Staff Validation Engineer - Power
Ambiq Micro, Inc.
Salary undisclosed
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Description
Company Overview
Ambiq is on a mission to enable intelligence everywhere — powering the AI edge revolution with the world's lowest-power semiconductor solutions.
Built on our proprietary sub- and near-threshold technology, our chips deliver multi-fold improvements in energy efficiency without costly process scaling. Since 2010, we've shipped over 300 million units to customers building smarter wearables, medical devices, IoT products, and AI-powered edge applications.
Our cross-functional teams span design, research, development, production, marketing, sales, and operations across Austin, Hsinchu, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Singapore. We move fast, tackle hard problems, and create space for people to grow through complex, meaningful work that shapes the future of technology.
We're looking for self-motivated, creative problem-solvers who are eager to push technological limits and make a real impact in energy efficiency.
At Ambiq, we live by five values: Innovate. Collaborate. Focus. Learn. Achieve.
If that's you, join us — the intelligence everywhere revolution starts here.
This role will be on-site 5 days a week in NW Austin.
Scope
The Staff Power Validation Engineer is a senior technical individual contributor responsible for defining and executing power validation strategies for Ambiq's next-generation ultra-low-power SoCs.
Reporting to the Senior Manager, Silicon Validation Engineering, this role serves as the technical expert for post-silicon power validation, characterization, and optimization. Working closely with Architecture, Design, Verification, Firmware, Systems Engineering, and Product Engineering, the Staff Engineer will develop scalable validation methodologies, create advanced automation frameworks, and help deliver industry-leading power efficiency across multiple product families.
This position combines deep hands-on technical expertise with cross-functional technical leadership, influencing product architecture, validation methodology, and power optimization throughout the silicon development lifecycle.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead power validation, characterization, and optimization for complex mixed-signal SoCs and edge AI devices.
- Develop validation methodologies, automation frameworks, and reusable software tools for power analysis and characterization.
- Design and execute validation plans covering system-, subsystem-, and block-level power behavior.
- Develop embedded firmware and automation software for silicon bring-up, current profiling, and data collection.
- Partner with Architecture, Design, Verification, Firmware, Systems, and Product Engineering teams to optimize power performance and resolve complex silicon issues.
- Design validation hardware and specify laboratory equipment for precision power measurement and ultra-low-current characterization.
- Analyze power behavior across operating modes, sleep states, AI workloads, and peripheral activity.
- Mentor engineers and provide technical leadership on power validation best practices.
Required Qualifications
- BS or MS in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field.
- 5+ years of experience in silicon validation, power characterization, or low-power SoC development.
- Strong understanding of mixed-signal SoCs, embedded systems, and advanced power management architectures.
- Experience developing validation automation using Python, TCL, C/C++, or similar languages.
- Hands-on experience with oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, source measurement units (SMUs), picoammeters, and other precision measurement equipment.
- Experience with embedded firmware development and ARM-based SoCs.
- Proven ability to analyze and debug complex hardware, firmware, and system-level power issues.
- Strong communication and collaboration skills with cross-functional engineering teams.
- Experience validating ultra-low-power SoCs and edge AI devices.
- Familiarity with AI accelerators, DSP architectures, and heterogeneous compute systems.
- Experience with dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS), multiple power domains, retention modes, and advanced low-power techniques.
- Experience with statistical characterization, production correlation, and silicon debug.
- Experience developing reusable validation infrastructure and laboratory automation.
Must be currently authorized to work in the United States for any employer. We do not sponsor or take over sponsorship of employment visas (now or in the future) for this role.
About this role
Ambiq is seeking a senior technical leader to own power validation for its next-generation ultra-low-power semiconductors. This Staff Validation Engineer role sits at the intersection of silicon characterization, firmware development, and cross-functional collaboration—you'll define validation strategies for complex mixed-signal SoCs, build automation frameworks and measurement infrastructure, and work directly with architecture, design, verification, and systems teams to optimize power efficiency across multiple product families. The work spans system-level analysis down to block-level debugging, with hands-on use of precision lab equipment and embedded firmware development to profile current behavior across operating modes, sleep states, and AI workloads.
This is a senior individual contributor role that combines deep technical expertise with mentorship and influence over validation methodology and product architecture. You'll need 5+ years in silicon validation or low-power SoC development, strong proficiency in mixed-signal design and power management architectures, and demonstrated skill developing automation in Python, C/C++, or TCL. Hands-on experience with oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, SMUs, and picoammeters is essential, as is embedded firmware work on ARM-based systems. Experience validating ultra-low-power devices, edge AI accelerators, and advanced techniques like DVFS and multi-domain power management is highly valued.
The role is full-time, on-site five days a week in northwest Austin, and requires current U.S. work authorization with no visa sponsorship available.
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