Senior or Staff Design Verification Engineer

Design Verification Lead

Reports To: Head of Engineering

About Us

Powerlattice is a well-funded semiconductor start-up company backed by leading Silicon Valley venture capital firms. We are developing groundbreaking chiplet power delivery technology that will transform how high-performance processors are powered, enabling the next generation of AI and advanced computing.

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced and hands-on Design Verification Lead to spearhead verification activities for complex SoC/IP designs, developing scalable SystemVerilog-based verification environments, verification strategies, reusable test infrastructure, and automated regression flows. This position drives functional verification from RTL through gate-level simulation, including coverage closure, assertions, timing verification, and debug. They will collaborate closely with RTL, analog, architecture, and silicon validation teams to identify and resolve design issues.

Key Responsibilities

Lead verification planning and execution for complex digital and mixed-signal subsystems, including defining verification strategies, test scenarios, coverage goals, and signoff criteria.

Architect, develop, and maintain SystemVerilog-based verification environments and reusable verification infrastructure.

Develop directed, constrained-random, regression, and corner-case tests to verify functional requirements and design specifications.

Develop reusable verification components and protocol-based test infrastructure for I2C/I3C, SPI, JTAG, AMBA, and OBI interfaces.

Perform and support Clock Domain Crossing (CDC) verification for async and sync clock-domain interfaces.

Develop and maintain UVM-based infrastructure and RAL models where applicable.

Develop checkers, scoreboards, reference models, assertions, and functional coverage to provide comprehensive verification of design behavior.

Perform RTL and gate-level simulation, including SDF-annotated GLS, to identify functional, timing, initialization, reset, and connectivity issues.

Develop and optimize regression and GLS flows using Xcelium and VCS.

Analyze functional and code coverage and drive coverage closure by identifying verification gaps and developing targeted tests.

Debug complex RTL, testbench, simulation, and gate-level failures using waveform and log analysis.

Work closely with RTL designers, analog designers, architects, and silicon validation teams to reproduce issues, determine root cause, and drive resolution.

Review specifications and RTL to identify corner cases, interface issues, reset/clocking problems, and potential functional gaps.

Translate silicon validation findings into simulation-based verification scenarios and regression tests.

Provide technical leadership to a team of verification engineers. Mentor the team in verification methodologies, tools, and coverage improvements.

Qualifications

This is a Hybrid role requiring 3 days a week onsite at our HQ’s in Vancouver, WA (Greater Portland Area) or Chandler, AZ. While we are primarily seeking candidates in HQ-Vancouver and Chandler, remote flexibility may be considered for exceptional candidates in Silicon Valley, CA.

Bachelor's or master's degree in electrical engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field

10+ years of experience in digital verification of SoCs with proven ownership of subsystems or full-chip verification.

Solid Understanding of:

Digital design fundamentals, FSMs, CDC, RDC, mixed-signal subsystems, and SoC integration.

Industry-standard protocols including AMBA, I²C, I3C, SPI, JTAG, and OBI.

Strong Expertise in:

Verilog, SystemVerilog, UVM and class-based verification methodologies.

Constrained-random, coverage-driven verification, regression automation, and verification signoff.

SystemVerilog Assertions (SVA), formal verification techniques.

Python, Perl, and UNIX/Linux shell scripting for automation.

Hands-on experience developing testbenches, drivers, monitors, scoreboards, assertions, and reusable verification IP.

Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to debug complex issues, communicate clearly, mentor engineers, lead technical initiatives, and cross-functional collaboration skills.

Experience with industry-standard EDA tools (Synopsys, Cadence)

Preferred Qualifications

Working knowledge of PMIC architectures and power management principles.

Experience with formal verification techniques

Compensation & Benefits

Anticipated annual base salary for Member of Technical Staff: $160k - $190k

Stock option grant

Comprehensive benefits package including health, dental, vision, and 401(k)