Applications Engineering, Sr Staff Engineer

You will be part of the applications engineering team supporting Synopsys' ZeBu emulation platform, working with customers, sales, marketing, and R&D to deliver the most complete verification solutions in the market.

The hardest part of emulation is rarely the platform itself, but understanding the customer's design well enough to configure, debug, and optimize it for their specific use case. You know the difference between a setup that compiles and one that actually performs, and you have debugged enough customer environments to recognize the patterns that lead to problems before they become blockers.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Deploy and configure Synopsys emulation platforms including ZeBu for customer ASIC and SoC verification environments, leading bring-up, debug, and performance optimization efforts
• Troubleshoot complex technical issues across hardware emulation, FPGA prototyping, and virtual platforms, diagnosing problems that span RTL design, testbenches, software stacks, and platform configuration
• Lead pre-sales technical evaluations and proof-of-concept engagements, demonstrating emulation capabilities on customer designs and helping them understand how the technology fits their verification strategy
• Work directly with customer engineering teams to resolve design-specific challenges, whether that is a failing testbench, a performance bottleneck, or an integration issue with their existing tool flow
• Collaborate with Synopsys sales, marketing, and R&D teams to communicate customer requirements, surface technical issues, and provide field feedback that influences product priorities
• Develop technical content including application notes, reference designs, setup guides, and best practice documentation that helps customers adopt and scale emulation across their verification flows
• Stay current on verification methodologies, emulation technology, and customer use cases, building expertise that makes you a trusted technical resource for both customers and internal teams

The impact you will have:

• Enable customers to bring up complex SoC designs on emulation platforms faster and with fewer issues, directly affecting their tape-out schedules and project success
• Drive successful proof-of-concept evaluations that help Synopsys win competitive deals and expand adoption of emulation solutions at key accounts
• Reduce escalations and support load by resolving difficult technical problems independently and building customer confidence in the platform
• Influence product development by surfacing patterns in customer issues and translating field experience into actionable feedback for R&D
• Build long-term customer relationships rooted in technical credibility, turning one-time engagements into ongoing partnerships where customers trust your guidance
• Contribute to the verification success of chips that power everything from AI accelerators to autonomous vehicles, with your work directly enabling innovation across industries
• Strengthen the technical capability of the applications engineering team by mentoring junior engineers and sharing what you learn in the field

Requirements:

• 6-10 years of hands-on experience in IC design, verification, emulation, or FPGA prototyping, with a strong track record of supporting real ASIC or SoC verification projects
• Deep understanding of ASIC design verification methodologies including simulation, emulation, and prototyping, and how they fit together in a complete verification strategy
• Proficiency with HDLs such as Verilog and VHDL, and strong experience with SystemVerilog for testbench development and assertion-based verification
• Working knowledge of C/C++ for software validation, embedded firmware debug, or performance analysis on emulation and prototyping platforms
• Experience with hardware emulation platforms such as Palladium, Zebu, or Veloce is highly valued, as is hands-on work with FPGA-based prototyping or virtual platforms
• Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to diagnose and resolve issues that span RTL design, verification environments, platform configuration, and software integration
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to explain complex technical concepts to customers, work effectively across global teams, and represent Synopsys in customer-facing situations