SoC Architect

SoC Architect — Job Description

Role Summary The SoC Architect owns the system-level architecture of the chip: how it's partitioned into subsystems/IP blocks, how area/power/timing/cost budgets are allocated across those partitions, and the tradeoff decisions that reconcile competing requirements from product, silicon, and software stakeholders. This is the technical owner of the chip's architecture from spec through tapeout, accountable for the coherence of the whole system even as dozens of teams work on the parts.

Key Responsibilities

• Specification & Partitioning
• Translate product/market requirements into a system architecture spec: block diagram, subsystem boundaries, interconnect topology (NoC/bus), memory hierarchy, and clock/power domain partitioning.
• Decide what is custom silicon vs. licensed IP vs. reused block from prior designs, and define interface contracts (protocols, timing, power sequencing) between partitions.
• Own the SoC-level floorplan intent (macro placement zones, I/O planning, hierarchy of physical blocks) in partnership with physical design leads.
• Budgeting & Tradeoffs
• Own top-down and bottom-up budget allocation for area, power (dynamic/leakage), timing (frequency targets per domain), and cost (die size, package, test time) across all blocks.
• Run and adjudicate tradeoff studies (e.g., performance vs. power vs. area, cache size vs. latency, IP reuse vs. custom design) and make/own the final call when teams disagree.
• Maintain the architecture ledger — a live tracking of budget vs. actual as blocks mature from RTL to layout to silicon, flagging overruns early and reallocating margin.
• Cross-Domain Tradeoff Ownership
• Balance competing needs from digital, analog/mixed-signal, DFT, verification, software/firmware, and packaging teams — SoC Architect is the tie-breaker when local optimization for one domain would hurt the system.
• Own key architectural decisions: process node selection, IP sourcing strategy, memory/cache hierarchy, interconnect fabric choice, power domain/DVFS strategy, security architecture boundaries, and safety/reliability architecture (for automotive/industrial-grade parts).
• Participate in DFM/DFT tradeoffs (test coverage vs. area/routing overhead) and yield-vs-performance tradeoffs with the Foundry Interface Lead and DFM teams.
• Program-Level Technical Leadership
• Chair/lead architecture review boards; drive sign-off milestones (architecture freeze, microarchitecture freeze, floorplan freeze).
• Own the risk register for architectural decisions and drive contingency/mitigation plans (e.g., fallback IP options, spin plans).
• Serve as the primary technical escalation point when subsystem teams cannot resolve interface or budget conflicts among themselves.
• Interface with product management/marketing to communicate technical tradeoffs in business terms (cost, schedule, performance impact).
• Documentation & Continuity
• Own and maintain the architecture specification document set as the single source of truth through the program lifecycle.
• Ensure architectural decisions and their rationale are documented for post-silicon debug, next-gen derivative planning, and knowledge transfer.

Required Qualifications

• M.S./Ph.D. in EE/CE or equivalent experience; 10+ years in SoC/ASIC design with progressively senior architecture roles.
• Demonstrated experience owning full-chip architecture for at least one shipped SoC (or major subsystem architecture on a large-scale SoC).
• Strong grasp of digital design, low-power design techniques, memory/interconnect architecture, and physical design constraints (so tradeoffs are grounded in implementation reality, not just theory).
• Proven ability to make and defend high-stakes tradeoff decisions under schedule/cost pressure, and to communicate them across technical and business audiences.

Preferred

• Experience across multiple process nodes and multiple end markets (mobile, automotive, data center, edge AI).
• Background that spans both hardware and software/firmware architecture (useful for HW/SW co-design tradeoffs).
• Experience with formal system-level performance/power modeling tools (e.g., architectural simulators, power estimation frameworks).