Sr. Principal Front-End Design Automation Engineer

Ampere; Portland (OR); On-site; USD 226,000 - 339,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401K retirement plan

Unlimited flextime

Paid holidays

Job summary

Ampere, a semiconductor design company, seeks a Sr. Principal Front-End Design Automation Engineer to drive scalable automation across RTL design, verification and EDA tooling.

You will guide tooling strategies, architect internal automation, and scale infrastructure for on‑prem and cloud environments to boost AI-enabled design productivity. You will collaborate with RTL teams, IT, and vendors, delivering end-to-end workflows and high-performance solutions with a focus on reducing cycle times

Qualifications

• 8+ years of Front-End Design Automation (EDA/DevOps) experience in semiconductors or tech hardware.
• Strong Python or Perl scripting skills.
• Solid SystemVerilog expertise with DV/UVM/Coverage/Simulation/Debug.
• Experience with IP and SoC RTL design and verification workflows.

Responsibilities

• Provide expert tech guidance for EDA tools and Ampere flows, establishing standards and mechanisms to improve productivity.
• Collaborate with RTL design and verification teams to deploy new methods of work.
• Architect, document, deploy, and administer custom Ampere automation and services.
• Enable and support EDA tools for RTL design and verification (SystemVerilog simulation, Lint, CDC, RDC, UPF, debug).
• Partner with IT, EDA vendors, RTL teams to deliver high-performance, efficient solutions.
• Drive AI-enabled automation for design and verification to accelerate analysis and issue resolution.

Skills

Python

Perl

SystemVerilog

DV/UVM/Coverage

RTL design verification

HPC scheduling (LSF/SLURM)

Cloud Computing

Education

BS in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or Computer Science

MS in related field

PhD in related field

Tools

Git

Perforce

CI/CD

RDBMS

Job description

Description

Invent the future with us. Ampere is a semiconductor design company for a new era, leading the future of computing with an innovative approach to CPU design focused on high-performance, energy efficient AI compute.

As a pioneer in the new frontier of energy efficient high-performance computing, Ampere is part of the Softbank Group of companies driving sustainable computing for AI, Cloud, and edge applications.

Join us at Ampere and work alongside a passionate and growing team — we’d love to have you apply!

About The Role

As a Sr. Principal Front-End Design Automation (EDA/DevOps) Engineer, you will strategically partner with Ampere’s RTL and Verification organizations to drive measurable gains in pre-silicon productivity through scalable automation, systems, and platform capabilities. You will lead cross-functional initiatives spanning hardware, software, and IT, aligning with design, verification, EDA, and IT stakeholders. You will also provide expert guidance for EDA tooling and Ampere flows, architect internal tools, automate end-to-end workflows across on-prem and cloud, and scale infrastructure to improve design quality and expand AI impact in verification and design.

What You'll Achieve

• Provide expert tech guidance for EDA tools and Ampere design/verification flows, establishing standards and mechanisms that measurably improve productivity and reliability.
• Collaborate with RTL design and verification teams to define and deploy new or improved methods of work.
• Architect, document, deploy, and administer custom Ampere automation and services that streamline RTL design and verification, reducing cycle time and operational overhead for design teams.
• Enable and support EDA tools used for RTL design and verification (SystemVerilog simulation, Lint, CDC, RDC, UPF, debug).
• Partner with IT, EDA vendors, RTL design and verification teams to deliver high-performance, efficient solutions.
• Drive AI-enabled automation for design and verification, accelerating analysis and decision-making while improving coverage and issue resolution speed.

About You

• 8+ years of proven Front-End Design Automation (EDA/DevOps) expertise, in the technology sector (semiconductor design is preferred).
• Highly talented Python or Perl scripting skills.
• Strong SystemVerilog language expertise with background in DV/UVM/Coverage/Simulation/Debug and/or RTL static checks (Lint/CDC/RDC/UPF).
• Solid experience with IP and SoC RTL design and verification workflows
• Proven experience with HPC scheduling/workload management, like IBM LSF (Load Sharing Facility) or SLURM (Simple Linux Utility for Resource Management), for running EDA workloads.
• Additional skills highly desired: SCM/Source Code Management; Git/Perforce; RDBMS; CI/CD; Cloud Computing

Education

• BS degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or Computer Science & 12 years of related experience, MS degree & 8 years, or PhD & 5 years

What We’ll Offer

At Ampere we believe in taking care of our employees and providing a competitive total rewards package that includes base pay, cash long-term incentive, and comprehensive benefits. The full base pay range for this role is between $225,500 and $338,500.

Our benefits include health, wellness, and financial programs that support employees through every stage of life.

Benefits Highlights Include

• Premium medical insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, as well as income protection and a 401K retirement plan, so that you can feel secure in your health and financial future.
• Unlimited Flextime and 10+ paid holidays so that you can embrace a healthy work-life balance.
• A variety of healthy snacks, energizing espresso, and refreshing drinks to keep you fueled and focused throughout the day.

And there are much more than compensation and benefits. At Ampere, we foster an inclusive culture that empowers our employees to do more and grow more. We are excited to share more about our career opportunities with you through the interview process.

Ampere is an inclusive and equal opportunity employer and welcomes applicants from all backgrounds. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, citizenship, religion, age, veteran and/or military status, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, physical or mental disability, or any other basis protected by federal, state or local law.