Layout Design, Staff Engineer

Our Hardware Engineers at Synopsys are responsible for designing and developing cutting-edge semiconductor solutions. They work on intricate tasks such as chip architecture, circuit design, and verification to ensure the efficiency and reliability of semiconductor products. These engineers play a crucial role in advancing technology and enabling innovations in various industries.

We are looking for a Staff Engineer to join our SerDes PHY IP firmware team and work alongside fellow engineers on PCS/PMA firmware for our next-generation SerDes PHY IP, supporting multiple protocols such as PCIe, Ethernet, and MIPI M-PHY. This is a senior individual-contributor role focused on hands-on firmware design and development, silicon bring-up, and customer issue resolution as a core member of the team.

Responsibilities

• Develop firmware for next-generation SerDes PHY IP supporting multiple protocols, including PCIe, Ethernet, and MIPI M-PHY.
• Design and maintain firmware for PHY startup, offset calibration, and adaptation flows.
• Analyze and debug interactions between firmware, analog/mixed-signal front-end circuits, and digital PCS/PMA blocks.
• Collaborate closely with systems, analog design, digital design, verification, and lab teams during firmware development and debugging.
• Support and enhance existing firmware applications and features.
• Develop and maintain firmware development infrastructure and tools.
• Develop and improve firmware documentation to enhance customer usability and support.
• Investigate and resolve customer-reported firmware issues and failures.
• Lead firmware integration, debugging, and silicon bring-up activities on assigned areas.
• Contribute to improvements in firmware design methodologies and system-level architecture through collaboration with cross-functional teams.

The Impact You Will Have

• Advance the development of high-performance firmware for next-generation technologies.
• Enhance the functionality and reliability of Synopsys' SerDes PHY IP products.
• Optimize system performance through post-silicon bring-up, characterization, and debugging activities.
• Improve customer satisfaction through robust firmware solutions and comprehensive documentation.
• Drive innovation in firmware design methodologies and system-level architecture.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to deliver integrated solutions that push the boundaries of technology.

Requirements

• Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent industry experience.
• 8+ years of experience in a related field.
• Understanding of both digital logic and firmware/software development, with in-depth specialization in either.
• Hands-on experience with assembly-level firmware development for embedded controllers or custom PHY sequencer ISAs.
• Working knowledge of high-speed SerDes fundamentals and familiarity with at least one high-speed SerDes standard (e.g., PCIe, Ethernet, MIPI M-PHY, USB, or DisplayPort).
• Experience with structured firmware development, verification, and documentation processes.
• Familiarity with embedded software toolchains, including cross-compilers, assemblers, and on-target debuggers.
• Ability to read and debug Verilog RTL (e.g., PHY FSM/sequencer RTL) to reason about firmware-hardware interactions.
• Business-level English communication skills, both written and verbal, to work effectively with global cross-functional teams and customers.

Preferred Qualifications

• Deep expertise in PCIe, Ethernet, or MIPI M-PHY protocol layers.
• Experience with multi-protocol SerDes PHY architectures.
• RTL design or verification experience.
• Scripting experience with Perl, Python, Bash, or Csh.
• Silicon bring-up and lab debugging experience, including waveform tools (e.g., Verdi/FSDB), scopes, or BER testers.
• Experience developing DSP microcode or firmware for other custom-ISA processors beyond PHY sequencers.
• Experience with Perforce or Git-based version control workflows.
• Experience using AI-assisted development tools for code review, documentation, or test generation.

Benefits

• Comprehensive medical and healthcare plans that work for you and your family.
• In addition to company holidays, we have ETO and FTO Programs.
• Maternity and paternity leave, parenting resources, adoption and surrogacy assistance, and more.
• Purchase Synopsys common stock at a 15% discount, with a 24-month look-back.
• Save for your future with our retirement plans that vary by region and country.
• Competitive salaries.