Job Description: DDR Functional Validation Engineer
Role Overview
We are looking for a DDR Functional Validation Engineer with 3 to 8 years of experience in silicon validation, memory subsystem debug, and firmware-based validation. The candidate will be responsible for validating DDR memory interfaces on complex SoC platforms, executing test plans, developing test cases, debugging silicon issues, and supporting silicon bring-up activities.
This role requires strong knowledge of DDR4, DDR5, LPDDR5, and LPDDR6 protocols, along with a good understanding of memory controller and PHY architecture. The ideal candidate should be comfortable working across hardware, firmware, and system-level validation environments.
Key Responsibilities
- Perform functional validation of DDR memory subsystems on pre-silicon and post-silicon platforms.
- Execute validation test plans for DDR4, DDR5, LPDDR5, and LPDDR6 interfaces.
- Develop, enhance, and maintain validation test cases for memory controller, DDR PHY, training flows, initialization sequences, low-power features, and system-level stress scenarios.
- Support silicon bring-up activities, including DDR initialization, boot flow debug, memory training debug, and platform stabilization.
- Debug silicon issues related to DDR functionality, timing, training failures, memory errors, system hangs, boot failures, and performance anomalies.
- Work closely with architecture, design, firmware, platform, and signal integrity teams to identify root causes and drive issues to closure.
- Develop and debug firmware used for DDR initialization, training, configuration, and validation.
- Analyze validation failures using logs, traces, register dumps, firmware debug messages, protocol analyzer outputs, oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and other debug tools.
- Validate memory controller and PHY features across different operating frequencies, voltage corners, power states, and stress conditions.
- Create and maintain validation documentation, including test plans, test case specifications, debug notes, issue reports, and execution summaries.
- Participate in reviews of DDR architecture, controller features, PHY behavior, firmware flows, and validation coverage.
- Execute system stress scenarios involving memory bandwidth, concurrency, thermal stress, voltage/frequency scaling, low-power entry/exit, and long-duration stability testing.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams to improve validation coverage, debug methodology, and automation infrastructure.
- Track validation progress, report issues clearly, and support defect triage through bug tracking systems.
Required Qualifications
- 3 to 8 years of experience in silicon validation, post-silicon validation, platform validation, firmware validation, or memory subsystem validation.
- Strong understanding of DDR4, DDR5, LPDDR5, and/or LPDDR6 protocols.
- Hands-on experience with DDR functional validation, silicon debug, test execution, and failure analysis.
- Experience in test plan execution and test case creation for memory subsystem features.
- Good understanding of memory controller and DDR PHY architecture.
- Experience with silicon bring-up, board bring-up, or SoC/platform bring-up.
- Knowledge of DDR initialization, memory training, boot flows, and firmware-controlled configuration sequences.
- Experience in firmware development, firmware debug, or low-level embedded software validation.
- Basic understanding of signal integrity concepts such as timing margins, eye diagrams, impedance, jitter, noise, voltage margins, and board-level effects.
- Ability to debug complex hardware, firmware, and system-level issues.
- Familiarity with system stress validation, including memory stress, power stress, boot stress, reset stress, and long-duration stability scenarios.
- Basic coding skills in C, Python, or scripting languages for test development, automation, log parsing, and debug support.
- Ability to read and understand technical specifications, register descriptions, memory datasheets, protocol documents, and architecture documents.
- Strong analytical, debugging, and problem-solving skills.
- Good communication skills and ability to work with cross-functional teams.
Technical Skills
- DDR Protocols: DDR4, DDR5, LPDDR5, LPDDR6
- Validation Areas: Functional validation, silicon validation, platform validation, system validation
- Debug Areas: Silicon debug, firmware debug, boot debug, memory training debug, system hang debug
- Architecture Knowledge: Memory controller, DDR PHY, SoC interconnect basics, boot flows
- Firmware: Low-level firmware development, register programming, initialization sequences
- Programming/Scripting: C, Python, Perl, Shell scripting, or equivalent
- Tools: JTAG debuggers, oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, protocol analyzers, lab debug tools
- Test Areas: Test plan execution, test case creation, regression testing, stress testing, corner testing
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