Sr. Principal Digital Designer
NXP Semiconductors · Bengaluru
Role Summary
We are seeking a Sr. Principal Digital Designer to lead the architecture, implementation, and integration of digital subsystems for Automotive Ethernet PHY products (10BASE‑T1S, 100BASE‑T1, 1000BASE‑T1, and multi‑gig automotive SerDes technologies).
The role involves driving digital micro-architecture, state machines, PCS functionality, safety mechanisms, and end‑to‑end digital design across the PHY.
Key Responsibilities
1. Architecture & Technical Leadership
- Define and own digital subsystem micro‑architecture for Automotive Ethernet PHYs, including:
- PCS pipelines and encoding/decoding logic
- Scramblers/descramblers, CRC engines, alignment & framing
- Packet processing, link monitoring, error handling
- Interface logic (MII, RMII, RGMII, GMII, XGMII depending on product line)
- Processor based SoC design
- Perform system‑level partitioning between digital, analog/mixed-signal, and firmware components.
- Lead feasibility studies, power/performance trade-offs, and digital architecture exploration.
2. RTL Design & Implementation
- Develop high-quality RTL (Verilog/SystemVerilog) for control, datapath, and protocol logic.
- Drive digital front-end flows including:
- Lint, CDC/RDC, reset architecture, synthesis guidance
- Timing constraints and logic optimization
- Work with DV to define coverage goals, corner cases, and feature verification plans.
3. System‑Level Ownership
- Translate system requirements, IEEE 802.3 specifications, and architecture documents into robust digital designs.
- Work with mixed-signal teams to define:
- Control interfaces to analog front‑end blocks
- Calibration engines, register programming flows, and digital‑analog interaction models
- Contribute to bring‑up sequences, compliance testing, and system validation.
4. Automotive Quality & Functional Safety
- Ensure compliance with Automotive Ethernet standards, ISO 26262, and AEC‑Q100 expectations.
- Define and implement:
- Safety mechanisms (BIST, LBIST/MBIST, error detection schemes)
- Diagnostic monitors, timeout recovery logic, watchdogs, and fault reporting
- Participate in FMEDA, DFA, and functional safety analysis.
5. Cross‑Functional Collaboration
- Partner with:
- Firmware/software teams for register maps, boot flows, diagnostics
- PD teams to ensure implementation‑friendly architecture
- Validation and compliance teams for pre‑ and post‑silicon debug
- Mentor junior engineers and guide technical decision‑making across the digital team.
Required Qualifications
- Masters in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related discipline.
- 12+ years experience in digital design for PHY, SerDes, networking ASICs, or communication ICs.
- Strong expertise in:
- Verilog/SystemVerilog RTL design
- High‑speed digital logic, state machines, control logic
- IEEE 802.3 Ethernet PCS, link training, and system control flows
- Synthesis, STA, CDC/RDC methodology
- Proven track record across multiple production tape-outs.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with Automotive Ethernet standards: 10BASE‑T1S, 100BASE‑T1, 1000BASE‑T1, 10GBASE‑T1.
- Familiarity with PHY firmware-driven initialization and configuration flows.
- Strong debugging skills with logic analyzers, protocol analyzers, and post-silicon validation.
- Background in safety‑critical digital logic designs.
Soft Skills
- Strong leadership, technical decision-making, and mentoring capabilities.
- Ability to communicate complex architectural topics to multidisciplinary teams.
- Excellent documentation and cross-functional collaboration skills.