Senior Technical Staff Engineer - SOC Lead (Design & Architecture)

Acara Solutions is looking for a Senior Technical Staff Engineer - SOC Lead (Design & Architecture) for one of our clients in Chandler, AZ. This is a direct hire position.

Total salary range of $180 K per year (including base, bonus, and RSU).

Job Description:

The Wireless Solutions Group is seeking for an experienced Engineer to lead our portfolio of 32-bit microcontroller-based Bluetooth and Wi-Fi products. In this position, you will drive next-generation Wireless SOC solutions that combine high-performance and low-power requirements. You will provide technical leadership and collaborate closely with teams across different functions - such as architecture, RTL design, verification, and implementation teams. A successful candidate requires strong collaboration across sites and functions, excellent communication, and the ability to excel in a fast-moving and dynamic environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Contribute to SOC design from concept through tape-out by partnering with the Architecture, RTL design, and implementation teams.
• Create detailed microarchitectural specifications that clearly represent design objectives, technical requirements and proposed solutions.
• Drive SOC designs based on microarchitecture specifications and design documentation; support verification plans to ensure IC qualification meets required standards.
• Work closely with software, analog, post-silicon validation, and test teams to optimize development cycle times.
• Collaborate with marketing, architecture, and applications teams to define next-generation low-power wireless products.
• Implement AI-driven and automation techniques to enhance design quality, methodologies, and efficiency, ensuring rapid cycle times and successful first-silicon-success tape-outs.
• Work with firmware teams to enable robust software support for wireless products.
• Coordinate with IP vendors and internal stakeholders to align on technical needs and project roadmaps.
• Mentor engineers to build deep subject-matter expertise within the team.
• Promote teamwork, cooperation across geographies, and a positive, inclusive workplace culture.

Required Skills / Qualifications:

Requirements/Qualifications:

• 15 years of hands-on experience with SOC design (Verilog/SystemVerilog), architecture and functional verification (UVM, assertions, coverage).
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering or a related field.
• Proven expertise in microarchitecture, microcontroller development and wireless product implementation.
• Knowledge of Bluetooth/BLE/Wi-Fi communication principles and standards.
• Strong understanding of low-power design, and power/analog subsystems.
• Comprehensive knowledge of the microcontroller development lifecycle, including marketing requirements, pre-silicon and post-silicon validation, and production testing.
• Proven track record leading tape-outs with distributed cross-geography teams.
• Familiarity of Functional Safety (FuSa) and cybersecurity standards for embedded products.

Preferred Skills and Experience:

• Master's degree in omputer engineering, electrical engineering, or a related field.
• Experience with industry-leading SoC EDA tools and flows.
• Knowledge of security features and related design principles.
• Background in validation methodologies, including debugging on FPGA and silicon IC boards.