Emulation Engineer

About the role

MatX is seeking a Senior/Staff Emulation Engineer to build the infrastructure, flows, and debug methodology behind our advanced connectivity SoCs. The role sits in the Emulation team, but the impact is broader: you'll create reusable flows that span emulation, SoC simulation, firmware/software bring-up, and post-silicon validation. We're looking for a multi-disciplinary engineer with an out-of-the-box, can-do mindset — someone who sees a gap and builds the bridge, comfortable moving between RTL, software, tooling, system debug, and vendor flows.

Responsibilities

• Define and execute emulation strategy and test plans for complex connectivity SoCs.
• Bring up and debug large-scale models on commercial emulation platforms such as Cadence Palladium, Zebu or Veloce.
• Integrate external components such as SpeedBridge and VirtualBridge adapters, Accelerated VIP, and memory models — for PCIe, HBM4, Ethernet, AXI/AMBA, JTAG, and (Q)SPI. And build custom transactors where needed.
• Develop HW/SW co-emulation and co-simulation flows using RTL, software/reference models (Rust, C/C++, SystemC), firmware, and software tests.
• Build reusable transactors, agents, stubs, bridges, checkers, and acceleration flows — including developing new transactors and agents from scratch when off-the-shelf options don't fit.
• Drive emulation speed-ups and resource utilization — compile-time reduction, partitioning, clocking strategy, regression scheduling, multi-user capacity, and waveform/trace management.
• Build automation for regression triage, debug, model usability, and engineering productivity.
• Go beyond prompting with AI — build practical LLM-based tooling for log analysis, waveform triage, debug assistance, and flow generation, including custom skills, agents, rules, and workflows that fit our engineering stack.
• Collaborate with architecture, RTL, DV, SoC, firmware, driver, kernel, validation, and EDA/vendor teams.

Requirements

• Strong hands-on experience with SoC emulation or system-level validation.
• Experience with at least one commercial emulation platform, such as Palladium.
• Working Verilog/SystemVerilog and waveform-debug skills — enough to develop a custom transactor or agent when needed (with or without AI assistance). Deep RTL design expertise is not required.
• Strong software and automation skills — Python plus one or more of C, C++, Rust, Tcl, or shell.
• Demonstrated ability to build tools and infrastructure, not just run existing flows.
• Strong system-level debug instincts spanning RTL, firmware, and software.
• Ability to work independently and across functional and team boundaries.

Bonus Points

• UVM or hybrid SoC testbench development.
• Integrating cycle-accurate, software, or reference models into emulation/DV flows.
• Rust in verification or emulation flows (or strong interest in adopting it).
• Bazel or large-scale build/regression systems.
• Reusable stimulus across simulation, emulation, and post-silicon.
• AI/LLMs used to build real engineering tools — debug, triage, flow generation — beyond chat prompting.
• Connectivity SoCs, PCIe/CXL, Ethernet, DMA, HBM/memory subsystems, chiplets, or interconnect fabrics.
• Firmware or driver bring-up on emulation platforms.
• Scaling emulation or verification infrastructure across multiple projects or product lines.

Pay

The US base salary for this full-time position is determined based on a variety of factors including role, experience, location, job related skills, and relevant education and training. Career length is only a guideline for compensation.

• Early Career: $120,000 - $275,000 + equity
• Mid Career: $175,000 - $450,000 + equity
• Senior Career: $275,000 - $600,000 + equity

Benefits

• A Stake in our success: A flexible cash equity compensation mix that fits your needs.
• Health & Wellness: Company subsidized Health, Dental, Vision, and Life insurance; Pre-tax Health Savings Accounts with generous company contribution.
• Time To Recharge: 4 weeks paid time off (accrued), 12 company holidays, and 3 weeks remote/flexible work per year.
• Support to Parents: Up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave, regardless of your path to parenthood.
• Learning & Development: $1,500 yearly towards your professional development e.g. conferences, courses, and other learning opportunities.
• Team Connection: Team Lunches, quarterly off-sites, and regular town halls.
• Financial Wellbeing: 401K and/or Roth IRA, with 5% company contribution, even if you don’t!
• Flexible Spending Accounts: Pre-tax spend accounts for medical, dental/vision, dependent care, parking, and transit expenses.
• Commute On Us: For those commuting up to 1 hour, put your rideshare cost on our company card and reclaim the drive-time to get work done!
• MatX E[x]tras: $50 per month to use on the perks you care about most.
• Remote Perks: We work remotely Monday & Friday, supported by home-tech setup, and remote wifi expense reimbursement.

Schedule

This position requires work from our offices in Mountain View Tuesdays-Thursdays.