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Cpu Rtl Design Engineer Jobs in Boston, MA (NOW HIRING)

We build and maintain multiple CPU lines, TileLink interconnects and other uncore/infrastructure IP ... Implement RTL generators such that elements self-configure to optimally connect to each other

DDR Design Engineer

Waltham, MA · On-site

$114.10K - $199K/yr

As a logic design engineer, you will be involved in all phases of the design, from concept study ... You will provide high-quality RTL description, including assertions, for the design. Use formal ...

CPU Design Verification Engineer

Cambridge, MA · On-site

$148.60K - $181.40K/yr

As a CPU Design Verification Engineer owning the verification of a certain area of functionality in ... with architecture and RTL designers on verifying the functional correctness of the design • ...

DDR Design Engineer

Waltham, MA · On-site

$162.50K - $286.40K/yr

As a logic design engineer, you will be involved in all phases of the design, from concept study ... You will provide high-quality RTL description, including assertions, for the design. Use formal ...

CPU Design Verification Engineer

Cambridge, MA · On-site

$148.60K - $181.40K/yr

As a CPU Design Verification Engineer owning the verification of a certain area of functionality in ... RTL designers on verifying the functional correctness of the design • Develop test plans and test ...

CPU Design Verification Engineer

Cambridge, MA · On-site

$148.60K - $181.40K/yr

As a CPU Design Verification Engineer owning the verification of a certain area of functionality in ... RTL designers on verifying the functional correctness of the design • Develop test plans and test ...

Debug SoC Design Engineer

Watertown, MA

$147.90K - $180.50K/yr

... RTL design and integration, Emulation, Design Verification, Test and Validation, and FW/SW ... Description In this role you will work on a small team designing CPU-based subsystems for high ...

Senior FPGA Design Engineer

Needham, MA · On-site

$159.30K - $215K/yr

Own the RTL design process from specification and coding through synthesis and FPGA implementation * Partner with design verification engineers to review and execute comprehensive test plans * Lead ...

Senior FPGA Design Engineer

Needham, MA · On-site

$159.30K - $215K/yr

Own the RTL design process from specification and coding through synthesis and FPGA implementation * Partner with design verification engineers to review and execute comprehensive test plans * Lead ...

CPU Design Verification Engineer

Cambridge, MA · On-site

$114.10K - $171.80K/yr

CPU Design Verification Engineer Imagine what you could do here. At Apple, new ideas have a way of ... Work closely with architecture and RTL designers on verifying the functional correctness of the ...

Description As a CPU Design Verification Engineer owning the verification of a certain area of ... RTL designers on verifying the functional correctness of the design • Develop test plans and test ...

... RTL designers on verifying the functional correctness of the design • Develop test plans and test ... CPU architecture Programming experience in at least one of the following languages: C, C++, or ...

Description As a CPU Design Verification Engineer owning the verification of a certain area of ... RTL designers on verifying the functional correctness of the design • Develop test plans and test ...

RFIC - PLL Design Engineer

Watertown, MA · On-site

$219.70K/yr

... VLSI/RTL design and integration, Emulation, Design Verification, Test and Validation, and FW/SW engineering. As Sr. RFIC - PLL Design Engineer within the Wireless Radio team, you will be at the ...

All of this is driven by a world-class vertically integrated engineering team spanning RF/Analog ... You will interact with RTL designers to understand design intent and clock structure, with CAD to ...

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Showing results 1-20

Cpu Rtl Design Engineer information

See Boston, MA salary details

$44K

$95.8K

$172.2K

How much do cpu rtl design engineer jobs pay per year?

As of May 28, 2026, the average yearly pay for cpu rtl design engineer in Boston, MA is $95,766.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $73,900.00 and $107,000.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a CPU RTL Design Engineer, and why are they important?

To thrive as a CPU RTL Design Engineer, you need a strong background in digital logic design, computer architecture, and proficiency in hardware description languages like Verilog or VHDL, typically supported by a degree in electrical or computer engineering. Familiarity with industry-standard EDA tools such as Synopsys or Cadence, and experience with simulation, synthesis, and verification methodologies are essential. Strong problem-solving skills, attention to detail, and effective teamwork are crucial soft skills for success in this role. These competencies enable the accurate implementation, debugging, and optimization of complex CPU designs, ensuring performance and reliability in final hardware products.

What are some common challenges faced by CPU RTL Design Engineers when collaborating with verification and architecture teams?

CPU RTL Design Engineers often work closely with both verification and architecture teams to ensure that the design meets functional and performance requirements. A common challenge is ensuring clear communication of design intent and handling feedback from verification regarding corner cases or bugs. Balancing architectural changes with design timelines and maintaining synchronization across multiple teams can be demanding. Successful engineers proactively document their work, participate in regular sync-ups, and are open to iterative improvements based on collaborative feedback.

What are CPU RTL Design Engineers?

CPU RTL (Register Transfer Level) Design Engineers are specialized hardware engineers who design, implement, and verify the digital logic that forms the core of computer processors. They use hardware description languages like Verilog or VHDL to create and simulate the functional blocks of CPUs, ensuring correct operation and optimal performance. Their work involves close collaboration with architecture, verification, and physical design teams to bring processor designs from conception to silicon. They also debug and optimize designs to meet power, speed, and area goals.

What is the difference between Cpu Rtl Design Engineer vs Cpu Verification Engineer?

AspectCpu Rtl Design EngineerCpu Verification Engineer
Primary FocusDesigning and developing RTL code for CPU componentsVerifying and testing RTL designs for correctness
Skills & CertificationsHDL languages (Verilog/VHDL), FPGA/ASIC design experienceHDL, testbench development, simulation tools
Work EnvironmentDesign teams, hardware development labsVerification teams, simulation environments
Industry UsageSemiconductor companies, CPU design firmsASIC/FPGA verification, chip validation

While both roles require HDL knowledge and work within hardware design environments, Cpu Rtl Design Engineers focus on creating the RTL code for CPU components, whereas Cpu Verification Engineers concentrate on testing and validating those designs to ensure functionality and performance.

What are popular job titles related to Cpu Rtl Design Engineer jobs in Boston, MA? For Cpu Rtl Design Engineer jobs in Boston, MA, the most frequently searched job titles are:
What job categories do people searching Cpu Rtl Design Engineer jobs in Boston, MA look for? The top searched job categories for Cpu Rtl Design Engineer jobs in Boston, MA are:
Infographic showing various Cpu Rtl Design Engineer job openings in Boston, MA as of May 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% As Needed, 9% Full Time, 60% Part Time, and 30% Contract. Highlights an 95% Physical, and 5% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $95,766 per year, or $46 per hour.
Debug/Trace/Profiling Design Engineer

Debug/Trace/Profiling Design Engineer

SiFive

Boston, MA • On-site

Full-time

Medical, Retirement, PTO

Posted 16 days ago


Job description

About SiFive

As the pioneers who introduced RISC-V to the world, SiFive is transforming the future of compute by bringing the limitless potential of RISC-V to the highest performance and most data-intensive applications in the world. SiFive's unrivaled compute platforms are continuing to enable leading technology companies around the world to innovate, optimize and deliver the most advanced solutions of tomorrow across every market segment of chip design, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, automotive, data center, mobile, and consumer. With SiFive, the future of RISC-V has no limits.

At SiFive, we are always excited to connect with talented individuals, who are just as passionate about driving innovation and changing the world as we are.

Our constant innovation and ongoing success is down to our amazing teams of incredibly talented people, who collaborate and support each other to come up with truly groundbreaking ideas and solutions. Solutions that will have a huge impact on people's lives; making the world a better place, one processor at a time.

Are you ready?

To learn more about SiFive's phenomenal success and to see why we have won theGSA's prestigious Most Respected Private Company Award(for the fourth time!), check out ourwebsiteandGlassdoorpages.

Job Description:

The Role:

SiFive is seeking a hardware design engineer who is passionate about designing industry-leading debug, trace and profiling IP to help drive the tidal wave of adoption of RISC-V as the architecture of choice for SOC designs across a broad variety of vertical applications. We're creating a highly customizable line of processor cores with fast time-to-market by designing the hardware as highly configurable generators. We're leveraging technology and ideas from the software industry to execute hardware design with the speed and agility of software development. This role focused on debug, trace and profiling will be especially vital to SiFive's effort to create silicon at the speed of software across our entire IP portfolio, including Essential, Intelligence, Performance, and Automotive product lines.
We build and maintain our RISC-V processor subsystem IP using the Chisel hardware construction library embedded in the Scala language, and are seeking a motivated individual to lead enhancement of our existing debug/trace/profiling hardware as well as development of new capabilities in this area. Additionally, there are opportunities to engage with customer, partners and tools vendors to help determine the future of the debug, trace and profiling solutions, as well as opportunities to engage with the RISC-V International Association to help drive the state of the art of debug strategy.
The successful applicant will address the following challenges:

  • Designing the best debug, trace and profiling hardware in the world, based on the revolutionary open RISC-V and TileLink architectures.

  • Mastering the art of designing hardware as configurable generators in a domain-specific software language for elaborating digital logic.

  • Working in a fast-paced dynamic environment to bring new hardware IP to market quickly, with high quality and exceptional performance.

Responsibilities

  • Architect, design and implement debug, trace and profiling hardware.

  • Work with architecture, performance, software and hardware teams in architecture/microarchitecture exploration and specification.

  • Implement RTL generators such that elements self-configure to optimally design-in extensive configurability as a first-class consideration.

  • Integrate new design content into SiFive's Chisel/FIRRTL framework and contribute to improvements to that framework to enable automatic configuration/generation of documentation, verification testbenches and tests, and packaged software.

  • Perform initial sandbox verification, and work with design verification team to create and execute thorough verification test plans.

  • Ensure that knowledge is shared via creation and maintenance of great documentation and participation in a culture of collaborative design


Requirements
  • Knowledgeable in debug, trace and profiling architecture and concepts.

  • Knowledgeable in debug interfaces, JTAG, cJTAG.

  • Knowledgeable in CPU architectures, power management and SoC design.

  • Experience in debugging tools, profiling methods.

  • Proficiency with hardware (RTL) design in Verilog, System Verilog, or VHDL.

  • Attention to detail and a focus on high-quality design.

  • Ability to work well with others and a belief that engineering is a team sport.

  • Knowledge of at least one object-oriented and/or functional programming language.

  • Knowledge of one or more of: Chisel/Scala, RISC-V architecture, Git/Jira/Confluence is a plus.

  • 7+ years of industry experience leading and directly contributing to architecture, microarchitecture and RTL design for debug/trace/profiling hardware for high-performance processors.

  • MS/PhD in EE, CE, CS or a related technical discipline.

Pay & Benefits

Consistent with SiFive values and applicable law, we provide the following information to promote pay transparency and equity. We have a market-based pay structure which varies by location. Please note that the base pay range is a guideline, and our compensation range reflects the cost of labor in the U.S. geographic market based on the location of the role. Pay within these ranges varies and depends on job-related knowledge, skills, and relevant work experience.

For candidates who receive and offer, the starting salary will vary based on various factors including, but not limited to, such qualifications as, skill level, competencies, and work location.The range provided may represent a candidate range and may not reflect the full range for an individual tenured employee.

Base Pay Range

$158,760.00-$194,040.00

In addition to base pay, this role may be eligible for variable/ incentive compensation and/ or equity. In addition, this role is eligible for a comprehensive, competitive benefits package which may include healthcare and retirement plans, paid time off, and more!

Additional Information:

This position requires a successful background and reference checks and satisfactory proof of your right to work in

United States of America

Any offer of employment for this position is also contingent on the Company verifying that you are a authorized for access to export-controlled technology under applicable export control laws or, if you are not already authorized, our ability to successfully obtain any necessary export license(s) or other approvals.

SiFive is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.

As an E-Verify employer, we use this system to confirm the employment eligibility of all new hires in accordance with federal law. All applicants will be required to complete a Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, upon hire. We do not use E-Verify to pre-screen job candidates and will comply with all E-Verify regulations.

California residents: please see our job candidate notice for more information on how we handle your personal information and your privacy rights: Privacy Policy Document.