Sr Engineer I - Validation (Systems) - CA - Roseville, United States
$70,304 - $205,000 USD yearly
Originally posted 5 August 2026 by the employer.
About the role
This role involves owning silicon bring-up, system integration, and validation of SoCs within Microchip’s Data Center Solutions (DCS) team, which delivers Storage Controllers, NVMe SSD Controllers, PCIe Switches, and SAS Expanders.
What you'll do
- Integrate prototype SoC hardware and firmware into a complete system solution using emulation platforms, validation boards, firmware, and software.
- Develop, execute, and document feature-level tests to validate SoC hardware blocks, firmware, and overall system operation.
- Work with pre-silicon emulation platforms and post-silicon prototype ICs/SoCs.
- Build and maintain validation infrastructure including boards, FPGAs, embedded software, device drivers, and test scripts.
- Develop block, subsystem, and system-level test firmware/scripts and integrate them into automated test suites.
- Identify and report bugs, then collaborate with cross-functional teams to isolate, investigate, and resolve them.
What you'll need
- Minimum 5 years of relevant silicon / SoC validation experience (pre- and/or post-silicon).
- Strong programming and scripting skills in C/C++ and Python (or Tcl).
- Solid hands-on lab experience with high-speed test equipment: oscilloscopes, protocol analyzers, logic analyzers.
- Demonstrated SoC system-level debug skills across firmware, hardware, schematics, PCB, and FPGA environments.
- Strong foundation in data communications theory and high-speed signal fundamentals.
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer/Electrical Engineering or Computer Science.
Nice to have
- SoC performance validation and tuning experience.
- Experience with prototype board bring-up, modifications, and schematic reading.
- Familiarity with AI tools and workflow integration.
- Experience with Product Security.
- PCIe compliance testing experience.
- High-speed SERDES testing and debugging.
- Pre-silicon emulation test experience.
- High-speed digital design, PCB layout, or signal integrity knowledge.
- MIPS-based firmware development and debug in C/C++.
- Working knowledge of protocols including PCIe, DDR4/5, SAS, SATA, I2C, SPI and protocol trace debugging.
- Linux or Windows host driver development or OS experience.
- FPGA tools and VHDL/Verilog knowledge.
- ThreadX or RTOS experience.
Skills: silicon validation, SoC system-level debug, oscilloscopes, protocol analyzers, firmware, PCIe
This role has been open 74 days — well above the 43-day median for Post-Silicon Validation roles.
Post-Silicon Validation · Silicon Validation
|
Open roles in category
410
|
Median days open
43 d
|
Median salary
$172k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, skills in demand, and who else is hiring
| Metric | Microchip Technology | All employers we track in this specialty (410 roles · 61 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 22 | 410 |
| Open roles in the wider Silicon Validation & Test family | 63 | 2219 · 113 employers |
| Median days open | 70 d | 43 d (+27 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $172k |
Skills observed across this category: silicon validation, SoC system-level debug, oscilloscopes, protocol analyzers, firmware, PCIe
Who's hiring in this category
- AMD · 58 open roles · median 44 d
- Micron Technology · 39 open roles · median 40 d
- Qualcomm · 36 open roles · median 29 d
- NVIDIA · 26 open roles · median 24 d
- Microchip Technology (this employer) · 22 open roles · median 69 d
- Graphcore · 20 open roles · median 122 d
How we counted: 410 open Post-Silicon Validation (Silicon Validation) roles from 61 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 18 Oct 2026. Specialty figures count only roles carrying this exact specialty label, so an employer's related work in neighbouring specialties is not included there — it is counted in the wider Silicon Validation & Test family row. Figures refresh nightly.