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Senior Emulation Engineer Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Senior Engineer Emulation

Austin, TX · On-site

$86K - $148K/yr

We are seeking a highly skilled Emulation Engineer to join our team Essential Responsibilities * Building the design for emulation, running tests, identifying the failure point, getting waves of the ...

We are seeking a highly skilled Emulation Engineer to join our team Essential Responsibilities * Building the design for emulation, running tests, identifying the failure point, getting waves of the ...

We are seeking a highly skilled Emulation Engineer to join our team Essential Responsibilities * Building the design for emulation, running tests, identifying the failure point, getting waves of the ...

Showing results 41-60

Senior Emulation Engineer information

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$59.5K

$126.6K

$183.5K

How much do senior emulation engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 21, 2026, the average yearly pay for senior emulation engineer in the United States is $126,557.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $104,500.00 and $143,500.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is a senior emulation engineer?

Senior Emulation Engineers are experienced professionals who design, develop, and manage hardware emulation systems to verify and validate complex integrated circuits (ICs) and system-on-chip (SoC) designs. They work with hardware description languages, emulation platforms, and debug tools to ensure designs function correctly before manufacturing. Their role often involves collaborating with design, verification, and software teams to accelerate the development cycle and identify design issues early. Senior Emulation Engineers typically have several years of experience and deep technical expertise in hardware verification and emulation technologies.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a senior emulation engineer?

To thrive as a Senior Emulation Engineer, you need a deep understanding of hardware design (RTL, Verilog/VHDL), digital logic, and experience with FPGA or ASIC emulation platforms, typically supported by a degree in electrical or computer engineering. Expertise in emulation tools such as Synopsys ZeBu, Cadence Palladium, or Mentor Veloce, and familiarity with simulation and debugging systems, is essential. Strong problem-solving, communication, and leadership abilities help you collaborate effectively and mentor junior engineers. These skills and qualities are crucial for ensuring efficient verification cycles, catching design issues early, and delivering robust silicon products.

What are the main challenges senior emulation engineers face when integrating emulation platforms into existing verification workflows?

Senior Emulation Engineers often encounter challenges related to compatibility between emulation platforms and pre-existing verification environments. Adapting testbenches, optimizing simulation performance, and ensuring accurate debug capabilities can require close collaboration with design, verification, and software teams. Additionally, keeping up with rapidly evolving hardware and software tools calls for continuous learning and adaptation. Successfully managing these challenges is key to delivering reliable, high-performance verification results.

What is the difference between Senior Emulation Engineer vs Hardware Verification Engineer?

AspectSenior Emulation EngineerHardware Verification Engineer
Required CredentialsBachelor's or Master's in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related fields; experience with emulation toolsBachelor's or Master's in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related fields; knowledge of verification methodologies
Work EnvironmentDesign and develop hardware emulation systems, work with FPGA and ASIC platformsDesign and execute verification plans, use simulation and formal verification tools
Industry UsageSemiconductor, electronics, and hardware development companiesSemiconductor, electronics, and integrated circuit industries

The main difference between a Senior Emulation Engineer and a Hardware Verification Engineer lies in their focus areas. The Senior Emulation Engineer specializes in hardware emulation systems, working closely with FPGA and ASIC platforms to validate hardware designs. In contrast, the Hardware Verification Engineer concentrates on verifying hardware functionality through simulation and formal methods. Both roles require similar educational backgrounds and are vital in semiconductor and electronics industries, but their core responsibilities and tools differ.

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Infographic showing various Senior Emulation Engineer job openings in the United States as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 100% Full Time. Highlights an 100% In-person job distribution, with an average salary of $126,557 per year, or $60.8 per hour.

Senior ICE Emulation Design Engineer

Axiado

San Jose, CA • On-site

Full-time

Re-posted 19 days ago


Job description

Company Description

Axiado is an AI-enhanced security processor company redefining the control and management of every digital system. The company was founded in 2017, and currently has 150+ employees. At Axiado, developing great technology takes more than talent: it takes amazing people who understand collaboration, respect each other, and go the extra mile to achieve exceptional results. It takes people who have the passion and desire to disrupt the status quo, deliver innovation, and change the world. If you have this type of passion, we invite you to apply for this job.

Job Description

The Senior Emulation Design Engineer position is your opportunity to join one of the industry’s leading companies in platform security management and ransomware detection for cloud datacenters, 5G infrastructure and disaggregated compute ecosystems. You will be responsible for converting large, complex SOC designs, including third-party IPs, into emulation-ready environments, enabling system level validation and debugging, software development and performance analysis. This role is critical for validating the interoperability of our design with commercial AI servers, and for bridging the gap between hardware and software, as well as supporting SW development.

Key Responsibilities

  • Partition and synthesize large SOC RTL designs for emulation. Integrate internal and third-party IPs for emulation compatibility, and resolving timing, connectivity and other synthesis issues

  • Setup and validate high-speed (e.g., PCIe, Ethernet, USB) and low-speed (e.g., I2C, SPI, UART) interfaces

  • Configure host servers, boot environments to interact with the emulated design

  • Integrate, develop and debug transactors, bridges and protocol adapters as needed

  • Debug and root-cause embedded HW, SW and test failures in emulation

  • Collaborate with RTL, DV and SW teams to resolve system level bugs

  • Performance optimization

Qualifications
  • BS or MS degrees or higher in EE, CE or related fields

  • 7+ years of hands-on experience in prototyping, emulation, SOC design and validation

  • Self-driven, good problem solving and communication skills

  • Experience integrating and debugging high-speed and low-speed interfaces

  • Familiarity with embedded software bring-up and bootloader/kernel interactions

  • Proficiency with scripting languages (Python, Perl, TCL) for automation

  • Preferred qualifications include: experience in design verification, hardware/software co-simulation, Linux device drivers, bare-metal FW or boot loaders


Additional Information

Axiado is committed to attracting, developing, and retaining the highest caliber talent in a diverse and multifaceted environment. We are headquartered in the heart of Silicon Valley, with access to the world's leading research, technology and talent.

We are building an exceptional team to secure every node on the internet. For us, solving real-world problems takes precedence over purely theoretical problems. As a result, we prefer individuals with persistence, intelligence and high curiosity over pedigree alone. Working hard and smart, continuous learning and mutual support are all part of who we are.

Axiado is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Axiado does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, non-disqualifying physical or mental disability, national origin, veteran status or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit, and business need.