Silicon Reverse Engineer

S27a; Hillsboro (OR); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

SemiAnalysis is the leading independent research firm in semiconductors and AI. The STEEL lab in Hillsboro, Oregon conducts teardown and characterization of advanced AI and datacenter hardware, from transistor level to packaging.

You will engage with industry experts and guide competitive analysis, design, and manufacturing decisions. This role spans all technical areas in the lab, welcoming all experience levels and valuing strong application knowledge over breadth.

Qualifications

• Genuine exposure to leading-edge semiconductors, hardware, or systems.
• Strong ability to reason from physical evidence to design and process intent.
• Technical writing that stands up to expert scrutiny.
• Hands-on aptitude for sample preparation, imaging, and analytical instruments.

Responsibilities

• Tear down and characterize leading-edge hardware end to end: acquisition, X-ray, cross-section, delayer, imaging, interpretation.
• Convert physical evidence into defensible conclusions on process, packaging, design intent, architecture, and cost.
• Publish the complete body of work for each product: headline findings through full data and analysis.
• Set the analytical plan per product; operate the toolchain; direct specialized work.
• Track the industry through conferences, papers, patents, and your network; apply it to every interpretation.
• Shape lab workflows, capabilities, and equipment purchases.

Skills

Semiconductor hardware understanding

Technical writing

Analytical reasoning

Sample preparation and imaging

Tools

FIB

SEM

TEM

EDS/EELS

X-ray

Job description

Employment Type: Full-Time

Work Setting: Hybrid

Work Location: Hillsboro, Oregon, United StatesWork Hours: Office hours

Find out more here: https://semianalysis.com

Position Overview

SemiAnalysis is the leading independent research firm in semiconductors and AI. STEEL is our teardown and characterization lab in Hillsboro, Oregon. We take apart the most advanced AI and datacenter hardware, rack to transistor, and produce detailed insights on how it is built, how it compares, and why. GPUs, custom accelerators, CPUs, HBM, networking silicon, advanced packaging, every leading vendor and foundry. You will engage directly with technical experts across the industry and guide competitive analysis, design, and manufacturing decisions.

This posting covers every technical role in the lab, all experience levels. Industry engagement, conference attendance, and networking are both an expectation and an opportunity.

We have need and opportunity at every layer: from transistor‑level process analysis to packaging and interconnects to floorplan and system architecture and integration. The stronger you deliver, the stronger your influence across the industry.

One deep area is a strong application. Genuine excellence in a single area below is enough. Apply.

Example Areas of Expertise

• Process integration, FEOL or BEOL, at leading-edge nodes
• Advanced packaging: 2.5D/3D integration, hybrid bonding, high-speed interconnect
• IC layout and physical design: floorplans, standard cells, P&R, custom/analog
• CPU, GPU, and accelerator architecture and microarchitecture
• Memory: HBM, DRAM, NAND, and their controllers
• Analog/mixed-signal: SerDes, PLLs, PHYs, power management
• Failure analysis and fault isolation: FIB, nanoprobing, emission microscopy
• Electron microscopy and materials characterization: SEM, TEM/STEM, EDS/EELS, SIMS/XPS
• Board, system, and power delivery design
• Silicon bring‑up, validation, and debug
• Cost modeling and competitive analysis

The Lab

X-ray, precision cross-section and delayering, FIB, SEM, TEM, compositional analysis, and electrical parametric analysis, purpose‑built and expanding. The team is growing and your ideas and output set your scope.

What You’ll Do

• Tear down and characterize leading‑edge hardware end to end: acquisition, X‑ray, cross‑section, delayer, imaging, interpretation
• Convert physical evidence into defensible conclusions on process, packaging, design intent, architecture, and cost
• Publish the complete body of work for each product: headline findings through full data and analysis
• Set the analytical plan per product; operate the toolchain; direct specialized work
• Track the industry through conferences, papers, patents, and your network; apply it to every interpretation
• Shape lab workflows, capabilities, and equipment purchases

What We Need

• Genuine exposure to leading‑edge semiconductors, hardware, or systems
• Reasoning from physical evidence to design and process intent
• Technical writing that holds up under expert scrutiny
• Hands‑on aptitude for sample preparation, imaging, and analytical instruments
• US work authorization preferred; sponsorship considered for exceptional candidates

Growth

• Breadth across process, packaging, layout, architecture, and systems, every major vendor and foundry
• Conference presence and standing with the industry’s technical leadership
• Scope and role grow with the team and the lab
• Influence over research direction, lab investments, and the teardown queue

What Makes Someone Great

• You understand hardware from transistor to rack
• You respond well to criticisms of and challenges to your technical interpretations
• You already follow the industry: conferences, papers, product launches
• You can tell real structure from artifact
• You investigate, you ship, you close your own loops
• You deliver on your responsibilities and support others in theirs; you treat everyone you work with as a peer and leave concepts of hierarchy at the door

Location & Authorization

75% onsite in Hillsboro, OR. US work authorization strongly preferred; sponsorship considered for exceptional candidates. Competitive compensation commensurate with experience.

About SemiAnalysis

SemiAnalysis is an independent research and analysis firm specializing in the Semiconductor and AI industries. Our in-depth coverage spans the entire supply chain, from semiconductor fabrication processes to cutting‑edge AI Models, software, and infrastructure. We are recognized as the leading authority on the semiconductor supply chain, with the highest concentration of industry experts within one team, and a deep-rooted passion for delving into the intricacies.

We’re a global team of over 50 analysts, each with extensive networks across the semiconductor supply chain and AI ecosystem, publishing industry‑shaping articles while participating in 40+ conferences annually.

Our newsletter reaches more than 200,000 subscribers worldwide, including senior management and C‑suite leaders at the leading semiconductor and AI companies.

We also offer three core products:

Industry Models: we develop and publish industry models on accelerator shipments, datacenter demand and supply, GPU total cost of ownership, and more. We work with hyperscalers, neoclouds, many of the world’s largest hedge funds, and government agencies.

Core Research: our public equity markets product, geared towards financial investors, distills our deep technical research and knowledge into key insights on technology and product trends.

Consulting and Technical Due Diligence: We conduct custom research and project work to guide key strategic and investment decisions for the largest private equity funds, leading venture capital firms, companies across the AI ecosystem, and government agencies.

SemiAnalysis LLC participates in the E-Verify program to confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. For more information, visit e-verify.gov.

E-Verify Poster: https://www.everify.gov/sites/default/files/everify/posters/EVerifyParticipationPoster.pdf

Right to Work Poster: https://www.justice.gov/crt/case-document/file/1133936/dl?inline=