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Emulation Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Eridu AI

Emulation Engineer

Saratoga, CA · On-site

$185K - $250K/yr

Develop and deliver emulation models from RTL using synthesis, partitioning, and routing tools. * Plan and execute simulation acceleration, emulation, and prototyping activities aligned with project ...

Xforia, Inc.

Emulation Engineer

Sunnyvale, CA · On-site

Emulation Engineer Location: Sunnyvale, CA JD: Minimum Qualifications 1. Experience with current emulation technologies and methods, including simulation acceleration, in-circuit emulation, speed ...

MatX

Emulation Engineer

Mountain View, CA · On-site +1

$175K - $450K/yr

MatX is seeking Emulation engineers to join our team as we create best-in-class silicon for high-performance and sustainable GenAI. Successful candidates for these roles will be responsible for ...

CYNET SYSTEMS

Emulation Engineer

San Jose, CA · On-site

$55 - $60/hr

Experience in simulation-to-emulation bring-up. * Familiarity with SCE-MI / transactor-based acceleration. * Strong debugging skills across RTL, testbench, and firmware. * Knowledge of PCIe/AXI/DDR ...

Etched

Emulation Engineer

San Jose, CA · On-site

$150K - $275K/yr

Oversee SoC bring-up on emulation platforms; diagnose and resolve failing SoC/processor tests. * Develop and maintain automated build and regression flows to accelerate pre-silicon validation and ...

MatX

Emulation Engineer

Mountain View, CA · On-site

$175K - $450K/yr

MatX is seeking Emulation engineers to join our team as we create best-in-class silicon for high-performance and sustainable GenAI. Successful candidates for these roles will be responsible for ...

Etched

Emulation Engineer

San Jose, CA · On-site

$150K - $275K/yr

Oversee SoC bring-up on emulation platforms; diagnose and resolve failing SoC/processor tests. * Develop and maintain automated build and regression flows to accelerate pre-silicon validation and ...

Apple

Emulation Engineer

Cupertino, CA · On-site

The SOC Emulation team is looking for a strong engineer to join our team focusing on the creation, deployment and support of advanced emulation environments. In this highly visible role, you will be ...

Tenstorrent

$100K - $500K/yr

We are seeking a junior-to-mid level SOC Emulation Engineer to support our hardware emulation infrastructure and internal chip design teams. This role focuses on integrating vendor and custom ...

Apple

Emulation Verification Engineer

Cupertino, CA · On-site

$167K - $204K/yr

Description As a member of the Emulation verification team, we play a key role in using Emulation for verification of large SoCs. The overall work will involve porting the design onto the Palladium ...

Waymo

Silicon Emulation Engineer

Mountain View, CA · Hybrid

Design, implement, and optimize emulation testbenches, balancing performance and debug capabilities based on user needs and hardware constraints * Write end-to-end synthesizable transactors to ...

Arteris

Emulation Engineer

Campbell, CA

As a Emulation Engineer at Arteris, you will work with an expert team to design and deliver interconnect & memory hierarchy solutions for some of the world's most sophisticated mobile, telecom ...

Arteris

Emulation Engineer

Campbell, CA

$150K - $190K/yr

As a Emulation Engineer at Arteris, you will work with an expert team to design and deliver interconnect & memory hierarchy solutions for some of the world's most sophisticated mobile, telecom ...

Arteris

Emulation Engineer

Campbell, CA · On-site

$150K - $190K/yr

As a Emulation Engineer at Arteris, you will work with an expert team to design and deliver interconnect & memory hierarchy solutions for some of the world's most sophisticated mobile, telecom ...

Microgreentech

Senior Emulation Engineer

San Jose, CA · On-site

Senior Emulation Engineer Exp: 10+ years Location: San - Jose Client: EnchargeAI Rate: Case to case basis Key Skills: Veloce, Palladium, or ZeBu, PCIe and UCIe and memory technologies such as LPDDR ...

New

Qualcomm

CPU Emulation Engineer

Santa Clara, CA · On-site

$167K - $250K/yr

As a CPU Emulation Engineer, you will work as part of CPU verification team to deliver emulation-based solutions for CPU team. You will work closely with all disciplines of CPU team to help verify ...

Qualcomm

CPU Emulation Engineer

Santa Clara, CA · On-site

$167K - $250K/yr

As a CPU Emulation Engineer, you will work as part of CPU verification team to deliver emulation-based solutions for CPU team. You will work closely with all disciplines of CPU team to help verify ...

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Emulation information

See California salary details

$22

$51

$77

How much do emulation jobs pay per hour?

As of Aug 12, 2026, the average hourly pay for emulation in California is $51.32, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $38.89 and $62.40 per hour, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is emulation?

Emulation refers to the process of imitating the functionality of one computer system or device on another. In technology jobs, emulation professionals often create software or hardware environments that mimic the behavior of different platforms, allowing software to run as if it were on the original hardware. This is especially useful for testing, development, and running legacy applications. Emulation plays a crucial role in areas like software development, gaming, and chip design, ensuring compatibility and preserving older systems.

What is the difference between Emulation vs Simulation?

AspectEmulationSimulation
PurposeReplicates hardware/software behavior in real-time for testing and developmentModels system behavior to analyze performance or predict outcomes
AccuracyHigh fidelity, closely mimics actual hardware/softwareVariable accuracy, focuses on behavior over exact replication
Work EnvironmentUsed in hardware/software development, testing labsUsed in research, training, and analysis
CredentialsKnowledge of hardware, software, and testing toolsUnderstanding of system modeling and analysis

Emulation and simulation are both vital in technology development. Emulation provides a real-time, high-fidelity replication of hardware or software, ideal for testing and debugging. Simulation offers a broader analysis of system behavior, useful for research and performance prediction. While they share overlapping skills, emulation emphasizes real-world accuracy, whereas simulation focuses on modeling system dynamics.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as an emulation engineer, and why are they important?

To thrive as an Emulation Engineer, you need a strong background in digital design, hardware verification, and a relevant degree in electrical engineering or computer science. Familiarity with hardware description languages (HDLs) like Verilog/VHDL, emulation platforms (such as Cadence Palladium or Mentor Veloce), and scripting languages is crucial. Strong analytical thinking, problem-solving abilities, and effective collaboration distinguish top professionals in this field. These skills are vital for efficiently validating complex hardware systems, reducing time-to-market, and ensuring product reliability.

What are common challenges faced by professionals working in emulation, and how can they overcome them?

Professionals in emulation roles often encounter challenges such as keeping pace with rapidly evolving hardware architectures and ensuring accurate replication of complex system behaviors. Debugging compatibility issues and optimizing for performance without sacrificing accuracy are also frequent hurdles. Collaboration with hardware engineers and software developers is vital, as is staying informed about new tools and best practices. Developing strong problem-solving skills and engaging with the emulation community can help address these challenges effectively.
What are popular job titles related to Emulation jobs in California? For Emulation jobs in California, the most frequently searched job titles are:
What job categories do people searching Emulation jobs in California look for? The top searched job categories for Emulation jobs in California are:
What cities in California are hiring for Emulation jobs? Cities in California with the most Emulation job openings:
Emulation jobs near you
Infographic showing various Emulation job openings in California as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 90% Full Time, 4% Part Time, 2% Temporary, and 4% Contract. Highlights an 87% Physical, 6% Hybrid, and 7% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $106,736 per year, or $51.3 per hour.

Emulation Engineer

Eridu AI

Saratoga, CA • On-site

$185K - $250K/yr

Full-time

Re-posted 17 days ago

Job description

About Eridu
Eridu is a Silicon Valley-based hardware startup pioneering infrastructure solutions that accelerate AI data centers to deliver Faster AI. Today's AI performance is frequently limited by communication bottlenecks. Eridu introduces multiple industry-first innovations across silicon, packaging, software, and systems to deliver an order of magnitude improvement in performance and unlock greater GPU utilization to speed training job completion times and tokens-per-second for more profitable inference. We do this while simultaneously reducing capital and power costs and improving reliability.
The company's solutions and value proposition have been widely validated by leading hyperscalers.
Eridu has raised over $200M to date including its most recent, oversubscribed Series A round. The company is led by a veteran team of Silicon Valley executives who have delivered multiple billion dollar product lines and led multiple companies to billion dollar exits, including serial entrepreneur Drew Perkins, co-founder of Infinera (NASDAQ: INFN), Lightera (acq. by Ciena), Gainspeed (acq. by Nokia) and Mojo Vision (the world's leading micro-LED company). The company is in execution mode and has a world-class engineering team with decades of experience in state-of-the-art silicon, packaging, optics, software, and systems. Eridu is working with best-in-class supply chain partners including silicon, packaging and systems.
Visit our website eridu.ai to learn more.
Position Overview
We are seeking a highly skilled and motivated Emulation Engineer to join our hardware development team. The ideal candidate will be responsible for building and deploying emulation and FPGA models from RTL designs using industry-standard tools and methodologies. This role involves close collaboration with cross-functional teams including design, software, firmware, and validation to accelerate hardware verification and software development.
Responsibilities
  • Develop and deliver emulation models from RTL using synthesis, partitioning, and routing tools.
  • Plan and execute simulation acceleration, emulation, and prototyping activities aligned with project milestones.
  • Design and implement high-performance transactors and emulation testbenches using SystemVerilog and C/C++/DPI.
  • Drive emulation methodologies for hardware verification and software/firmware development.
  • Build system-level use cases for execution on emulators and support platform bring-up.
  • Analyze emulation results, identify performance regressions, and triage issues.
  • Conduct power measurements and performance evaluations on emulation platforms.
  • Maintain and enhance emulation CI infrastructure to support autonomous performance exploration.
  • Collaborate with vendors to debug issues and deploy new emulation capabilities.
  • Interface with design, validation, and software teams to optimize emulation environments and workflows.
Qualifications
  • Bachelor's degree in Electrical/Computer Engineering with a minimum of 7+ years of relevant experience, or Master's degree with 5+ years of experience.
  • Strong background in ASIC logic/RTL design and emulation model development.

Required Skills
  • Proficiency in Verilog/SystemVerilog, C/C++, Python, and Unix Shell scripting.
  • Experience with emulation platforms such as Palladium, Veloce, Zebu, or FPGA prototyping.
  • Familiarity with emulation tools and methodologies including BFMs, transactors, and hybrid environments.
  • Ability to debug hardware issues using waveforms, logs, and trace dumps.
  • Experience with CI/CD tools (e.g., Jenkins, GitLab CI) for automation and integration.
  • Excellent problem-solving, debugging, and analytical skills.

Preferred Skills
  • Experience in building workloads for pre-silicon environments.
  • Knowledge of emulation performance optimization techniques.
  • Exposure to system-level use case development and power/performance analysis.
  • Experience with computer networking protocols such as Ethernet.
  • Experience with network test equipment such as Ixia/Spirent traffic generators.

Why Join Us?
At Eridu, you'll have the opportunity to shape the future of AI infrastructure, working with a world-class team on groundbreaking technology that pushes the boundaries of AI performance. Your contributions will directly impact the next generation of AI infrastructure solutions, transforming the performance of AI data centers.
The starting base salary for the selected candidate will be established based on their relevant skills, experience, qualifications, work location, market trends, and the compensation of employees in comparable roles.
Notice to Recruiting Agencies
Eridu does not accept unsolicited resumes or candidate profiles from staffing agencies or third-party recruiters. Any candidate submitted to Eridu without prior written authorization from our recruiting team will be considered unsolicited and will become the property of Eridu. Eridu reserves the right to pursue and hire such candidates without any obligation to pay fees. Recruiting agencies are expressly instructed not to contact hiring managers, employees, or executives regarding open positions.
The pay range for this role is:
185,000 - 250,000 USD per year (San Francisco Bay Area )

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