Silicon Validation Software Engineer: CPU and Memory Hierarchy

Austin Beaverton Until 9/22/2026 3+ years exp First posted July 24, 2026 Last posted July 24, 2026
Job description

Would you like to work on SW that runs on every Apple phone, pad, and Mac computer in the world? Join our team of experienced SW engineers and debuggers in validating Apple's world class silicon. In this highly visible role you will be writing functional validation SW for the CPUs, caches, and memory subsystem of our SoCs, with the aim of identifying logic design and circuit bugs. You will be a SW developer for a system validation tool used widely across Apple's Silicon Engineering group, and will collaborate with SoC design and product engineering teams to debug and drive silicon issues to root-cause.

Description

Validate CPU cores, cache coherency, and memory hierarchy behavior on post-silicon platforms.
Develop targeted stress tests to expose incorrect behavior under varying operating conditions(voltage, frequency, and temperature).
Partner with design and architecture teams to correlate silicon behavior with intended micro architectural design.
Catch incorrect silicon behavior and issues before product release.
Identify sensitivity to PVT shifts, including incorrect behaviors and intermittent failures.
Collect and analyze silicon data (logs, counters, traces) to understand system behavior across operating conditions.
Provide actionable feedback to PVT and other teams to refine operating limits

Minimum Qualifications

BS in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field with a minimum of 3 years relevant industry experience.
Experience in post-silicon validation, PVT, system bring-up, or silicon debug.

Preferred Qualifications

Strong understanding of CPU microarchitecture, cache coherency, and memory hierarchy.
Knowledge of SoC-level power, clocking, and voltage domains.
Experience working with PVT, reliability, or silicon characterization teams.
Proficiency in C/C++ and scripting (Python) for automation and analysis.
Hands-on experience debugging real silicon across voltage, frequency, and temperature corners.
Ability to communicate complex silicon issues clearly to cross-functional partners.

About this role

Summary

Develop validation software for CPU, cache, and memory system on Apple silicon.

Job title

Silicon Validation Software Engineer: CPU and Memory Hierarchy

Experience level

3+ years

Minimum experience

3+ years exp

Industry

software

Location requirements

Candidates in Austin, Beaverton, or Cupertino; remote options not specified.

Salary

Not specified

Management role

No

Skills & keywords

Required skills

C/C++Pythonpost-silicon validationdebugging siliconsystem validation

Preferred skills

CPU microarchitecturecache coherencymemory hierarchyPVTsilicon characterization

Specializations

validationsiliconmicroarchitecturedebuggingsystem analysis
Locations

Structured locations inferred from the posting.

Austin, TX, USA

On-site City

Beaverton, OR, USA

On-site City

Cupertino, CA, USA

On-site City