Apple logo
Apple Verified
Consumer Electronics, Software, Services, Retail

CPU Gate Level Synthesis Engineer

Santa Clara, CAOnsiteFull TimePosted 2 months agoVisa sponsorship available

Is this role right for you?

Upload your resume and get a skill-by-skill breakdown — see exactly where you match, where you're close, and what to highlight. Not a mystery percentage.

Get a tailored resume highlighting what this role needs.

Required skills

  • CPU
  • Gate Level Synthesis
  • RTL
  • digital logic design
  • DFT
  • scan chain
  • ATPG
  • MBIST
  • timing
  • power

Nice to have

  • CPU implementation
  • scripting
  • automation
  • flow optimization
  • physical design
  • TCL

Role summary

Apple's Silicon Engineering Group is seeking a CPU Gate Level Synthesis Engineer to drive early-stage development of high-performance, low-power CPUs. This role involves RTL to gate-level synthesis, optimizing timing, power, and area, and collaborating with cross-functional teams on synthesis methodologies, constraint development, DFT integration, RTL optimization, and power analysis. Responsibilities include RTL health assessment, power estimation, enhancing synthesis flows, DFT integration, constraint generation, and debugging PPA issues.

Imagine what you could do here. At Apple, new ideas have a way of becoming extraordinary products, services, and customer experiences very quickly. Bring passion and dedication to your job and there's no telling what you could accomplish. Dynamic, hard-working people and inspiring, innovative technologies are the norm here. The people who work here have reinvented entire industries with all Apple Hardware products! The same passion for innovation that goes into our products also applies to our practices strengthening our commitment to leave the world better than we found it. Join us to help deliver groundbreaking Apple products! Apple’s Silicon Engineering Group (SEG) is looking for a hardworking engineer for our CPU Gate Level Synthesis role to assess and optimize design quality. In this role, the candidate would be a part of Apple’s industry-leading CPU design team, working in a multi-functional role to ensure that our CPUs meet the highest standards for performance, power and area.

Description


As a CPU Gate Level Synthesis Engineer, you will drive the early-stage development of high-performance, low-power digital designs for cutting-edge high-performance CPUs. This role involves running RTL to gate level synthesis and finding opportunities to optimize timing, power, and area for micro-architectural features. You will collaborate with cross-functional teams to implement synthesis methodologies, constraint development, DFT integration, RTL optimization and power analysis. Responsibilities include but are not limited to: • Early RTL health assessment to detect potential timing/gate-depth issues and collaborating with the RTL & physical design teams in exploring solutions • Early stage power estimation and validation for new micro-architectural features • Enhancing synthesis flows for good correlation to post-route to ensure high fidelity of synthesis-based feedback • Work closely with DFT teams to ensure seamless integration of scan chain, ATPG, and MBIST into the synthesis flow • Partner with timing team to enable constraints generation at top levels • Debug and resolve timing, power, and area issues, ensuring efficient and scalable designs • Track and analyze PPA trends through project cycle

Minimum Qualifications


Minimum BS required Experience in at least one of the following: digital logic design, RTL synthesis, physical design

Preferred Qualifications


The ideal candidate should ideally possess CPU implementation experience Proficiency in scripting languages (TCL, Perl, Python) for automation and flow optimization Strong problem-solving, debugging, and collaboration skills in a fast-paced environment

Sample Apple interview questions

  • 1

    Design a typeahead box for a search engine

    system designmedium
  • 2

    Design a rate limiter

    system designmedium
  • 3

    Architect a key-value store for distributed systems.

    system designmedium
  • 4

    Design a system to schedule jobs in a distributed environment

    system designmedium
  • 5

    What is an API and how does it work?

    technicalmedium

Get started to unlock a personalized interview prep pack for this role.

Ready to apply?
You'll be redirected to Apple's application page.

Similar roles

See how RiseMe works

Match, tailor, and prep so you send fewer applications and land more interviews.