Senior Design Verification Engineer – High Performance CPU Core

SiFive; Santa Clara (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare benefits

Retirement plans

Paid time off

Job summary

SiFive, a pioneer in RISC‑V, seeks a Senior Design Verification Engineer to drive functional verification of high‑performance CPU core units. You will own verification planning, build robust testbenches, and collaborate with architecture, RTL, and performance teams to ensure rigorous sign‑off and high‑quality outcomes.

Ideal candidates have 3+ years in CPU/core verification, strong SystemVerilog/UVM skills, and solid debugging and scripting abilities to accelerate bug isolation and methodical

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical, Computer Engineering, or Computer Science.
• 3+ years of CPU/core functional verification experience.
• Strong SystemVerilog and UVM proficiency with debugging skills.

Responsibilities

• Own verification planning and execution for high‑performance CPU cores and units.
• Develop and maintain verification environments, testbenches, checkers, and coverage models.
• Define directed and constrained‑random tests to expose corner cases and ensure signoff quality.
• Collaborate with architecture, RTL, and performance teams to improve verification and debugability.
• Analyze failures, drive fixes, and close coverage gaps to reach verification completeness.

Skills

SystemVerilog

UVM

Debugging

Test planning

Scripting (C/Python)

Education

Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical/Computer Engineering or CS

Tools

UVM testbench tooling

Job description

About SiFive

As the pioneers who introduced RISC-V to the world, SiFive is transforming the future of compute by bringing the limitless potential of RISC-V to the highest performance and most data-intensive applications in the world. SiFive’s unrivaled compute platforms are continuing to enable leading technology companies around the world to innovate, optimize and deliver the most advanced solutions of tomorrow across every market segment of chip design, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, automotive, data center, mobile, and consumer. With SiFive, the future of RISC-V has no limits. At SiFive, we are always excited to connect with talented individuals, who are just as passionate about driving innovation and changing the world as we are.

About SiFive

As the pioneers who introduced RISC-V to the world, SiFive is transforming the future of compute by bringing the limitless potential of RISC-V to the highest performance and most data-intensive applications in the world. SiFive’s unrivaled compute platforms are continuing to enable leading technology companies around the world to innovate, optimize and deliver the most advanced solutions of tomorrow across every market segment of chip design, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, automotive, data center, mobile, and consumer. With SiFive, the future of RISC-V has no limits. At SiFive, we are always excited to connect with talented individuals, who are just as passionate about driving innovation and changing the world as we are.

Job Description

The Role

SiFive is looking for a Senior Design Verification Engineer to drive functional verification of high-performance CPU core units. This role focuses on high-performance out-of-order core verification, with potential scope across areas such as Frontend, Midcore, Load-Store Unit, and Hardware Prefetch. You will work closely with architecture, RTL, performance, and verification teams to ensure design intent is verified correctly, risks are identified early, and signoff quality is achieved with strong technical execution. We are looking for an engineer who can independently own meaningful verification work, solve complex debug problems efficiently, and contribute reusable methodology and infrastructure to the broader CPU DV team.

Responsibilities

• Own verification planning and execution for assigned high-performance CPU core areas, from block-level verification through core-level integration.
• Create effective verification strategies and test plans based on CPU architecture and microarchitectural behavior.
• Develop and maintain robust verification environments, testbenches, checkers, scoreboards, assertions, stimulus, and coverage models.
• Define and execute directed and constrained-random tests that expose corner cases in branch prediction, instruction fetch, pipeline interactions, issue/dispatch behavior, hazard handling, load/store ordering, memory consistency, and hardware prefetch behavior.
• Analyze failures, isolate root cause, and drive fixes across RTL, testbench infrastructure, assertions, and test content.
• Collaborate closely with architecture and design teams to review specifications, identify ambiguities early, and improve verification quality and debugability.
• Write functional coverage, analyze code and functional coverage, and close coverage gaps to ensure verification completeness and signoff quality.
• Contribute to reusable DV methodology, automation, and infrastructure that improve team productivity and verification quality across future core generations.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field.
• 3+ years of relevant experience in IP, CPU/core, or SoC functional verification, preferably with experience in CPU/core verification.
• Strong hands‑on experience with SystemVerilog and UVM-based verification methodologies.
• Solid understanding of computer architecture and CPU microarchitecture fundamentals.
• Experience with test planning, testbench development, constrained‑random verification, failure analysis, coverage analysis, and coverage closure.
• Strong debug skills and the ability to translate architectural intent into effective verification strategy and execution.
• Strong programming and scripting fundamentals for building scalable verification solutions.

Preferred Qualifications

• Direct experience with high-performance out-of-order core verification.
• Experience in one or more of the following areas: Frontend, Midcore, Load-Store Unit, memory ordering and consistency, or hardware prefetch verification.
• Familiarity with formal verification, emulation, or performance-oriented verification flows.
• Experience collaborating across architecture, performance, compiler, system verification, and software teams.
• Experience building reusable infrastructure and improving team-wide verification methodology.

What Success Looks Like

• Verification plans capture the real architectural and microarchitectural risks early and completely.
• Difficult CPU bugs are found early, debugged efficiently, and closed with durable solutions.
• Coverage quality and verification productivity improve meaningfully under your ownership.
• Architecture, design, and DV teams view you as a strong technical contributor for challenging high-performance CPU verification problems.

In addition to base pay, this role may be eligible for variable/ incentive compensation and/ or equity. In addition, this role is eligible for a comprehensive, competitive benefits package which may include healthcare and retirement plans, paid time off, and more!

Additional Information

This position requires a successful background and reference checks and satisfactory proof of your right to work in

United States of America

Any offer of employment for this position is also contingent on the Company verifying that you are a authorized for access to export-controlled technology under applicable export control laws or, if you are not already authorized, our ability to successfully obtain any necessary export license(s) or other approvals.

SiFive is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.

As an E-Verify employer, we use this system to confirm the employment eligibility of all new hires in accordance with federal law. All applicants will be required to complete a Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, upon hire. We do not use E-Verify to pre-screen job candidates and will comply with all E-Verify regulations.