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NVIDIA

Senior FPGA Prototyping Engineer - Hardware

NVIDIA is hiring a Senior FPGA Prototyping Engineer - Hardware in Santa Clara, United States. It pays $196k-$311k a year and Level rates it ; you can apply on NVIDIA.

Level's read on this job

  • Level rates this role Little AI ●○○○: aI is not part of the work.
  • Tools and skills the posting cites include Vivado, Verilog and SystemVerilog.
  • Level classifies it as a senior role.
  • Level lists 1,800+ other open roles at NVIDIA.
  • The role was posted within the past two weeks.

AI in this role

Build and optimize FPGA prototypes for next-generation GPUs and SOCs on standard prototyping platforms.

vivadoverilogsystemverilogtclperl

Are you passionate about FPGA prototyping? Are you interested in pushing the boundaries of innovation to make FPGA prototypes faster and more efficient? Can you work in a fast-paced environment that requires coordination between many teams across geographies and resolving sophisticated problems daily? If so, we are looking for hardworking engineers who will craft FPGA prototypes of our next generation GPUs and SOCs on standard FPGA prototyping platforms.


We are now looking for a Senior FPGA Prototyping Engineer to join our Emulation team onsite in Santa Clara, CA.


What you'll be doing:

  • Build FPGA prototypes by making RTL FPGA-friendly, partitioning the design and taking it through synthesis and place and route.
  • Improve performance of the prototype, analyze timing and generate bit streams.
  • Bring up the design on FPGA prototyping platforms and indulge in problem solving.
  • Release the prototype to the customers and support them when they face problems.
  • You are expected to understand the design and implementation, define the configurations, develop/modify the bringup and testing infrastructure and verify the correctness of the design.
  • Good coordination with architects, designers, verification engineers, and SW teams will be needed to accomplish your tasks.

What we need to see:

  • BS (or equivalent experience) in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related fields with 12+ years of experience, or MS with 10+ years of proven experience in FPGA prototyping.
  • Good understanding of FPGA prototyping architecture, devices, flows and tools.
  • Experience in backend flows of FPGA Prototyping - Synthesis, P&R and Timing closure, with emphasis on Synopsys Protocompiler or Siemens VPS and Xilinx Vivado
  • Exposure to ASIC design and verification tools (VCS or equivalent, Verdi, GDB).
  • Knowledge of Verilog, System Verilog and digital design concepts.
  • Good debugging and problem solving skills.
  • Hands on experience with lab FPGA debug methodologies, tools (Identify or ChipScope), and lab debug equipment (oscilloscopes, logic analyzers).


Ways to stand out from the crowd:

  • Scripting knowledge (Perl/shell/Tcl) is desired.
  • Good documentation, communication and interpersonal skills.
  • Experience with memory bring up of Memory (LPDDR5/6, DDR5/6), CXL/PCIE and/or high speed I/F such as USB4/3 is desirable
  • Prior experience with hardware emulation or prototyping (Synopsys HAPS or Siemens ProFPGA) of a high-performance processor or SOC is a plus.

NVIDIA has continuously reinvented itself over two decades. Our invention of the GPU in 1999 sparked the growth of the PC gaming market, redefined modern computer graphics, and revolutionized parallel computing. More recently, GPU deep learning ignited modern AI — the next era of computing. NVIDIA is a “learning machine” that constantly evolves by adapting to new opportunities that are hard to solve, that only we can tackle, and that matter to the world. This is our life’s work, to amplify human imagination and intelligence. Make the choice to join us today!

Your base salary will be determined based on your location, experience, and other objective job-related factors. The expected base salary ranges for this position are:
196,000 USD – 310,500 USD for Level 5; and 232,000 USD – 368,000 USD for Level 6.

You will also be eligible for equity and benefits.

Applications for this job will be accepted at least until November 3, 2026.

This posting is for an existing vacancy. 

NVIDIA uses AI tools in its recruiting processes.

NVIDIA is committed to fostering an inclusive work environment and proud to be an equal opportunity employer. As we highly value diversity in our current and future employees, we do not discriminate (including in our hiring and promotion practices) on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability status or any other characteristic protected by law.

How we rate this

Senior FPGA Prototyping Engineer - Hardware at NVIDIA rates 0 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Little AI (AI Level 1 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.

Classification

Little AI. AI is not part of the work.

  1. ●●●● Builds AI80 to 100
  2. ●●●○ Works on AI60 to 79
  3. ●●○○ Uses AI40 to 59
  4. ●○○○ Little AI0 to 39

Levels come from how often the tools, models and workflows of the role are named in the posting itself. Read the description and count the AI tools, models and workflows it names.

Prepare for this job

Built from this posting and from similar jobs on Level.

Skills and AI tools this role asks for

VivadoVerilogSystemVerilogTclPerl

Questions you could be asked

  1. What's a project where you used Vivado hands-on?
  2. Walk me through how you've used Verilog in your day-to-day work.
  3. What are the limits of SystemVerilog that you've run into, and how did you work around them?
  4. What's a project where you used Tcl hands-on?
  5. Walk me through how you've used Perl in your day-to-day work.

Adapt your resume

  • List these exact terms on your resume: Vivado, Verilog, SystemVerilog, Tcl, and Perl. An applicant tracking system matches the wording, not the idea.
  • Attach one line of real, concrete experience to at least one of them. A tool named with nothing behind it rarely survives a human read.

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