Principal Jobs in Sunnyvale, CA
Principal jobs in Sunnyvale are concentrated in the Murphy Avenue corridor, downtown Sunnyvale, and the technology campuses along Caribbean Drive, with demand spread across enterprise software, semiconductors, and cloud infrastructure. Employers hiring right now include Northrop Grumman, Walmart, and Google. Scan the live roles below and apply to whichever ones fit.
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Showing 5 of 786+ Principal jobs
Minimum qualifications:
- 15 years of relevant experience in Semiconductor Product Engineering, Silicon Architecture, Foundry Engineering, or Technical Sourcing Engineering.
- Experience with semiconductor product lifecycle: design tape-out, wafer fab processing, parametric yield analysis, advanced packaging/assembly, and high-volume test engineering (ATE/SLT).
- Experience evaluating and scaling leading-edge nodes (3nm, 2nm, and beyond) and heterogeneous packaging technologies (2.5D/3D, CoWoS, chiplets, HBM).
- Experience covering both Custom ASIC/COT flows and standardized high-performance compute silicon (GPUs, x86/ARM CPUs, high-speed networking, and memory architectures).
Preferred qualifications:
- Master’s degree or Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Microelectronics, Materials Science, or related technical field.
- Experience with silicon execution vehicles (eTV/mTV), silicon photonics integration, advanced cooling/thermal interfaces, and custom AI accelerator hardware bottlenecks.
About the job
As the Principal Silicon Product Engineer, you will serve as the chief technical authority for the Silicon Sourcing organization bridging hardware engineering design, global manufacturing ecosystems, and strategic sourcing across the entire silicon lifecycle. While our commercial leads focus on master service agreements, capacity reservations, and multi-billion-dollar contract structures, you will lead the technical arm of the organization. You will drive deep architectural, manufacturing, and product engineering evaluations across both Custom Silicon (ASICs/COT: TPUs, gSOC, custom networking/accelerators) and Off-the-Shelf (OTS: GPUs, x86 CPUs, Memory, Storage, Strategic Silicon).
You will be deeply embedded across all phases of the silicon product lifecycle—from early silicon architecture and process node selection to NPI, DFM/DFT validation, wafer fab yield modeling, advanced packaging integration, and test engineering optimization. You will be the authoritative technical partner to internal Platforms Engineering, Systems Architecture, and Cloud Supply Chain Operations teams, translating complex semiconductor physics and manufacturing realities into actionable sourcing leverage, risk mitigation, and performance breakthroughs.You will engage directly with CTOs, VP-level engineering leaders, and fellow-level technical teams at Tier-1 foundries (TSMC, Intel), major merchant silicon vendors (AMD, Broadcom, Marvell), advanced OSATs, and sub-tier material suppliers. You will establish rigorous technical "should-cost" foundations, evaluate cutting-edge process nodes (sub-2nm), de-risk advanced heterogeneous packaging (CoWoS, 3D, HBM), and define yield/test parameters that optimize Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).
Behind everything our users see online is the architecture built by the Technical Infrastructure team to keep it running. From developing and maintaining our data centers to building the next generation of Google platforms, we make Google's product portfolio possible. We're proud to be our engineers' engineers and love voiding warranties by taking things apart so we can rebuild them. We keep our networks up and running, ensuring our users have the best and fastest experience possible.
Individual pay is determined by factors including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.US: $281000 - $391000 (USD) + 30% bonus target + equity + benefits
Learn more about benefits at Google.
Responsibilities
- Serve as the principal technical authority across Custom Silicon (TPUs, gSOCs, ASICs) and OTS products (Switches, PCIe, CXL, CPUs), evaluating vendor technical capabilities, architectural trade-offs, node roadmaps, and manufacturability.
- Work with engineering to help conduct rigorous technical evaluations of leading-edge process nodes (sub-2nm, GAA/RibbonFET, backside power delivery) and specialized nodes. Partner with Tier-1 foundries to assess defect densities, DFM/PDK compliance, and process window margins to secure optimal node execution.
- Architect and qualify heterogeneous integration paths (CoWoS, InFO, 3D stacking, HBM integration) and sub-tier components (substrates, thermal interface materials), establishing stringent mechanical and thermal readiness gates (e.g., mTV/eTV stress testing).
Minimum qualifications:
- 15 years of relevant experience in Semiconductor Product Engineering, Silicon Architecture, Foundry Engineering, or Technical Sourcing Engineering.
- Experience with semiconductor product lifecycle: design tape-out, wafer fab processing, parametric yield analysis, advanced packaging/assembly, and high-volume test engineering (ATE/SLT).
- Experience evaluating and scaling leading-edge nodes (3nm, 2nm, and beyond) and heterogeneous packaging technologies (2.5D/3D, CoWoS, chiplets, HBM).
- Experience covering both Custom ASIC/COT flows and standardized high-performance compute silicon (GPUs, x86/ARM CPUs, high-speed networking, and memory architectures).
Preferred qualifications:
- Master’s degree or Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Microelectronics, Materials Science, or related technical field.
- Experience with silicon execution vehicles (eTV/mTV), silicon photonics integration, advanced cooling/thermal interfaces, and custom AI accelerator hardware bottlenecks.
About the job
As the Principal Silicon Product Engineer, you will serve as the chief technical authority for the Silicon Sourcing organization bridging hardware engineering design, global manufacturing ecosystems, and strategic sourcing across the entire silicon lifecycle. While our commercial leads focus on master service agreements, capacity reservations, and multi-billion-dollar contract structures, you will lead the technical arm of the organization. You will drive deep architectural, manufacturing, and product engineering evaluations across both Custom Silicon (ASICs/COT: TPUs, gSOC, custom networking/accelerators) and Off-the-Shelf (OTS: GPUs, x86 CPUs, Memory, Storage, Strategic Silicon).
You will be deeply embedded across all phases of the silicon product lifecycle—from early silicon architecture and process node selection to NPI, DFM/DFT validation, wafer fab yield modeling, advanced packaging integration, and test engineering optimization. You will be the authoritative technical partner to internal Platforms Engineering, Systems Architecture, and Cloud Supply Chain Operations teams, translating complex semiconductor physics and manufacturing realities into actionable sourcing leverage, risk mitigation, and performance breakthroughs.You will engage directly with CTOs, VP-level engineering leaders, and fellow-level technical teams at Tier-1 foundries (TSMC, Intel), major merchant silicon vendors (AMD, Broadcom, Marvell), advanced OSATs, and sub-tier material suppliers. You will establish rigorous technical "should-cost" foundations, evaluate cutting-edge process nodes (sub-2nm), de-risk advanced heterogeneous packaging (CoWoS, 3D, HBM), and define yield/test parameters that optimize Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).
Behind everything our users see online is the architecture built by the Technical Infrastructure team to keep it running. From developing and maintaining our data centers to building the next generation of Google platforms, we make Google's product portfolio possible. We're proud to be our engineers' engineers and love voiding warranties by taking things apart so we can rebuild them. We keep our networks up and running, ensuring our users have the best and fastest experience possible.
Individual pay is determined by factors including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.US: $281000 - $391000 (USD) + 30% bonus target + equity + benefits
Learn more about benefits at Google.
Responsibilities
- Serve as the principal technical authority across Custom Silicon (TPUs, gSOCs, ASICs) and OTS products (Switches, PCIe, CXL, CPUs), evaluating vendor technical capabilities, architectural trade-offs, node roadmaps, and manufacturability.
- Work with engineering to help conduct rigorous technical evaluations of leading-edge process nodes (sub-2nm, GAA/RibbonFET, backside power delivery) and specialized nodes. Partner with Tier-1 foundries to assess defect densities, DFM/PDK compliance, and process window margins to secure optimal node execution.
- Architect and qualify heterogeneous integration paths (CoWoS, InFO, 3D stacking, HBM integration) and sub-tier components (substrates, thermal interface materials), establishing stringent mechanical and thermal readiness gates (e.g., mTV/eTV stress testing).
See All 786+ Principal Jobs in Sunnyvale
Find roles in Sunnyvale that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find Principal JobsPrincipal Job Market in Sunnyvale
Who's Hiring
- Northrop Grumman180
- Walmart135
- Google112
- Synopsys90
- Amazon90
Principal Jobs in Sunnyvale: Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get a principal job in Sunnyvale?
Target the technology and semiconductor companies clustered around Caribbean Drive and the downtown Sunnyvale business corridor, where principal-level roles in engineering, product, and program management are most active. Candidates who can demonstrate cross-functional ownership, deep domain expertise in hardware or cloud platforms, and prior success leading initiatives at scale stand out. Familiarity with the pace and structure of Silicon Valley product cycles gives applicants a practical edge in Sunnyvale specifically.
Which companies hire principals in Sunnyvale?
Employers hiring principals in Sunnyvale right now include Northrop Grumman, Walmart, and Google, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of November 2026. Sunnyvale's employer base skews toward established technology companies, semiconductor manufacturers, and enterprise software firms, many of which maintain large principal-level headcounts across engineering, product, and program functions.
Are there remote principal jobs in Sunnyvale?
Yes, though availability depends heavily on the function, since hands-on engineering and lab-based principal roles are almost always on-site while analytical, product, and program roles are more frequently offered as hybrid. About 43% of principal openings tied to Sunnyvale are remote or hybrid as of November 2026, with the most flexibility found in product strategy and technical program management positions at Sunnyvale's larger enterprise technology employers.
How can I get a principal job in Sunnyvale with little or no experience?
The most realistic entry path is through a senior individual contributor role at one of Sunnyvale's mid-size technology or semiconductor companies, where the step from senior to principal is frequently internal and tied to demonstrated project scope rather than tenure. Targeting companies in growth stages along the Murphy Avenue corridor or in Sunnyvale's tech campuses, where principal-track roles are being built out, increases your chances. Building a portfolio of cross-functional or technical leadership projects strengthens a promotion or lateral case considerably.
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