(Contract) ASIC Design Verification (DV) Engineer

The Role:

This is an 18-month contract position

We the Video HW IP/Solution Group at our AMD Markham site are looking for an experienced ASIC Design Verification (DV) Engineer to fill this Member of Technical Staff role.

You will join a vibrant established hardware (HW) IP team developing video encoder & video decoder HW IP (VCN)! This is a multifaceted role that extends beyond verification to helping optimize the HW solution.

The position requires working closely with the HW modelling teams, Firmware engineers, HW designers, HW block verification teams, and firmware developers to deliver test suites providing high functional coverage of the HW model & HW design.

We will require you to first acquire background knowledge of VCN IP HW core, HW C-model, test suite, and verification methodology. You will be part of the verification team, collaboratively understanding features & HW design details & defining required test scenarios for new HW features in a testplan. You will execute this testplan & own development & debug of a comprehensive test library and suite of functional tests to validate complete end-to-end video HW solution functionality of these HW features with a primary focus on video encoding. This will include validating that test scenarios run on a HW C-model function correctly and as intended. You will also debug these same end-to-end test scenarios on the HW design to ensure correct implementation.

You will help craft and refine a detailed end-to-end performance test suite to validate HW performance in real-world system use case configurations (both typical and stressful) and have deep involvement in helping tune the tests & HW to eliminate bottlenecks & ensure efficient performance.

Furthermore, you may assist in developing & improving HW C-model functionality to increase skills.

The Person:

• An organized, enthusiastic self-motivated with a strong interest in verification methodologies.
• Be a self-starter with a pro-active approach, taking ownership in driving tasks to completion
• Good communication skills (verbal and written) with strong problem-solving, and attention to detail
• Ability to work in a multi-discipline team and global setting as a solution enabler

Key Responsibilities:

• Work collaboratively with the modelling team to understand new HW feature details and requirements & impact on the existing HW and translate these into comprehensive verification plans for each of these new HW features. Drive implementation & debug of the defined test scenarios on the model
• Develop detailed functional verification test plans, and performance test plans for new Video IP features, by understanding the features & the interactions between the existing HW features, considering both real-world usage scenarios and high functional coverage
• Develop test library software, test cases and execute hands-on testing, debug, and validation of all HW model functionality using these tests
• Use or adapt test libraries, emulation models, and test cases from existing IP.
• Work with ASIC design team (HW, FW and SW) to debug & tackle test failures at IP level
• Develop, adapt, and verify IP performance tests to ensure real-world HW performance usecase targets are met
• Automate and improve test suite verification efficiency and test suite coverage

Preferred Experience:

• Strong understanding of hardware principles including Verilog RTL, UVM, test bench and HW verification
• Strong C/C++ software development experience or equivalent application of object oriented programming concepts
• Strong debugging skills, root cause analysis and attention to detail
• Experience with simulation debug of HW using waveforms and other design verification tools.
• A minimum 6+ years of hands-on industry design verification experience in HW ASIC product development
• Strong understanding of video codecs such as H.264/AVC, H.265/HEVC, and AV1 is highly desirable
• Prior knowledge in low-level firmware or IP testing are an excellent asset

Academic Credentials:

Minimum BSEE/CE, or equivalent degree in related engineering fields or computer science