Senior CPU Frontend Verification Architect - Equity

SiFive; Santa Clara (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401(k)

Job summary

SiFive in Santa Clara, CA seeks a senior frontend verification expert to own verification strategy for CPU frontend features, including branch prediction and fetch verification. You will lead test plan development, coverage closure, and collaboration with architects to clarify specs and reduce frontend risk.

The role emphasizes mentorship, reusable DV infrastructure, and applying formal methods or emulation for challenging frontend verification problems to accelerate development of

Qualifications

• BS/MS/PhD in Electrical/Computer Engineering or CS required or related field.
• 12+ years of CPU/core or SoC functional verification experience for senior level.
• 8+ years verifying memory management units in high-performance CPU cores.
• Direct experience with out-of-order CPU core verification and frontend verification.
• Strong understanding of CPU microarchitecture and verification workflows.
• Ability to translate architectural intent into verification strategy and plans.
• Strong software/scripting fundamentals for scalable DV infrastructure.

Responsibilities

• Lead verification planning and execution for CPU frontend functionalities.
• Define verification strategy, test plans, checkers, scoreboards, and coverage models.
• Drive verification of branch prediction structures and instruction fetch behavior.
• Collaborate with architects to review specifications and improve frontend debugability.
• Close frontend verification with coverage analysis, bug triage, and signoff readiness.
• Apply simulation, formal techniques, and emulation for high-risk frontend issues.
• Mentor engineers and shape reusable DV infrastructure for future CPU cores.

Skills

Frontend verification

Branch prediction

Instruction fetch verification

Verification strategy

DV infrastructure

Debug skills

Scripting & automation

Mentorship

Education

BS/MS/PhD in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or Computer Science

Tools

Formal verification tools

Emulation/acceleration tooling

Job description

SiFive in Santa Clara, CA seeks a senior frontend verification expert to own verification strategy for CPU frontend features, including branch prediction and fetch verification. You will lead test plan development, coverage closure, and collaboration with architects to clarify specs and reduce frontend risk.

The role emphasizes mentorship, reusable DV infrastructure, and applying formal methods or emulation for challenging frontend verification problems to accelerate development of