Staff GPU RTL Power Architect

Position Summary

Samsung, a world leader in advanced semiconductor technology, is founded on a simple philosophy – the endless pursuit of excellence will create a better world for all. At Samsung Austin Research and Development Center (SARC) and Advanced Computing Lab (ACL), we are building a center of excellence for Intellectual Property (IP) that is applied to high-performance computing devices (mobile, automotive, and other custom market segments) consumed by millions of people around the world. Come build with us!

Role and Responsibilities

As a Staff GPU RTL Power Architect, you will work as part of a GPU RTL team. This is a mid-level role where you will act as an individual contributor tasked with optimizing power efficiency and reducing power consumption in our GPU blocks and subsystems targeted to mobile market, as well as other adjacent market segments. Primary focus will include reducing power/improving power-efficiency of the design using architectural and/or micro-architectural techniques to optimize design capacitance/switching activity for a given workload, utilizing RTL coding techniques for low power, and analyzing performance bottlenecks to improve block resource utilization/energy-efficiency.

Key responsibilities include:

• You take ownership of power for specific GPU blocks or subsystems, driving power optimization efforts and ensuring they meet power efficiency goals
• You collaborate with the RTL designers to implement power-efficient design practices from the ground up, ensuring that power constraints are met while maintaining high performance
• You conduct RTL power analysis using industry-standard tools to identify power-hungry areas, bottlenecks, and opportunities for improvement
• You perform detailed analysis of underlying RTL while executing relevant benchmarks or gaming workloads, estimating power impact of architecture/micro-arch/RTL features.
• You enhance the microarchitecture/RTL to optimize power, improve energy efficiency, and maximize perf-per-watt
• You define power-efficient microarchitectural choices and PPA optimizations
• You identify and implement power-saving techniques such as clock gating, voltage scaling, and low-power modes, to minimize power consumption in GPU blocks and subsystems
• You collaborate with cross-functional teams, including performance architects, modeling, design implementation, and validation teams, to understand design specifications and power requirements to ensure power-efficient designs align with performance goals
• You maintain thorough documentation of power optimization strategies, results, and best practices, and communicate findings to relevant teams and stakeholders.

Skills and Qualifications

Minimum Requirements:

• BS or MS in Computer Engineering or related field plus 10+ years of relevant experience
• In-depth knowledge of GPU/CPU architecture, microarchitecture, and various digital sub-blocks
• Proficiency in power analysis using industry-standard methodologies and power tools such as PowerArtist, PTPX, Empower, or equivalent
• Expertise in System-Verilog is required, as is a deep understanding of logic design and ASIC design flow including RTL design, verification, logic synthesis, timing analysis and power optimization
• Experience with a scripting languages like Perl or Python
• Understanding of overhead and benefit tradeoff for clock gating and power gating techniques
• Familiarity with dynamic and leakage power tradeoff
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, along with the ability to work in a dynamic, global team

Preferred candidate will possess the following:

• PhD in Computer Engineering or related field plus 8+ years of relevant experience
• Experience in RTL design of various digital sub-blocks of GPU/CPU/high performance digital designs
• Knowledge of low-power design techniques and methodologies
• Familiarity with physical design flows, STA flows, and tools

Pay Transparency

At Samsung – SARC/ACL, base pay is one part of our total compensation package and is determined within a range. This provides the opportunity to progress as you grow and develop within a role. The base pay range for this role is between $144,345 and $223,735. Your actual base pay will depend on variables that may include your education skills, qualifications, experience, and work location.

Samsung employees have access to benefits including: medical, dental, vision, life insurance, 401(k), free onsite lunch, employee purchase program, tuition assistance (after 6 months), paid time off, student loan program, wellness incentives, and many more. In addition, regular full-time employees (salaried or hourly) are eligible for MBO bonus compensation, based on company, divi