Senior Hardware Validation Engineer

Nvidia - Santa Clara, CA

Full-time - Senior

Santa Clara, CA

Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing

About the position

NVIDIA is seeking a Senior Hardware Validation Engineer to join our Datacenter Systems Engineering team. In this role, you will lead validation activities and work closely with validation engineers, board designers, silicon characterization teams, and application engineers to ensure optimal product validation and test coverage. Our technology is at the forefront of computing, enabling scientists, researchers, and engineers to push the boundaries of innovation. As a Senior Hardware Validation Engineer, you will be instrumental in designing and developing validation plans for GPU and CPU modules, as well as other peripheral cards integrated into NVIDIA's datacenter products. Your responsibilities will include debugging and triaging issues, performing root cause analysis, verifying fixes, defining new tests, and improving product test plans. You will conduct electrical, functional, and stress testing of various interfaces, including power monitoring control loops, I2C, SPI, SMBUS, PCIe, and USB. Additionally, you will track and coordinate all validation activities from the initial bring-up phase to production release, collaborating with multi-functional teams to test and debug any hardware/software product issues. You will also design diagnostic suites and test plans for engineering builds and provide schematic and layout reviews for next-generation board designs. The ideal candidate will possess a strong background in digital design, circuit design and analysis, computer architecture, and CPU/GPU architecture, along with validation experience in board bring-up and lab debugging. You should be comfortable in a lab environment and demonstrate a passion for product-level validation. Strong programming skills in Python or other scripting languages are essential, as is the ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment with evolving product definitions.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop validation plans for GPU and CPU modules and other peripheral cards integrated into NVIDIA's datacenter products.
• Debug, triage issues, perform root cause analysis, verify fixes, define new tests, and improve product test plans.
• Conduct electrical, functional, and stress testing of interfaces such as power monitoring control loops, I2C, SPI, SMBUS, PCIe, and USB.
• Track and coordinate all validation activities from bring-up to production release.
• Collaborate with multi-functional teams including designers, silicon, software, and thermal leads to test and debug hardware/software product issues.
• Design diagnostic suites and test plans for engineering builds.
• Provide schematic and layout reviews on next-generation board designs.

Requirements

• BSEE/BSCE or equivalent experience
• 5+ years of validation experience
• Strong understanding of digital design, circuit design and analysis, computer architecture, and CPU/GPU architecture.
• Validation experience with board bring-up, lab debug, and lab tools (oscilloscopes, multimeters, logic analyzers).
• Programming skills with experience in Python or other scripting languages (such as Perl, Shell).
• Experience with ARM CPU architecture and hardware validation.
• Excellent design, debugging, and problem-solving skills, with a strong bias for action, quality, and engineering excellence.

Nice-to-haves

• Validation experience with CPU/GPU/SOC products.
• Knowledge of control systems, PID tunings, and power transistor fundamentals.
• Experience with test automation and developing scripts to improve validation efficiency.
• Highly motivated and able to thrive in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong interpersonal skills, including written and verbal communication.

Benefits

• Equity and benefits eligibility
• Diverse work environment
• Equal opportunity employer