Category: Verification

Posts related to ASIC Verification

The goal of a Verification Engineer

Often the verification engineer has the impression that the job is to “find bugs”. While that’s true, its only part of the story. I believe the correct description of a verification engineering job is

designing a system that helps the RTL designer successfully develop a device to meet a specification.

There are important things to note from that description that will help you be successful:

  • Designing a System: Verification Engineer IS a design job. You are designing a complex test environment. Often engineers feel its less glamorous than an RTL design job, but its usually more important and more difficult to do well.
  • Help the RTL Designer: Your immediate customer is the RTL designer. You need to help him or her create a good design.
    • Don’t forget the RTL designer’s needs. In a contract position its often the RTL designer(s) that will decide your long term position. Design and Verification form a team and you will only succeed if the team succeeds.
    • The designer needs a tool to see certain situations to add new features. While it may be easier to just randomize everything, its better to know what the designer needs to control and when he needs it. The design schedule is required to create a verification schedule!
    • First, assume that any bug you find is in the testbench. Once you have put at some effort into ruling that out, then let the designer know about it. Its just good etiquette.
    • ALWAYS automate checks, don’t ever rely on visual checking except for a very short term need. Having said that… its also good to visually check (the first time) to confirm that your automated tests are working.
    • Don’t be afraid of making suggestions once you feel you have a reasonable understanding of what the device does and how it does it.
    • If a particular feature (design or verification) continues to have problem after problem, its worth suggesting that it be re-designed/re-evaluated.
    • Don’t be afraid to suggest that changes be made with verification in mind. A good design is a design that can easily be verified.
  • Successfully develop a device: Success is difficult to define, at its very core is developing a device, that works, within a set schedule.
    • Schedule is almost always the most defining factor. All of the other factors end up being a trade-off with schedule.
    • Depending in the life-cycle of the product and/or the company, factors like future re-use, future enhancements, scalablity, variations in end-products and even sales will have some effect on what success means with respect to your testbench design.
  • Meeting the specification: Don’t forget to read the specifications that the designer is trying to meet.
    • Don’t EVER trust that the designer(s) knows what they are doing and/or have documented the device properly, even if you have the utmost respect for that person/team and their capabilities. Read the specifications yourself to make sure that the end product will work as expected by customers of the physical device.
    • Often it will help you understand why things were done a certain way, as the designers documentation is rarely as thorough as a standard specification.
    • Don’t forgot to ask for product specifications. Make sure the design meets management’s expectations.

The Benefits of Contracting

Should you take a contracting job in the Semiconductor Industry?

There are many benefits to taking on a contract job and they apply to most industries. When we are looking for a job many of us are inclined to ignore the contract positions as “unstable” or less fulfilling and instead concentrate more on full-time positions.  In this modern world of not working for the same company forever you can look at yourself as “your company”, and that aligns perfectly with contracting.  Not considering contracting at some point in your career might be a mistake.

There are many benefits to working as a contractor that might just enhance your career path.

A better path to a permanent job

A contractor job can be the best way to get a good permanent job at a top semiconductor company. It gives you a chance to find out if you really want to work there, and it gives your employer a chance to find out if they really want you.

Its a good chance that when you are being hired straight from a contract position, you are actually the only person in consideration for the job. They found you of value and now they have created a full-time position for you.

The best part about all that? Compared that to coming in unknown “off the street”. Negotiating wages from a position of strength can only lead to higher wages, better benefits, a better title and the technical work you want.

Less Competition

Many of the top semiconductor companies have long recruitment processes. They get many applicants, and they need to make sure they are being fair and giving everyone a chance.  This leads to even the best of applicants getting the jitters and taking a job that’s not as good, but being offered now (a sure thing as opposed to a hope).

But getting into these same companies as a contractor can be a much quicker process with much less competition.

Exposure

Nothing builds your skills like exposure to other ideas. Working on a few different short-term projects can greatly improve your technical skills, communication skills and management skills.

Make the most of your contracting positions to expand your network. A few years of contracting in the middle of your career can lead to bigger and better things.

Support

Most recruiters will help you polish up your interview skills. Better contracting companies (like Lateral Sands!) will go out of their way to support you (where possible) in the job.  Our business model succeeds when you succeed as a contractor, so its in our interests to help you succeed.

You might think that a full-time position at a reputable company would provide all the support you need. But often schedule pressures and other internal issues result in a “sink-or-swim” environment.

More Cash

While a full-time position might look like it has better compensation, often its not what you need.  Contracting positions tend to get paid more in cash but less in benefits.  If you are saving to buy a house it might be better to have cash in pocket rather than a matched 401k.

So give it some thought.

Let us know you are interested and we can help you find the next step in your career.

An ASIC Verification Interview Refresher

Looking for an ASIC Verification Job? Its in your best interest to brush up on your knowledge and make sure you can convey your knowledge of ASIC Verification to the best of your abilities.

One thing I often find difficult is remembering the correct terminology to use in any given situation.  That is especially true when it comes to the technology world (what is Polymorphism? Do you use a Monte-Carlo Method?).  When it comes to hardware verification languages (or just general software) I know what I want from a functional point of view, and I know how to code it, but when I’m asked to describe it… well sometimes it doesn’t translate directly as written in the textbooks.

So here is a refresher course aimed at refreshing your memory with the correct jargon before an interview.  It will (eventually) include links to posts about Verification basics, Methodology Basics, UVM Basics and more.

Don’t just skip over parts thinking “I know that”. The whole idea is to refresh your memory. Hopefully you do know it and because you know it so well you have long since forgotten the terms that textbooks use, preferring to “just do it” (to borrow from Nike).

Before we get to the content… Have you considered looking for a contract position? There are many reasons why you might want to consider it. We have contacts to many of Silicon Valleys top companies and are approved vendors for some of the larger companies. We can promote you to many managers currently looking for staff. Please contact us via this form for more details.