# Silicon Validation Engineer, Software at Etched > Onsite · United States · Unspecified · Software engineering · open. Source: https://alderhq.app/jobs/ashby%3AEtched%3A82622c6f-9b8f-44d1-b8fc-2d4634f5abbf (read 2026-11-14). ## Facts (observed) - Company: [Etched](https://alderhq.app/companies/etched) - Location text: San Jose - Where it can be done from (inferred): Onsite · United States (evidence: "Location: San Jose") - Posted: 2026-09-03 (72 days ago) - First seen by alder: 2026-11-02 · last verified: 2026-11-13 - Reposted: 0 times · edited: 0 times - Apply on the employer's site: https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/Etched/82622c6f-9b8f-44d1-b8fc-2d4634f5abbf - Skills listed (inferred): Python, C++ ## Pay and sponsorship - Posted pay: not posted - Market band for similar posted roles (SF Bay Area, n 2174): p25 $161k, median $200k, p75 $240k - H-1B filings at this company for similar roles, FY26: 4, median offered wage $196k ([US DOL OFLC LCA disclosure data](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/foreign-labor/performance)) ## Description (the employer's text) ### About Etched Etched is building hardware for frontier intelligence. We co-design chips, racks, software, and manufacturing to deliver best-in-class throughput and latency across both prefill and decode workloads. Our first products are heavily focused on inference. Backed by hundreds of millions from top-tier investors and staffed by leading engineers, Etched is redefining the infrastructure layer for the fastest growing industry in history. ### Job Summary We are seeking a skilled and motivated Silicon Validation Firmware Engineer to develop the firmware and low-level software that validates our AI/ML accelerator ASICs across their entire Lifecycle, from pre-silicon emulation and FPGA prototyping through post-silicon bring-up, characterization, and production ramp. In this role you will build the validation firmware, test content, and automation that prove our silicon works, and you will be hands-on debugging real hardware in the lab. Your work directly enables functional correctness, performance, and reliability of our cutting-edge products. ### Key Responsibilities Develop and own low-level validation firmware in C/C++ that runs across emulation and physical silicon, providing test content pre-silicon and reusing it to drive post-silicon bring-up. Drive early bring-up of first silicon: boot, initialization, feature enablement, and debug of ASICs. Perform deep-dive debug of silicon issues spanning firmware, RTL, electrical, protocol, and system levels; root-cause and resolve failures. Build firmware infrastructure including hardware abstraction layers (HALs) and low-level device drivers for compute units, memory subsystems, and high-speed interfaces. Develop and extend validation automation, result-capture, and regression frameworks (CI/CD) to run validation at scale. Author firmware-driven test plans and define coverage metrics across IP blocks and subsystems; execute functional, performance, and stress/corner-case testing. Validate and characterize custom IP blocks and accelerator components on both pre- and post-silicon platforms. Use debug consoles and lab tooling (JTAG, UART, logic/protocol analyzers) for silicon debug and characterization. Collaborate closely with design, verification, architecture, DFT, and driver teams to ensure a smooth transition from pre-silicon verification to post-silicon validation, and to feed silicon issues back into revisions and firmware/driver workarounds. ### You may be a good fit if you have (Must-have qualifications) Proficiency in C/C++ for firmware and bare-metal development, plus Python for validation automation and scripting. Understanding of SoC/computer architecture (CPU cores, memory subsystems, caches, interconnects). Solid low-level/embedded fundamentals: bootloaders, hardware abstraction layers, device drivers, register/interrupt programming, and bare-metal or RTOS environments. Knowledge and familiarity developing and debugging in Linux environments. Strong problem-solving, analytical, and cross-functional collaboration skills across hardware and software teams. Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field (Master's a plus). ### Strong candidates may also have experience with (Nice-to-have qualifications) 2+ years of experience developing firmware / embedded software for ASICs or SoCs Hands-on experience with silicon bring-up and low-level debug (boot, initialization, root-causing failures across firmware/electrical/protocol layers). Experience with JTAG and debuggers (e.g., Lauterbach/GDB) and serial/UART debug consoles. Experience across both pre-silicon (emulation, FPGA, RTL simulation) and post-silicon (lab bring-up, characterization) environments. Experience with one or more high-speed interfaces: PCIe, DDR/LPDDR/HBM, SerDes, or die-to-die / chiplet interconnect. Experience building test/validation automation and regression frameworks (CI/CD). RTOS experience (FreeRTOS, Zephyr, NuttX) or RISC-V firmware development. Familiarity with platform/system firmware (UEFI, ACPI, BMC, BIOS). --- Data: alder (https://alderhq.app). Cite https://alderhq.app/jobs/ashby%3AEtched%3A82622c6f-9b8f-44d1-b8fc-2d4634f5abbf and the date you read it. Observed facts come from the employer's own listing; location reach, level, family and skills are inferences.