Senior Silicon Validation Engineer

Google LLC; Sunnyvale (CA); On-site; USD 163,000 - 236,000; Full time

Job summary

Google is seeking a Senior Silicon Validation Engineer in Sunnyvale to drive validation for TPU architectures and custom silicon integration. You will shape pre- and post-silicon validation strategies, partnering with hardware, systems, and software teams to ensure robust performance and reliability.

The role emphasizes testing, qualification, and test design across power, memory, and high-speed interfaces, with opportunities to impact AI/ML hardware at scale.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field.
• 8 years of hardware engineering and ASIC design experience.
• Experience with design validation, test planning, and test design.

Responsibilities

• Own bringup and NPI phases to enable custom silicon products (boot, PCIe, memory, compute cores, power).
• Design, develop, operate, and maintain detailed validation tests and test plans with cross-functional teams.
• Perform system characterization, qualification, and debugging to root-cause failures in pre-silicon and post-silicon stages.
• Provide feedback to improve features like power management, performance, and reliability across generations.
• Collaborate with customers, systems, manufacturing, diagnostics, and vendor teams to shift left in production and deployment.

Skills

Hardware engineering

ASIC digital design

Design validation

Test planning

Test design

Education

Bachelor's degree (EE/CE/CS)

Job description

Share Senior Silicon Validation Engineer

Google Sunnyvale, CA, USA

In most instances, this position requires in-person interviews as part of the hiring process.

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 8 years of experience with hardware engineering, ASIC digital design, design validation, test planning, and test design.

Preferred qualifications:

• Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field.
• Experience with silicon validation, New Product Introduction (NPI), and the bring-up, characterization, and qualification of custom silicon.
• Experience collaborating with cross-functional systems, hardware, manufacturing, and vendor teams to drive the bring-up, qualification, and deployment of custom silicon.
• Experience with platform accelerators, high-speed ASIC interfaces, compute, memory systems (e.g. HBM), Design for Testing, and power system features for high-power SoCs.

About the job

In this role, you’ll work to shape the future of AI/ML hardware acceleration. You will have an opportunity to drive cutting‑edge TPU (Tensor Processing Unit) technology that powers Google's most demanding AI/ML applications. You’ll be part of a team that pushes boundaries, developing custom silicon solutions that power the future of Google's TPU. You'll contribute to the innovation behind products loved by millions worldwide, and leverage your design and verification expertise to verify complex digital designs, with a specific focus on TPU architecture and its integration within AI/ML-driven systems.

CI2 Platform Enablement is charged with helping bring our custom ASIC's from concept through to production.

In pre‑silicon, we support integration and test on our hardware emulation platforms, and in post‑silicon we help develop tests, operate bringup and validation efforts, and ensure our custom ASIC systems are qualified and sustainable.

We own and deliver the Silicon Validation effort of our overall silicon product development lifecycle. Efforts may center on power features, interfaces, HBM memory, compute functionality, and/or various aspects of system performance.

You will develop and execute test plans, characterize and enable silicon, and investigate and resolve chip and system issues.

The AI and Infrastructure team is redefining what’s possible. We empower Google customers with breakthrough capabilities and insights by delivering AI and Infrastructure at unparalleled scale, efficiency, reliability and velocity. Our customers include Googlers, Google Cloud customers, and billions of Google users worldwide.

We're the driving force behind Google's groundbreaking innovations, empowering the development of our cutting‑edge AI models, delivering unparalleled computing power to global services, and providing the essential platforms that enable developers to build the future. From software to hardware our teams are shaping the future of world‑leading hyperscale computing, with key teams working on the development of our TPUs, Vertex AI for Google Cloud, Google Global Networking, Data Center operations, systems research, and much more.

Individual pay is determined by factors including job‑related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.
US: $163000 - $236000 (USD) + 15% bonus target + equity + benefits

• Own the bringup and New Product Introduction (NPI) phases to enable custom silicon products, validating ASIC subsystems such as boot, PCIe, memory (e.g., HBM, SRAM), compute cores, and power.
• Design, develop, operate, and maintain detailed validation tests and test plans in coordination with cross‑functional architecture, design, and software teams.
• Perform system characterization, qualification, and debugging to root‑cause failures across both pre‑silicon prototyping platforms and post‑silicon production.
• Provide feedback to improve critical features like power management quality, performance, and reliability through successive generations of designs.
• Partner with customers, systems, manufacturing, diagnostics, and vendor teams to resolve issues and eliminate failures by "shifting left" in the production and deployment lifecycle.

Google is proud to be an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. We are committed to building a workforce that is representative of the users we serve, creating a culture of belonging, and providing an equal employment opportunity regardless of race, creed, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy or related condition (including breastfeeding), expecting or parents‑to‑be, criminal histories consistent with legal requirements, or any other basis protected by law. See also Google's EEO Policy , Know your rights: workplace discrimination is illegal , Belonging at Google , and How we hire .

Google is a global company and, in order to facilitate efficient collaboration and communication globally, English proficiency is a requirement for all roles unless stated otherwise in the job posting.