Job Description

NXP Semiconductors is seeking a Senior Principal Digital IC Designer to provide top‑level technical leadership in the development of complex mixed‑signal integrated circuits for automotive and industrial electrification applications.

The role is positioned at the highest technical level and requires deep expertise in digital IC design, strong system‑level understanding, and the ability to influence architectural and methodological decisions across multiple products and programs.

Key Responsibilities

Technical Leadership

• Act as a company‑level technical reference for digital IC design within the electrification domain
• Define, review, and approve digital architectures for complex mixed‑signal ICs
• Drive key architectural trade‑offs across performance, power, safety, testability, and cost
• Drive and support digital verification team
• Establish and maintain digital design best practices and standards

Product and Portfolio Scope

• Provide technical guidance across multiple concurrent programs
• Contribute to product definition and long‑term technology roadmap
• Promote reuse and scalability of digital architectures and IPs across platforms
• Interface with system architects, product line management, and application teams on technical topics

Design Execution and Quality

• Develop and oversee RTL design, synthesis, integration, and sign‑off activities
• Review and approve:
  • RTL implementations
  • Design documentation and specifications
  • Sign‑off results (timing, power, CDC, DFT)
• Support silicon bring‑up, debug activities, and root‑cause analysis on first silicon and production issues
• Understanding UVM and digital verification methodology

Safety‑Critical Design

• Ensure compliance with automotive quality and safety standards
• Drive the definition and evaluation of digital safety mechanisms
• Support safety analyses and reviews in collaboration with functional safety teams

Mentoring and Knowledge Transfer

• Mentor and technically guide Digital Designers
• Actively contribute to competence development within the organization
• Share expertise across teams and international sites

Required Skills

• Master’s or PhD degree in Electrical Engineering or equivalent
• Minimum 15 years of experience in digital IC design
• Proven experience operating at Principal or Senior Principal technical level
• Expert knowledge of:
  • RTL design (SystemVerilog / Verilog)
  • Complex digital architectures and control‑oriented designs
  • Multi‑clock, multi-power and reset strategies
  • Synthesis constraints
  • DFT concepts (ATPG, BIST, coverage)
• Strong experience in mixed‑signal IC environments
• Solid understanding of automotive and safety‑critical design methodologies
• Hands‑on experience with industry‑standard EDA tools (Matlab, Synopsys, Cadence, Siemens)
• Fluent written and spoken English

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with automotive or industrial electrification ICs (BMS, gate drivers, power management)
• Familiarity with Digital Signal Processing
• Experience influencing technical direction beyond a single project or team
• International R&D experience

More information about NXP in Italy...

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