanding AI infrastructure workloads.

What You'll Work On

• ASIC Architectural Model: Our current-generation ASIC simulator
• Next-gen ASIC models: Future silicon with enhanced AI networking features
• Multi-chip simulation: Modeling systems with multiple interconnected ASICs
• Performance optimization: Making large-scale simulations practical

Key Responsibilities

• Design and implement software model components that accurately simulate ASIC behavior (forwarding engines, schedulers, memory subsystems, control plane interfaces)
• Translate architectural specifications and microarchitecture documents into high-fidelity C++ models, ranging from functionally accurate to performance-accurate depending on the subsystem
• Develop and maintain the register model, memory map, and configuration interfaces
• Implement packet processing pipelines for multiple forwarding modes
• Optimize model performance for large-scale simulations
• Collaborate with RTL engineers to ensure model-to-silicon correlation
• Work with the architecture team to validate algorithm and architectural choices through simulation
• Work with SDK and platform software teams to enable software development and validation on the model
• Support multiple ASIC versions with maintainable, configurable model architecture

Requirements

• 7+ years of experience in C/C++ architecture model development, cycle-aware simulation, or ASIC verification
• Expert-level C++ programming (modern C++17)
• Deep understanding of network switch/router architecture: forwarding tables, scheduling, QoS, ACLs
• Experience with packet processing pipelines and dataplane simulation
• Familiarity with hardware description languages (Verilog/SystemVerilog) and reading RTL
• Experience with gRPC, Protocol Buffers, or similar IPC mechanisms
• Experience with C++ unit testing frameworks (e.g., Google Test)
• Familiarity with Python for test automation, tooling, and scripting
• Strong debugging skills across software and hardware domains

Nice to Have

• Experience with AI/ML networking (scale-up fabrics, RDMA, collective operations)
• Experience using ns-3 and/or HTSim to model high performance network architectures
• Familiarity with SAI (Switch Abstraction Interface) or SONiC
• Experience with FPGA prototyping or emulation platforms
• Background in memory subsystem modeling (DDR, HBM, caches)
• Experience with configuration-driven simulation frameworks (YAML, JSON, protobuf-based config)

Where you fall within that range depends on your experience, skills, and impact—we benchmark against internal levels to keep things fair and consistent.

Equal Opportunity

Upscale, Inc., is building a team that reflects a wide range of perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences. We’re proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and consider all qualified applicants regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or veteran status.

Accessibility & Accommodations

We’re committed to making our hiring process accessible to everyone. If you need accommodations at any stage, just reach out to us at [e-mail]—we’re happy to help. Note: This inbox is only for accommodation requests. We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. 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.