SOC Emulation Engineer - Hardware Emulation Infrastructure

Tenstorrent; Austin (CA); Hybrid; USD 100,000 - 500,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Highly competitive compensation package

Comprehensive benefits

Equal opportunity employer

Job summary

A leading AI technology company is seeking a SOC Emulation Engineer to enhance their hardware emulation infrastructure. The ideal candidate will support chip design teams by integrating hardware transactors and developing Python test frameworks. With a focus on innovative AI solutions, this hybrid role is suitable for candidates with a background in Electrical or Computer Engineering. The company offers a competitive salary ranging from $100k to $500k based on experience and skills.

Qualifications

• 1-3 years of experience in chip design, verification, or emulation.
• Ability to integrate vendor and custom transactors.
• Experience building Python APIs.

Responsibilities

• Support hardware emulation infrastructure.
• Integrate vendor and custom hardware transactors.
• Provide technical support to emulation users.

Skills

Electrical/Computer Engineering or Computer Science background

Python for automation and test development

Working knowledge of C++

Using modern AI tools

Support for diverse teams

Education

Bachelor's degree in relevant field

Tools

Synopsys Zebu

CMake

Job description

SOC Emulation Engineer - Hardware Emulation Infrastructure

Tenstorrent is leading the industry on cutting‑edge AI technology, revolutionizing performance expectations, ease of use, and cost efficiency. With AI redefining the computing paradigm, solutions must evolve to unify innovations in software models, compilers, platforms, networking, and semiconductors. Our diverse team of technologists have developed a high performance RISC‑V CPU from scratch, and share a passion for AI and a deep desire to build the best AI platform possible. We value collaboration, curiosity, and a commitment to solving hard problems. We are growing our team and looking for contributors of all seniorities.

We are seeking a junior‑to‑mid level SOC Emulation Engineer to support our hardware emulation infrastructure and internal chip design teams. This role focuses on integrating vendor and custom hardware transactors, developing Python‑based test frameworks, and providing technical support to emulation users across multiple chip projects.

This role is hybrid, based out of Santa Clara, CA or Austin, TX.

We welcome candidates at various experience levels for this role. During the interview process, candidates will be assessed for the appropriate level, and offers will align with that level, which may differ from the one in this posting.

Who You Are

• Background in Electrical/Computer Engineering or Computer Science with 1-3 years of experience in chip design, verification, or emulation.
• Proficient in Python for automation and test development, with a working knowledge of C++ and the ability to navigate SystemVerilog RTL.
• Skilled at using modern AI tools (Claude, ChatGPT, Copilot) to accelerate code generation, debugging, and documentation analysis.
• Energetic about supporting diverse teams, from high‑level software to low‑level firmware, to solve complex runtime and build issues.

What We Need

• Ability to integrate vendor and custom transactors into RTL testbenches while handling clock domain and tri‑state resolution.
• Experience building Python APIs (using pybind11) and maintaining CMake‑based compilation flows for emulation libraries.
• Solid understanding of standard chip interfaces, bus protocols, and hardware synchronization (resets/clocking).
• A commitment to triaging and debugging the full stack, spanning from Python tests and C++ bindings down to hardware.

What You Will Learn

• Deepening your expertise with world‑class platforms like Synopsys Zebu for massive‑scale silicon validation.
• Gaining a holistic view of chip development by bridging the gap between hardware RTL and software drivers.
• Building and optimizing large‑scale emulation build and run tooling for high‑performance engineering teams.
• Refining your ability to gather requirements and facilitate communication between hardware designers and software engineers.

Compensation for all engineers at Tenstorrent ranges from $100k - $500k including base and variable compensation targets. Experience, skills, education, background and location all impact the actual offer made.

Tenstorrent offers a highly competitive compensation package and benefits, and we are an equal opportunity employer.

This offer of employment is contingent upon the applicant being eligible to access U.S. export‑controlled technology. Due to U.S. export laws, including those codified in the U.S. Export Administration Regulations (EAR), the Company is required to ensure compliance with these laws when transferring technology to nationals of certain countries (such as EAR Country Groups D:1, E1, and E2). These requirements apply to persons located in the U.S. and all countries outside the U.S. As the position offered will have direct and/or indirect access to information, systems, or technologies subject to these laws, the offer may be contingent upon your citizenship/permanent residency status or ability to obtain prior license approval from the U.S. Commerce Department or applicable federal agency. If employment is not possible due to U.S. export laws, any offer of employment will be rescinded.