Back to jobs

Front-End CAD Engineer

Cupertino, CA

About Etched

Etched is building AI chips that are hard-coded for individual model architectures. Our first product (Sohu) only supports transformers, but has an order of magnitude more throughput and lower latency than a B200. With Etched ASICs, you can build products that would be impossible with GPUs, like real-time video generation models and extremely deep & parallel chain-of-thought reasoning agents.

Key responsibilities

  • Own and manage Etched’s front-end CAD environment including build flows, tool-specific flows and tool installation and configuration.
  • Evaluate, deploy, and sustain front-end tools including but not limited to: RTL simulator, low power checker, static RTL checkers such as Lint, and CDC/RDC/SDC/DFT, and formal verification (both property and equivalence) checkers. 
  • Configure and manage project execution dashboard. 

You may be a good fit if you have

  • Experience developing and maintaining front-end IC design flows, including scripting and EDA tool configuration.
  • Proficiency with (at least some) key verification tools: RTL simulation, static checks (lint/CDC/RDC), formal tools and low power tools.   
  • Ability to automate and optimize CAD workflows for chip design verification. 
  • Ability to interface with EDA vendors as well as internal users, identify the internal needs and priorities and bring in the relevant capabilities
  • A can-do attitude and velocity of going from a problem sighting to a deployable solution. 
  • (Bonus) Hands-on RTL design experience, including ownership of a design block to validate CAD methodologies.

Strong candidates may also have experience

  • Setting up and maintaining front-end IC design flows.
  • Working directly with Synopsys and Cadence R&D, sales and field support teams.
  • Working for other chip companies (i.e. Nvidia, Intel, AMD, Qualcomm, Marvell, Broadcom) or an internal chip team at a hyperscaler.

Benefits

  • Full medical, dental, and vision packages, with 100% of premium covered
  • Housing subsidy of $2,000/month for those living within walking distance of the office
  • Daily lunch and dinner in our office
  • Relocation support for those moving to Cupertino

 

How we’re different

Etched believes in the Bitter Lesson. We think most of the progress in the AI field has come from using more FLOPs to train and run models, and the best way to get more FLOPs is to build model-specific hardware. Larger and larger training runs encourage companies to consolidate around fewer model architectures, which creates a market for single-model ASICs.

We are a fully in-person team in Cupertino, and greatly value engineering skills. We do not have boundaries between engineering and research, and we expect all of our technical staff to contribute to both as needed.

Create a Job Alert

Interested in building your career at Etched? Get future opportunities sent straight to your email.

Apply for this job

*

indicates a required field

Resume/CV*

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Cover Letter

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in Etched’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

Select...
Select...
Race & Ethnicity Definitions

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

Select...