Silicon Design Engineer Jobs
Silicon Design Engineer jobs are open across semiconductor companies, fabless chip startups, and consumer electronics firms, from new-grad layout roles to principal and staff positions, with specializations in RTL design, physical design, and verification. See the openings below and apply to the ones that match your experience.
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Showing 5 of 93+ Silicon Design Engineer jobs
Minimum qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
- 10 years of experience in technical leadership focusing on one or more critical aspects of silicon design.
- Experience in two or more silicon disciplines, including architecture modeling, logic design, functional verification, DFT, synthesis, place and route, timing analysis, physical verification, or firmware development.
- Experience in developing, and deploying advanced tools and development flows that streamline the silicon life-cycle and improve engineering productivity.
- Experience with developing tools in one or more programming languages such as Python or C/C++.
Preferred qualifications:
- Master's degree or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering or Computer Science, with an emphasis on computer architecture.
- 15 years of relevant academic and industrial experience in advanced silicon development.
- Experience in identifying the need for a silicon methodology change, developing a solution, and successfully deploying it with impact to more than 25 developers.
- Experience in developing solutions that require bridging knowledge gaps amongst collaborators.
- Experience collaborating in internal company or external ecosystem standardization efforts.
- Knowledge of both front-end (architecture, logic design, verification) and back-end (logic synthesis, place-and-route, timing convergence, physical verification) silicon development processes.
About the job
In this role, you’ll work to shape the future of AI/ML hardware acceleration. You will have an opportunity to drive cutting-edge TPU (Tensor Processing Unit) technology that powers Google's most demanding AI/ML applications. You’ll be part of a team that pushes boundaries, developing custom silicon solutions that power the future of Google's TPU. You'll contribute to the innovation behind products loved by millions worldwide, and leverage your design and verification expertise to verify complex digital designs, with a specific focus on TPU architecture and its integration within AI/ML-driven systems.
As a Staff CAD Engineer, Silicon Design Environment, you will collaborate closely with domain experts across the silicon development spectrum and leverage your experience to deliver the development environment that enables building the chips powering the next-generation of Google Cloud systems. You possess excellent communication and collaboration skills, expertise in refining ambiguous intent into engaging solutions, and rally others to develop or deploy them.
The AI and Infrastructure team is redefining what’s possible. We empower Google customers with breakthrough capabilities and insights by delivering AI and Infrastructure at unparalleled scale, efficiency, reliability and velocity. Our customers include Googlers, Google Cloud customers, and billions of Google users worldwide.
We're the driving force behind Google's groundbreaking innovations, empowering the development of our cutting-edge AI models, delivering unparalleled computing power to global services, and providing the essential platforms that enable developers to build the future. From software to hardware our teams are shaping the future of world-leading hyperscale computing, with key teams working on the development of our TPUs, Vertex AI for Google Cloud, Google Global Networking, Data Center operations, systems research, and much more.
Individual pay is determined by factors including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.US: $192000 - $278000 (USD) + 20% bonus target + equity + benefits
Learn more about benefits at Google.
Responsibilities
- Leverage the understanding of the phases of silicon development to flesh out the architecture and lead development and deployment of the overall CI2 design environment as a coherent system composed of first-party and third-party tools, industry-standard and Google-specific APIs/data formats and the scalable design flows.
- Collaborate with technical leaders across CI2 sites to identify opportunities for evolutionary and revolutionary tooling and methodology changes to enable convergence on a shared design environment.
- Engage with other Alphabet teams, DeepMind, and Core teams to ensure CI2 stays at the forefront of advanced silicon development.
- Ensure developed technologies optimize for project iteration speed while achieving the planned power, performance, cost, and quality metrics.
- Partner with other members of the tools and methodologies team to apply procedural and AI-first approaches to improve efficiency.
Minimum qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
- 10 years of experience in technical leadership focusing on one or more critical aspects of silicon design.
- Experience in two or more silicon disciplines, including architecture modeling, logic design, functional verification, DFT, synthesis, place and route, timing analysis, physical verification, or firmware development.
- Experience in developing, and deploying advanced tools and development flows that streamline the silicon life-cycle and improve engineering productivity.
- Experience with developing tools in one or more programming languages such as Python or C/C++.
Preferred qualifications:
- Master's degree or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering or Computer Science, with an emphasis on computer architecture.
- 15 years of relevant academic and industrial experience in advanced silicon development.
- Experience in identifying the need for a silicon methodology change, developing a solution, and successfully deploying it with impact to more than 25 developers.
- Experience in developing solutions that require bridging knowledge gaps amongst collaborators.
- Experience collaborating in internal company or external ecosystem standardization efforts.
- Knowledge of both front-end (architecture, logic design, verification) and back-end (logic synthesis, place-and-route, timing convergence, physical verification) silicon development processes.
About the job
In this role, you’ll work to shape the future of AI/ML hardware acceleration. You will have an opportunity to drive cutting-edge TPU (Tensor Processing Unit) technology that powers Google's most demanding AI/ML applications. You’ll be part of a team that pushes boundaries, developing custom silicon solutions that power the future of Google's TPU. You'll contribute to the innovation behind products loved by millions worldwide, and leverage your design and verification expertise to verify complex digital designs, with a specific focus on TPU architecture and its integration within AI/ML-driven systems.
As a Staff CAD Engineer, Silicon Design Environment, you will collaborate closely with domain experts across the silicon development spectrum and leverage your experience to deliver the development environment that enables building the chips powering the next-generation of Google Cloud systems. You possess excellent communication and collaboration skills, expertise in refining ambiguous intent into engaging solutions, and rally others to develop or deploy them.
The AI and Infrastructure team is redefining what’s possible. We empower Google customers with breakthrough capabilities and insights by delivering AI and Infrastructure at unparalleled scale, efficiency, reliability and velocity. Our customers include Googlers, Google Cloud customers, and billions of Google users worldwide.
We're the driving force behind Google's groundbreaking innovations, empowering the development of our cutting-edge AI models, delivering unparalleled computing power to global services, and providing the essential platforms that enable developers to build the future. From software to hardware our teams are shaping the future of world-leading hyperscale computing, with key teams working on the development of our TPUs, Vertex AI for Google Cloud, Google Global Networking, Data Center operations, systems research, and much more.
Individual pay is determined by factors including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.US: $192000 - $278000 (USD) + 20% bonus target + equity + benefits
Learn more about benefits at Google.
Responsibilities
- Leverage the understanding of the phases of silicon development to flesh out the architecture and lead development and deployment of the overall CI2 design environment as a coherent system composed of first-party and third-party tools, industry-standard and Google-specific APIs/data formats and the scalable design flows.
- Collaborate with technical leaders across CI2 sites to identify opportunities for evolutionary and revolutionary tooling and methodology changes to enable convergence on a shared design environment.
- Engage with other Alphabet teams, DeepMind, and Core teams to ensure CI2 stays at the forefront of advanced silicon development.
- Ensure developed technologies optimize for project iteration speed while achieving the planned power, performance, cost, and quality metrics.
- Partner with other members of the tools and methodologies team to apply procedural and AI-first approaches to improve efficiency.
See All 93 Silicon Design Engineer Jobs
Find roles that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find Silicon Design Engineer JobsSilicon Design Engineer Job Market
Who's Hiring
- AMD38
- Apple14
- Meta8
- SpaceX7
- Google4
Top Industries Hiring
- Electronics & Hardware
- Aerospace & Defense
- Telecommunications
- Technology & Software
What Employers Look For
The qualifications that appear most often in silicon design engineer jobs.
- Bachelor's or master's degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, or a related field
- Proficiency in RTL design using Verilog or SystemVerilog
- Hands-on experience with industry-standard EDA tools such as Cadence or Synopsys
- Experience with ASIC or SoC design flows including synthesis, place-and-route, and timing closure
- Familiarity with low-power design techniques and design-for-test methodologies
- Prior tape-out experience at advanced process nodes is strongly preferred
Tips for Your Silicon Design Engineer Job Search
Tailor your resume to EDA tools
List every EDA tool you've used by name, Cadence, Synopsys, Mentor, and note the specific flows, place-and-route, timing closure, or synthesis, so recruiters and automated screening systems match you to the right openings.
Show tape-out ownership on your resume
Hiring managers for silicon design roles scan for tape-out experience above almost everything else. Name the node, the design type, and your specific contribution, whether that's block-level RTL, floorplanning, or signoff, rather than describing the project in general terms.
Apply early to roles that fit
Migrate Mate lists silicon design engineer openings from across the United States in one place, so you can find roles that match and apply directly to each listing.
Filter openings by design methodology
Job listings for silicon design engineers often specify ASIC versus FPGA, digital versus mixed-signal, or front-end versus back-end. Applying only to roles that match your actual methodology cuts wasted time and puts you in front of teams who need exactly what you do.
Prepare a design-review style technical interview
Many silicon design interviews include a whiteboard or take-home where you walk through a prior block design, explain your timing decisions, and defend your implementation tradeoffs. Practice narrating your design choices out loud, not just producing the right answer.
Negotiate relocation for on-site fab-adjacent roles
Roles tied to a specific fab or foundry partnership are often non-negotiable on location, but relocation packages vary widely. Ask explicitly about relocation assistance and start-date flexibility before accepting, since most offers have room on these terms even when base compensation does not.
Silicon Design Engineer Jobs: Frequently Asked Questions
Which companies are hiring the most silicon design engineers?
The companies hiring the most silicon design engineers right now include AMD, Apple, and Meta, with the largest share of openings in California, Texas, and Washington, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of November 2026. Fabless semiconductor firms and hyperscaler custom-silicon teams consistently account for a large portion of active postings.
How many silicon design engineer jobs are remote?
About 32% of silicon design engineer openings are fully remote or hybrid as of November 2026, reflecting the hands-on lab and EDA-license constraints that keep many roles on-site. Front-end RTL and verification roles are the most likely to allow remote or hybrid schedules, while physical design and signoff positions more frequently require on-site access to compute clusters and secure design environments.
How do you become a silicon design engineer?
Start with a degree in electrical or computer engineering with coursework in digital design, VLSI, and computer architecture. Build hands-on skills in Verilog or SystemVerilog through coursework or personal projects, and get familiar with at least one major EDA toolchain. Contributing to an open-source chip project or completing a university tape-out gives you concrete design experience that employers look for before your first professional role.
How can you get hired as a silicon design engineer with little experience?
Focus on demonstrating a completed design project, even a small FPGA implementation or a university-level ASIC block, rather than relying on coursework alone. Applying to roles that explicitly mention new-grad or associate-level positions at companies with structured rotational programs gives you the best entry point. Internships at fabless startups are often more accessible than those at large established chipmakers and can convert to full-time offers.
What does the silicon design engineer interview process look like?
Most silicon design engineer interviews include a recruiter screen, a technical phone or video round covering digital design fundamentals and RTL coding, and then an on-site or virtual loop with multiple engineers. The on-site typically includes a design exercise where you write and explain a block of RTL under time pressure, a timing or microarchitecture discussion, and a conversation about a past project. Some companies add a take-home design problem before the final loop.
Where can I find and apply to silicon design engineer jobs?
You can find and apply to silicon design engineer jobs on Migrate Mate, which lists current openings from across the United States. Search for roles that match your specialization, whether that is RTL design, physical design, or verification, and apply directly to each listing that fits your background and target location.
See All 93 Silicon Design Engineer Jobs
Find roles that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find Silicon Design Engineer Jobs