Originally posted 15 September 2026 by the employer.
About the role
The Principal Systems Architect defines the end-to-end architecture bridging silicon (ASIC/SoC), board-level hardware platforms, and low-level system software and firmware. The role drives micro-architecture specifications for security-focused SoCs, server infrastructure integration, and secure platform boot architectures.
What you'll do
- Own and author system architecture specifications, micro-architectural specs, and platform requirement documents, defining hardware/software partitions and register-level interfaces.
- Drive micro-architecture specifications for SoCs, including on-chip interconnects (AXI/AHB), memory hierarchies, and standard I/O interfaces (PCIe, Ethernet, SPI, eSPI, I3C, LTPI).
- Serve as a technical point of contact for enterprise and hyperscaler customers while aligning platform architecture with standards such as OCP DC-SCM / DC-SCI.
- Architect platform-level designs for enterprise server motherboards and baseboard management systems, guiding hardware and SI/PI engineers on signal integrity and power delivery networks.
- Specify secure platform boot flows, Root-of-Trust (RoT) architecture, and Platform Firmware Resiliency (PFR) frameworks.
- Collaborate with firmware teams to define interfaces for OpenBMC stacks, Linux kernels, device drivers, and platform management protocols including MCTP, PLDM, and Redfish.
What you'll need
- 10+ years of dedicated system architecture experience spanning SoC design, board development, and software stacks within the server, data center, or enterprise infrastructure industry.
- B.S., M.S., or Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field.
- Deep knowledge of SoC design flows, interconnects, and interfaces including PCIe, Ethernet, DRAM, and USB.
- Hands-on experience with hardware platform design, schematic capture, and lab bring-up tools such as oscilloscopes and logic analyzers.
- Understanding of embedded firmware, RTOS, Linux device drivers, and low-level C/C++ programming.
- Demonstrated experience producing and maintaining production-grade technical specifications and interfacing with enterprise customers and technical stakeholders.
Nice to have
- Active participation in open infrastructure communities such as the Open Compute Project (OCP).
- Understanding of hardware security concepts, including cryptographic accelerators, HSM, TPM, and side-channel attack mitigations.
- Experience with BMC firmware architecture (OpenBMC) and server management interfaces such as MCTP, NVMe-MI, and LTPI.
- Knowledge of OCP DC-SCM standard solutions, including the DC-SCI interface and form factors.
- Familiarity with Cadence OrCAD/Allegro and server interfaces including I2C, SMBus, SPI, UART, eSPI, and LTPI.
Skills: System Architecture, Board-Level Integration, Server Motherboard, DC-SCM, Root-of-Trust, Signal Integrity
More semiconductor jobs: Hardware design jobs
First seen in our index 0 days ago, well below the 70-day median for Hardware Systems Engineering roles.
Hardware Systems Engineering · SOC Architecture
|
Open roles in category
87
|
Median days since first seen
70 d
|
Category median salary (all employers)
$203k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, skills in demand, and who else is hiring
| Metric | Axiado | All employers we track in this specialty (87 roles · 22 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 1 | 87 |
| Open roles in the wider Software, Firmware & Systems family | 19 | 6642 · 159 employers |
| Median days since first seen | 0 d | 70 d (+70 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | n/a | $203k |
Skills observed across this category: System Architecture, Board-Level Integration, Server Motherboard, DC-SCM, Root-of-Trust, Signal Integrity
Who's hiring in this category
- AMD · 21 open roles · median 89 d
- Qualcomm · 17 open roles · median 64 d
- NVIDIA · 16 open roles · median 104 d
- Intel Corporation · 5 open roles · median 70 d
- Mobileye · 4 open roles · median 50 d
- Renesas Electronics · 4 open roles · median 22 d
How we counted: 87 open Hardware Systems Engineering (SOC Architecture) roles from 22 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 12 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 Software, Firmware & Systems family row. Days are counted from when our index first saw each posting, not from the employer's original posting date.