RTL/Firmware Design Engineer

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RTL/Firmware Design Engineer (New College Grad)

THE ROLE

Join the SDMA system IP team to develop and debug firmware for AMD's next-generation data center and graphics silicon. You will work at the boundary between hardware and software - writing embedded firmware, triaging failures across pre-silicon simulation, emulation, and post-silicon platforms, and working alongside RTL designers and verification engineers to close issues at their root. You will also be part of a team actively adopting AI-assisted engineering, applying LLM and agentic tooling to accelerate firmware development, log triage, and performance analysis.

This is a role for someone who wants to understand the whole stack: what the architecture spec says, what the RTL actually does, and what the firmware has to do about it.

THE PERSON

You have a passion for modern processor architecture, embedded systems, and digital design. You are curious about how hardware really behaves, not just how it is documented. You are a team player with strong communication skills, comfortable collaborating with engineers across different sites and time zones. You have strong analytical and problem-solving instincts, you are willing to learn quickly, and you are eager to take on ambiguous problems. You are interested in using AI tools to work faster and are comfortable evaluating their output critically rather than accepting it at face value.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop, test, and maintain embedded firmware for SDMA and related system IP components, from feature implementation through release
• Triage verification failures across simulation, emulation, and post-silicon environments: reproduce the issue, isolate whether it is firmware, RTL, or test infrastructure, and drive it to resolution with the responsible owner
• Read and debug Verilog/SystemVerilog RTL and analyze waveforms to reason about hardware behavior and the hardware/firmware interface
• Apply AI and LLM-based tooling to accelerate firmware development, debugging, and optimization - including code generation and review, automated log and failure analysis, test generation, and documentation - and help the team establish effective practices for doing so
• Study architecture and micro-architecture specifications, translate them into firmware requirements, and flag gaps or inconsistencies early
• Build and improve scripting and automation for firmware build, test, and debug flows
• Collaborate with architects, RTL designers, verification engineers, and software teams to deliver high-quality, low-power design solutions
  
  
  

Preferred Experience

• Embedded C/C++ firmware development on microcontrollers or SoC platforms; familiarity with interrupts, DMA, memory-mapped registers, and low-level debug
• Ability to read Verilog or SystemVerilog and interpret simulation waveforms
• Scripting and automation in Python; exposure to Perl, Ruby, or Makefile-based build systems
• Hands-on experience using AI coding assistants or LLM-based tooling in a real development or debug workflow
• Exposure to pre-silicon simulation or emulation, or post-silicon bring-up and validation
• Familiarity with computer architecture fundamentals: caches, memory hierarchy, bus protocols, and DMA engines
• Version control and CI/CD workflows (Git, Perforce, Jenkins or equivalent)
• Coursework, internship, or personal projects in digital design, embedded systems, or computer architecture
  
  
  

ACADEMIC CREDENTIALS

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field
  
  
  

Benefits offered are described: AMD benefits at a glance.

AMD does not accept unsolicited resumes from headhunters, recruitment agencies, or fee-based recruitment services. AMD and its subsidiaries are equal opportunity, inclusive employers and will consider all applicants without regard to age, ancestry, color, marital status, medical condition, mental or physical disability, national origin, race, religion, political and/or third-party affiliation, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We encourage applications from all qualified candidates and will accommodate applicants’ needs under the respective laws throughout all stages of the recruitment and selection process.

AMD may use Artificial Intelligence to help screen, assess or select applicants for this position. AMD’s “Responsible AI Policy” is available here.

This posting is for an existing vacancy.