Senior High-Speed IO Validation Engineer

NVIDIA is hiring a Senior High-Speed IO Validation Engineer in Santa Clara, United States. It pays $136k-$213k a year and Level rates it ; you can apply on NVIDIA.

Level's read on this job

Little AI ●○○○ is how Level rates this role: aI is not part of the work.
Level classes it as a senior role.
NVIDIA has 2,700+ other open roles on Level.

AI in this role

We are now looking for a Senior High-Speed IO (HSIO) Validation Engineer to join our hardware product team! This is an outstanding opportunity to work with next-generation GPU, CPU and high-performance computing platforms, driving system-level debug from bring-up all the way to full-scale production. Join a team that pushes technical boundaries, fosters close collaboration, and holds a high bar for quality!

What you'll be doing

Own HSIO validation of NVIDIA products end-to-end, including test plan development, automation, design-for-validation requirements, resource planning, coverage metrics, test execution, bug resolution, and release to production.
Validate high-speed interfaces including PCIe, NVLink, C2C (Chip-to-Chip), Ethernet, USB, DP, HDMI, CXL etc. across the protocol, link, and physical layers.
Bring up new hardware platforms and debug sophisticated board- and system-level issues, working closely with logic/circuit design, board design, simulation, diagnostics, firmware, and software teams across multiple time zones.
Review board schematics, PCB layouts and BOM, provide development and component feedback, and ensure interoperability with connected devices in complex interconnect topologies.
Drive signal integrity characterization, link tuning, and margin analysis to ensure specification compliance, and efficient workload performance.
Define and drive HSIO functionality test coverage from link bring-up through stress and corner-case scenarios, including link training, error handling, power management, and interoperability across silicon and platform configurations.
Develop test automation to scale validation coverage and improve efficiency.
Provide engineering support to manufacturing during NPI and MP stage.

What we need to see:

BS+ in EE/CE or equivalent experience.
3+ years of post-silicon HSIO validation or system bring-up experience.
Ability to work on site in a hardware lab environment 5 days a week at NVIDIA HQ.
Solid understanding of at least one high-speed interface protocol — PCIe, NVLink, C2C, Ethernet, USB, CXL, Display and/or SerDes/signal integrity at the PHY level, including link training and system-level operation.
Hands-on experience with lab equipment such as high-bandwidth DSOs, BERTs, protocol/logic analyzers, protocol exercisers, and TDR.
Proven system-level debug skills on complex hardware platforms.
Strong verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to collaborate across teams and suppliers to deliver quality products on tight schedules.

Ways to stand out from the crowd:

Proven experience debugging PCIe physical and link layer behavior, including link training, equalization, and lane margining; solid understanding of the data link and transaction layers.
Experience with NVLink, C2C, or other proprietary chip-to-chip interconnects.
Strong signal integrity background — SerDes equalization, eye/margin analysis, jitter decomposition, and channel modeling.
Experience with Ethernet (multi-Gbps to 400G+/800G) or Display Port/HDMI validation.
Experience with CXL — the CXL.io/.cache/.mem protocols and memory-coherency validation over the shared PCIe Gen5/6 PHY

Widely considered to be one of the technology world’s most desirable employers, NVIDIA offers highly competitive salaries and a comprehensive benefits package. As you plan your future, see what we can offer to you and your family www.nvidiabenefits.com/

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:
136,000 USD – 212,750 USD for Level 3; and 168,000 USD – 258,750 USD for Level 4.

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 High-Speed IO Validation Engineer at NVIDIA rates 24 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.

●●●● Builds AI80 to 100
●●●○ Works on AI60 to 79
●●○○ Uses AI40 to 59
●○○○ 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.