Sr Principal / Technical Director SoC Validation

Renesas is one of the top global semiconductor companies in the world. We strive to develop a safer, healthier, greener, and smarter world, and our goal is to make every endpoint intelligent by offering product solutions in the automotive, industrial, infrastructure and IoT markets. Our robust product portfolio includes world leading MCUs, SoCs, Analog and power products, plus Winning Combination solutions that curate these complementary products. We are a key supplier to the world’s leading manufacturers of electronics you rely on every day; you may not see our products, but they are all around you.

Renesas employs roughly 21,000 people in more than 30 countries worldwide. As a global team, our employees actively embody the Renesas Culture, our guiding principles based on five key elements: Transparent, Agile, Global, Innovative, and Entrepreneurial. Renesas believes in, and has a commitment to, diversity and inclusion, with initiatives and a leadership team dedicated to its resources and values. At Renesas, we want to build a sustainable future where technology helps make our lives easier. Join us and build your future by being part of what’s next in electronics and the world.

Renesas is looking for a Sr. Principal Engineer, Validation. to redefine how automotive-grade silicon quality is built-driving first-time-right silicon, eliminating customer escapes, and setting a new industry benchmark for validation excellence

Key Responsibilities

• Define and own the end-to-end silicon validation strategy for automotive and HPC SoCs, from pre-silicon enablement through post-silicon production release.
• Ensure first-time-right silicon, robust validation coverage, and zero customer escapes across all assigned programs.
• Lead global validation teams responsible for silicon bring-up, characterization, and system-level validation across multiple concurrent programs.
• Establish and drive a System Use Case Validation Program, harvesting real customer/OEM and system scenarios and converting them into automated, traceable validation suites.
• Influence SoC architecture, design, and program decisions through early validation insights, risk identification, and data-backed recommendations.
• Drive shift-left validation as a measurable engineering program, increasing reuse across simulation, emulation/FPGA, and silicon to reduce late surprises.
• Own escape-prevention strategy, including robustness testing, fault scenarios, coverage models, and disciplined validation signoff criteria.
• Build and scale high-performing validation organizations, developing strong technical leadership (Staff/Principal pipeline) and execution ownership.
• Lead automation, standardization, and infrastructure modernization across validation labs, board farms, and CI systems.
• Establish validation methodologies, quality benchmarks, metrics, and dashboards aligned with Renesas standards and automotive expectations.
• Identify technical, execution, and program risks early; drive data-driven mitigation and executive decision-making.
• Provide clear executive-level reporting on validation status, risks, readiness, and outcomes.
• Act as a trusted partner to Design, DV, Test, Firmware, Software, Product Engineering, Quality, and BU leadership.
• Adoption of industry best practices as a measurable program

Required Skills & Experience

• B.E./B. Tech or M.E./M. Tech in Electronics, Electrical, or Computer Engineering, or equivalent industry experience.
• 18+ years of experience in semiconductor validation, characterization, or silicon engineering, with demonstrated ownership of silicon quality outcomes.
• 3+ years in senior technical leadership roles
• Strong domain expertise in automotive SoC validation, system-level use-case testing, and robustness validation.
• Proven experience delivering complex SoC programs from first silicon through production release.
• Deep understanding of silicon validation flows, lab environments, and post-silicon debug ecosystems.
• Demonstrated success building and scaling automation-first validation frameworks using Python, C++, or similar technologies.
• Strong experience driving cross-functional execution in a matrixed, global environment.
• Excellent executive communication, stakeholder management, and decision-making skills.
• Experience with AI frameworks for SoC Validation efficiency and quality gain- eg validation specific AI agents, Cody AI for content development etc.

Preferred

• Experience with ISO 26262 / ASIL-D development and validation environments.
• Exposure to emulation/FPGA-based shift-left validation and pre↔post silicon continuity models.
• Strong foundation in mixed-signal and digital silicon validation, including pattern-based and system-level methodologies.
• Track record of institutionalizing industry best practices across multiple programs and organizations.
• Experience leading culture change toward proactive risk ownership, evidence-based closure, and challenge-ready execution.
• Automotive OEM or Tier-1 customer engagement experience.

Renesas is an embedded semiconductor solution provider driven by its Purpose, To Make Our Lives Easier. With a global team of over 21,000 engineers and problem solvers in more than 30 countries, we offer the opportunity to work on world-leading technology for Automotive, Industrial, Infrastructure, and IoT, shaping a safer, healthier, greener, and smarter future.

At Renesas, TAGIE is our culture, grounded in being Transparent, Agile, Global, Innovative, and Entrepreneurial. It shapes how we work, grow and deliver on our purpose together. This collaborative spirit and mindset drive our semiconductor technology to transform industries and impact millions of lives.

We believe in rewarding our employees with a competitive benefits package alongside their salary. More information will be provided during the hiring process.

Are you ready to join our team and shape the future with us?

Renesas Electronics is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer, committed to supporting diversity and fostering a work environment free of discrimination on the basis of sex, race, religion, national origin, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, military status, veteran status, or any other basis protected by law. For more information, please read our Diversity & Inclusion Statement.