Principal Post-Silicon Validation Engineer
$150,000 - $250,000 USD yearly
Originally posted 30 July 2026 by the employer.
About the role
This role leads post-silicon validation for coherent DSP ASICs powering AI and hyperscale optical networking. You will drive silicon characterization and ensure product readiness.
What you'll do
- Lead post-silicon validation and characterization of complex ASICs and SoCs from first silicon through production release.
- Develop comprehensive validation plans covering functionality, performance, interoperability, compliance, stress testing, corner cases, and reliability.
- Enable first silicon bring-up using JTAG, scan, embedded debug features, and board-level diagnostics.
- Debug complex hardware, firmware, RTL, and system-level issues while working closely with cross-functional engineering teams.
- Develop scalable Python-based automation frameworks for test execution, regression, silicon characterization, data analysis, and reporting.
- Document validation results, silicon characterization data, debug findings, and production readiness reports.
What you'll need
- 8+ years of hands-on post-silicon validation, DVT, or silicon bring-up experience with complex ASICs or SoCs.
- Strong understanding of silicon debug methodologies and structured root-cause analysis.
- Extensive experience using laboratory equipment including oscilloscopes, BERTs, protocol analyzers, network analyzers, and logic analyzers.
- Strong knowledge of one or more high-speed protocols including PCIe, Ethernet, SerDes, CXL, USB, SPI, I²C, or similar interfaces.
- Strong Python programming skills for automation, regression development, and data analysis.
- Experience validating firmware, embedded software, drivers, and hardware/software interfaces.
Nice to have
- Experience validating coherent optical DSPs, networking ASICs, Ethernet switch silicon, AI accelerators, GPUs, storage controllers, or high-speed communications devices.
- Strong knowledge of Ethernet, PCIe, OIF, IEEE, or related compliance specifications.
- Experience with PIPE, PCS, PMA, MAC, PHY, or other physical and protocol layers of high-speed interfaces.
- Experience building scalable validation automation, regression systems, dashboards, and data pipelines.
- Familiarity with customer platform validation and hyperscale qualification processes.
- Experience mentoring engineers and leading technical initiatives across multiple engineering disciplines.
Skills: post-silicon validation, silicon characterization, high-speed interfaces, lab equipment, debug
More semiconductor jobs: Post-silicon validation jobs · Canada jobs
First seen in our index 105 days ago, well above the 42-day median for Post-Silicon Validation roles.
Post-Silicon Validation · Silicon Validation
|
Open roles in category
476
|
Median days since first seen
42 d
|
Category median salary (all employers)
$167k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, skills in demand, and who else is hiring
| Metric | Celero | All employers we track in this specialty (476 roles · 68 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 1 | 476 |
| Open roles in the wider Silicon Validation & Test family | 2 | 2480 · 122 employers |
| Median days since first seen | 105 d | 42 d (−63 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | n/a | $167k |
Skills observed across this category: post-silicon validation, silicon characterization, high-speed interfaces, lab equipment, debug
Who's hiring in this category
- AMD · 66 open roles · median 39 d
- Qualcomm · 46 open roles · median 41 d
- Apple · 29 open roles · median 21 d
- Micron Technology · 29 open roles · median 49 d
- NVIDIA · 27 open roles · median 43 d
- Microchip Technology · 21 open roles · median 90 d
How we counted: 476 open Post-Silicon Validation (Silicon Validation) roles from 68 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 13 Nov 2026. Specialty figures count only roles carrying this exact specialty label, so an employer's related work in neighbouring specialties is not included there, and is counted in the wider Silicon Validation & Test family row. Days are counted from when our index first saw each posting, not from the employer's original posting date.