System Domain Architecture Lead Engineer - San Jose, CA, United States
$196,500 - $288,200 USD yearly
Originally posted 19 October 2026 by the employer.
About the role
As a System Domain Architecture (SDA) Lead Engineer in San Jose, you provide technical leadership by developing system-level architectural concepts, performing technical analyses, driving cross-domain alignment, and enabling the realization of architecture across products and programs. You work across System Domain Architects, System Engineering, and MDU Architects to translate requirements into robust solutions through trade-off analysis, interface management, and integration planning.
What you'll do
- Develop and maintain system domain architectural views, solution concepts, technical roadmaps, and architecture baselines. - Drive technical decomposition and allocation of requirements across system, subsystem, and module boundaries while ensuring architectural consistency. - Facilitate interface definition, integration strategy, qualification readiness, and technical integration planning across multiple domains. - Conduct architecture studies, simulations, technical investigations, trade-off evaluations, and root-cause analyses for complex technical challenges. - Identify, assess, and mitigate architectural risks, system integration risks, and technical debt throughout the product lifecycle. - Coach engineers and technical leads on systems thinking, architecture methods, and engineering best practices.
What you'll need
- BS in Engineering or a relevant technical field. - 10+ years of experience in complex multidisciplinary system development. - Proven experience in systems engineering, system architecture, integration, or technical leadership roles across multiple subsystems or engineering disciplines. - Demonstrated track record leading technical initiatives and driving alignment among diverse stakeholders across organizational boundaries. - Experience solving ambiguous technical problems, balancing customer value, business objectives, technology roadmaps, and engineering excellence.
Nice to have
- MSc or PhD in a relevant technical field.
Skills: system domain architectures, architectural consistency, technical trade-off analysis, interface management, integration planning, technical decomposition
This role has been open 0 days — well below the 78-day median for SoC/Chip Architecture roles.
SoC/Chip Architecture · SOC Architecture
|
Open roles in category
472
|
Median days open
78 d
|
Median salary
$238k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, skills in demand, and who else is hiring
| Metric | ASML | All employers we track in this specialty (472 roles · 65 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 1 | 472 |
| Open roles in the wider Digital Design & Verification family | 1 | 3224 · 116 employers |
| Median days open | 0 d | 78 d (−78 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $238k |
Skills observed across this category: system domain architectures, architectural consistency, technical trade-off analysis, interface management, integration planning, technical decomposition
Who's hiring in this category
- Qualcomm · 73 open roles · median 89 d
- NVIDIA · 56 open roles · median 70 d
- Apple · 36 open roles · median 13 d
- AMD · 34 open roles · median 61 d
- Arm Holdings · 27 open roles · median 116 d
- Micron Technology · 22 open roles · median 108 d
How we counted: 472 open SoC/Chip Architecture (SOC Architecture) roles from 65 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 19 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 Digital Design & Verification family row. Figures refresh nightly.