Senior Validation & SI Correlation Engineer

About the Role

SambaNova Systems is redefining what’s possible in AI infrastructure—and the hardware that powers it has to be flawless. As a Senior Hardware Validation & SI Correlation Engineer, you will own the technical bridge between simulation and silicon, ensuring that every high-speed link, control bus, and power rail in our next-generation AI server systems performs without compromise.

This is a high-impact, highly visible role that blends deep Signal Integrity (SI) expertise with rigorous system-level hardware validation. You will work at the frontier of AI compute—validating PCIe Gen5/6, DDR5, and 112G/224G Ethernet interfaces on systems pushing the limits of what data center hardware can do. If you thrive in a fast-paced lab environment, love digging into root cause, and want your work to directly accelerate the future of AI, this role is built for you.

What You’ll Do

SI Modeling & Measurement Correlation

• Drive the correlation between pre- and post-layout SI simulations and physical lab measurements, closing the loop between theory and hardware reality.
• Quantify simulation-vs-measurement gaps for PCIe Gen5/6, DDR5, and 112G/224G Ethernet using S-parameters, TDR, and eye diagram analysis.
• Develop and refine EM models for PCB discontinuities, high-speed connectors, and vias using Ansys HFSS, Cadence Sigrity, or equivalent tools.
• Investigate discrepancies caused by manufacturing tolerances, material properties (Dk/Df), or de-embedding inaccuracies and drive them to resolution.

System-Level Electrical Validation

• Lead validation of housekeeping and control buses—I2C, SPI, eSPI, UART, SMBus—ensuring protocol compliance and robust timing margins.
• Validate complex power-on/off sequences and correlate VR control loop simulations with physical transient response and ripple measurements.
• Ensure reliable operation of sideband signals, reset logic, and BMC hardware interfaces under intensive AI workloads.
• Work cross-functionally with SI, Power Integrity (PI), and Firmware teams to resolve system-hang and link-training failures rooted in electrical noise or power instability.

Test Methodology & Automation

• Author comprehensive Hardware Validation Plans (HVP) with full coverage of critical electrical test points.
• Build Python-based automation scripts to drive data collection from VNAs, BERTs, and oscilloscopes—accelerating validation throughput and repeatability.

What You’ll Bring

Required Qualifications

• B.S. or M.S. in Electrical Engineering (M.S. preferred).
• 10+ years of experience in high-speed digital design or hardware validation within a data center, systems architecture, or server bring-up environment.
• Expert-level proficiency in SI/EM tools: Ansys HFSS/SIwave, Cadence Sigrity/Allegro, or Keysight ADS.
• Hands-on mastery of high-bandwidth real-time oscilloscopes, VNAs, and logic analyzers.
• Deep knowledge of high-speed protocol physical layers (PCIe, IEEE 802.3) and low-speed control buses (I2C, SPI).
• Strong fundamentals in digital circuit design, debug, and computer architecture.
• Familiarity with the unique power and thermal challenges of high-density AI clusters—including 48V power delivery and high di/dt transients.
• Programming fluency in Python or equivalent scripting languages (Perl, Shell).
• PCIE Gen5/6 and 100g Ethernet Expertise

Preferred Qualifications

• M.S. or Ph.D. with emphasis in Electromagnetics, Computer Architecture, or Power Electronics.
• Hands-on experience validating GPU/TPU modules or AI-specific interconnects such as NVLink or CXL.
• Ability to build end-to-end automated test frameworks in Python or TCL, integrating lab equipment with Pandas/NumPy for rapid correlation.
• Transaction- and link-layer expertise in PCIe Gen5/6 and DDR5—not just physical layer knowledge.

Why SambaNova Systems

SambaNova is at the center of the AI infrastructure revolution. We build the world’s most advanced AI platforms—from chip to system to software—and we’re looking for engineers who want to work on problems that matter at a scale that few companies can offer. You’ll join a team of world-class hardware and systems engineers, with access to cutting-edge equipment, fast iteration cycles, and the direct satisfaction of seeing your work power real AI deployments.