At a Glance
- Tasks: Drive architectural verification for a cutting-edge CPU and collaborate with design teams.
- Company: Nuvacore, a leader in high-performance CPU development.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, flexible work options, and opportunities for professional growth.
- Other info: Exciting projects with potential for significant career advancement.
- Why this job: Join a dynamic team and shape the future of computing technology.
- Qualifications: Degree in Engineering or Computer Science with extensive verification experience.
The predicted salary is between 135000 - 165000 $ per year.
Nuvacore is building a ground-up high performance, low-power CPU for next-generation compute workloads. We are seeking Verification Engineers at multiple levels— from Senior Engineer to Principal level — to help prove that the Nuvacore CPU is architecturally correct. As part of the design verification (DV) team, you will help drive architectural verification — checking the CPU’s behavior and architectural state against the architecture specification and a golden reference model — building the stimulus, checkers, and flows that find architectural bugs long before silicon, working shoulder-to-shoulder with architecture and RTL design.
THE ROLE
- Plan & Strategy: Drive the verification scope, strategy, and test plans for architectural correctness — the CPU’s behavior and architectural state versus the specification and a golden reference model.
- Environment Setup: Build, maintain, and scale robust verification environments — including co-simulation against the golden reference model — that compare architectural state end to end.
- Test & Debug: Generate stimulus in assembly and random instruction sequences (RIS) to exercise the full instruction set and architectural corner cases such as exceptions, interrupts, and privilege transitions.
- Coverage Closure: Define the coverage space, write functional coverage monitors, and analyze metrics to prove the architectural test plan is complete.
- Cross-functional Collaboration: Partner with architects and RTL teams to root-cause mismatches across RTL, model, and specification, drive design fixes, and support emulation, FPGA, and silicon bring-up.
REQUIREMENTS — MUST TO HAVE
- Degree in Electrical/Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or equivalent practical experience.
- 15+ years (Principal) or 4+ years (Senior Engineer) of design-verification experience, ideally on a CPU or complex digital design.
- Strong knowledge of CPU architecture and micro-architecture — the instruction set, architectural state, exceptions, and privilege model — with a good understanding of at least one modern ISA (x86, ARM, or RISC-V).
- Hands-on functional verification: test plans, testbenches, checkers, and coverage.
- Proficiency in C/C++/Rust and/or SystemVerilog, plus a scripting language (Python; Perl a plus).
- Experience writing and debugging tests in assembly for CPU verification.
REQUIREMENTS — NICE TO HAVE
- Architectural / instruction-set verification against a golden reference model.
- Random instruction sequence (RIS) stimulus generation.
- Exceptions, interrupts, privilege levels, and virtualization.
- Constrained-random verification and coverage-driven closure.
- Assertions and formal verification.
- Emulation/FPGA and silicon bring-up and debug (waveforms, trace).
$140,000 - $250,000 a year
CPU Architect Verification Engineer in Markham employer: NUVACORE
Nuvacore is an exceptional employer that fosters a collaborative and innovative work culture, perfect for those passionate about cutting-edge CPU architecture. With a strong emphasis on employee growth, Nuvacore offers opportunities for professional development and encourages team members to take ownership of their projects. Located in a vibrant tech hub, employees enjoy access to a dynamic environment that promotes creativity and teamwork, making it an ideal place for meaningful and rewarding employment.
