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Junior Rtl Design Engineer Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

RTL Design Engineer

Cupertino, CA

$126.80K - $220.90K/yr

If you're passionate about taking on unsolved challenges, we have a great opportunity for a results-oriented and highly motivated RTL Design Engineer. This is an exciting position in the world class ...

If you're passionate about taking on unsolved challenges, we have a great opportunity for a results-oriented and highly motivated RTL Design Engineer. This is an exciting position in the world class ...

If you're passionate about taking on unsolved challenges, we have a great opportunity for a results-oriented and highly motivated RTL Design Engineer. This is an exciting position in the world class ...

RTL Design Engineer

San Diego, CA · On-site

$120.30K - $210.10K/yr

If you're passionate about taking on unsolved challenges, we have a great opportunity for a results-oriented and highly motivated RTL Design Engineer. This is an exciting position in the world class ...

RTL Design Engineer

San Diego, CA

$171.60K - $302.20K/yr

If you're passionate about taking on unsolved challenges, we have a great opportunity for a results-oriented and highly motivated RTL Design Engineer. This is an exciting position in the world class ...

If you're passionate about taking on unsolved challenges, we have a great opportunity for a results-oriented and highly motivated RTL Design Engineer. This is an exciting position in the world class ...

If you're passionate about taking on unsolved challenges, we have a great opportunity for a results-oriented and highly motivated RTL Design Engineer. This is an exciting position in the world class ...

RTL Design Engineer

Irvine, CA

$171.60K - $302.20K/yr

If you're passionate about taking on unsolved challenges, we have a great opportunity for a results-oriented and highly motivated RTL Design Engineer. This is an exciting position in the world class ...

If you're passionate about taking on unsolved challenges, we have a great opportunity for a results-oriented and highly motivated RTL Design Engineer. This is an exciting position in the world class ...

We're hiring experienced RTL Design Engineers to play a key role in designing and implementing the components that will bring our next-generation AI processors to life. About Us: Mythic is building ...

If you're passionate about taking on unsolved challenges, we have a great opportunity for a results-oriented and highly motivated RTL Design Engineer. This is an exciting position in the world class ...

We're hiring experienced RTL Design Engineers to play a key role in designing and implementing the components that will bring our next-generation AI processors to life. About Us: Mythic is building ...

We're hiring experienced RTL Design Engineers to play a key role in designing and implementing the components that will bring our next-generation AI processors to life. About Us: Mythic is building ...

Job Title: Microarchitect & RTL Design Engineer Location: Santa Clara, CA About the Role: We are seeking a seasoned Microarchitect and RTL Design Engineers with a strong background in ...

RTL Design Engineer

Irvine, CA

$127.10K - $203.40K/yr

Broadcom's Central Engineering Group is seeking a candidate to lead the digital design and ... Design convergence to timing closure utilizing RTL optimization strategies. * Conduct formal ...

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Showing results 1-20

Junior Rtl Design Engineer information

See California salary details

$33.1K

$70.9K

$108.1K

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

As of May 30, 2026, the average yearly pay for junior rtl design engineer in California is $70,859.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $47,900.00 and $79,000.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

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

To thrive as a Junior RTL Design Engineer, a solid background in digital logic design, hardware description languages (such as Verilog or VHDL), and a relevant engineering degree are essential. Experience with simulation and synthesis tools (like ModelSim, Synopsys, or Xilinx Vivado) and a basic understanding of ASIC or FPGA flows are typically required. Strong analytical thinking, attention to detail, and effective teamwork skills help individuals excel in translating specifications into efficient hardware designs. These skills ensure accurate, reliable, and high-performance digital circuit development, which is crucial for meeting project goals and industry standards.

What are some common challenges faced by Junior RTL Design Engineers when transitioning from academic projects to industry roles?

Junior RTL Design Engineers often find the transition from academic projects to industry roles challenging due to the increased complexity and scale of commercial designs. In industry, there is a strong emphasis on meeting strict timing, power, and area requirements, as well as adhering to rigorous verification and documentation standards. Collaboration with verification, physical design, and software teams is essential, and juniors may need to quickly adapt to using industry-standard EDA tools and workflows. Gaining proficiency in debugging and understanding legacy codebases are also typical hurdles. However, most teams provide mentorship and structured onboarding to help new engineers succeed.

What are Junior RTL Design Engineers?

Junior RTL Design Engineers are entry-level professionals who work on designing and verifying the Register Transfer Level (RTL) logic for digital integrated circuits. They typically use hardware description languages like Verilog or VHDL to describe and simulate the functionality of hardware blocks according to specifications. Their responsibilities often include coding, simulation, debugging, and collaborating with senior engineers to ensure the design meets performance and functional requirements. This role is crucial in the process of creating chips and digital systems used in various electronic devices.

What is the difference between Junior Rtl Design Engineer vs Digital Design Engineer?

AspectJunior Rtl Design EngineerDigital Design Engineer
Required CredentialsBachelor's in Electrical Engineering or related field; some certificationsBachelor's or higher in Electrical/Electronic Engineering; certifications vary
Work EnvironmentDesign teams in semiconductor or electronics companiesDesign and development teams in similar industries
Employer & Industry UsageCommonly employed in chip design, FPGA, ASIC developmentUsed in digital circuit and system design across industries

Both roles involve digital circuit design, but Junior Rtl Design Engineers focus more on RTL coding and verification, while Digital Design Engineers may handle broader digital system development. The roles often overlap in skills and work environment, with the main difference being scope and experience level.

What job categories do people searching Junior Rtl Design Engineer jobs in California look for? The top searched job categories for Junior Rtl Design Engineer jobs in California are:
What cities in California are hiring for Junior Rtl Design Engineer jobs? Cities in California with the most Junior Rtl Design Engineer job openings:
RTL Design Engineer

RTL Design Engineer

Apple

Cupertino, CA

$126.80K - $220.90K/yr

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Retirement

Posted 14 days ago


Apple rating

8.1

Company rating: 8.1 out of 10

Based on 661 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

6th of 30 rated technology retailers


Job description

At Apple, we work every day to craft products that enrich people's lives. If you're passionate about taking on unsolved challenges, we have a great opportunity for a results-oriented and highly motivated RTL Design Engineer. This is an exciting position in the world class Apple mixed-signal silicon design team!
This role will build upon your solid foundation in digital logic circuits while introducing mixed-signal and analog circuit design and features. You will work with a variety of flows fundamental to modern silicon engineering: modeling and integrating high-performance mixed-signal and analog IPs into high-speed digital circuits, ensuring formal equivalence between custom designs and their abstract representations. This is an excellent opportunity to gain valuable experience in software methods and analysis, which are increasingly crucial across the semiconductor industry.
As a member of our dynamic team, you will have the exceptional opportunity to help create the next generation of products that will delight and inspire millions of Apple customers every day. You will work to specify, design, verify, and support lab bring-up of sophisticated digital and mixed-signal circuits with signal processing capabilities.
Description
In this role, you will be responsible for specifying and/or micro-architecting digital and signal processing blocks in sophisticated mixed-signal circuits. You will be responsible for RTL coding of blocks specified by you or others, including implementation of DSP algorithms. You will also participate in the design verification and bring-up of such blocks by writing meaningful assertions, debugging code, and otherwise interacting with the design verification team. You will contribute to the lab bring-up of those circuits by potentially writing test scripts, analyzing lab data, proposing experiments, and validating signal processing performance.","responsibilities":"RTL Design & Implementation: Develop and optimize RTL code in Verilog/SystemVerilog for mixed-signal digital blocks and signal processing pipelines
DSP Algorithm Translation: Collaborate with algorithm engineers to translate DSP concepts (filtering, transforms, modulation, signal analysis) into efficient, high-performance RTL implementations
Design Verification: Write comprehensive assertions, unit-level testbenches, and participate in functional verification using industry-standard methodologies
Integration & Bring-up: Partner with cross-functional teams to integrate complex IPs, validate performance in silicon, and support lab characterization
Collaborative Problem-Solving: Work effectively with analog designers, algorithm engineers, verification specialists, and system architects across disciplinary boundaries
Preferred Qualifications
Front-end tools expertise (Verilog simulators, linters, clock-domain crossing checkers)
Synthesis, static timing analysis, and design-for-test (DFT)
SystemVerilog assertions, checkers, and advanced verification techniques
Scripting languages (Perl, Python)
Formal verification and low-power design methodologies
Hardware-software co-design and system-level optimization
Hands-on DSP experience: signal processing concepts, RTL algorithm implementation, hardware optimization techniques (pipelining, parallelization, resource sharing)
Intermediate to advanced GenAI proficiency: Using AI tools for SystemVerilog design, validation, optimization, and understanding GenAI capabilities/limitations in hardware design
Minimum Qualifications
Bachelors of Science in Electrical Engineering.
Pay & Benefits
At Apple, base pay is one part of our total compensation package and is determined within a range. This provides the opportunity to progress as you grow and develop within a role. The base pay range for this role is between $126,800 and $220,900, and your base pay will depend on your skills, qualifications, experience, and location.
Apple employees also have the opportunity to become an Apple shareholder through participation in Apple's discretionary employee stock programs. Apple employees are eligible for discretionary restricted stock unit awards, and can purchase Apple stock at a discount if voluntarily participating in Apple's Employee Stock Purchase Plan. You'll also receive benefits including: Comprehensive medical and dental coverage, retirement benefits, a range of discounted products and free services, and for formal education related to advancing your career at Apple, reimbursement for certain educational expenses - including tuition. Additionally, this role might be eligible for discretionary bonuses or commission payments as well as relocation. Learn more about Apple Benefits
Note: Apple benefit, compensation and employee stock programs are subject to eligibility requirements and other terms of the applicable plan or program.

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About Apple

Sourced by ZipRecruiter

Imagine what you could do here! At Apple, new ideas have a way of becoming extraordinary products, services, and customer experiences very quickly. Bring passion and dedication to your job and there's no telling what you could accomplish. Dynamic, intelligent people and inspiring, innovative technologies are the norm here. The people who work here have reinvented entire industries with all Apple Hardware products. The same real passion for innovation that goes into our products also applies to our practices strengthening our dedication to leave the world better than we found it.

Industry

Computer and electronic product manufacturing

Company size

10,000+ Employees

Headquarters location

Cupertino, CA, US

Year founded

1976