CPU Verification Engineer

About Nuvacore and the Role

Nuvacore is developing a high-performance, low-power CPU designed from the ground up for next-generation computing workloads. We are inviting verification engineers at various seniority levels—from Senior Engineer to Principal—to join our team in Markham, Ontario. You will be integral to the design verification (DV) process, working closely with architecture and RTL design teams to ensure the CPU’s correctness before silicon fabrication.

Key Responsibilities

• Define verification scope, strategize, and create detailed test plans for unit and/or top-level CPU design modules.
• Develop and maintain robust verification environments including stimulus generators, checkers, transactors, and coverage tools to thoroughly exercise the CPU pipeline.
• Produce complex directed and randomized tests using assembly, C, or random instruction sequences to identify corner cases such as speculative execution, hazards, flushes, and instruction retirement ordering.
• Collaborate with architects to validate RTL designs against performance models, identifying throughput, stall, and branch prediction accuracy issues.
• Establish the functional coverage space, develop coverage monitors, and analyze metrics to ensure comprehensive test plan completion.
• Work cross-functionally with architecture and RTL teams to diagnose failures, propose design fixes, and support emulation, FPGA deployment, and silicon bring-up activities.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or higher degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or equivalent experience.
• At least 15 years (for Principal level) or 4 years (for Senior Engineer) in design verification, preferably involving CPU or similarly complex digital designs.
• Deep understanding of CPU microarchitecture and digital logic concepts including pipeline operations, out-of-order execution, and branch prediction.
• Experienced in functional verification, including creating test plans, testbenches, checkers, transactors, and coverage analysis.
• Proficient coding skills in C/C++ and/or SystemVerilog, along with scripting experience in Python; Perl knowledge is advantageous.
• Capability to write and debug CPU verification tests in assembly language.

Additional Preferred Skills

• Experience in verification of front-end units, execution units, load/store and cache subsystems, SoC/system-level verification, or debug and power management verification.
• Familiarity with random instruction sequence (RIS) generation and constrained-random verification with coverage-driven closure.
• Skills in assertions, formal verification, and experience with emulation/FPGA environments and silicon bring-up/debugging using waveforms and traces.
• Track record of managing verification projects end-to-end to sign-off.

Additional Information

We leverage artificial intelligence tools to aid parts of the recruitment process, including application review and resume analysis to detect inconsistencies or verification signals. These tools assist but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are made by our team. Candidates can request further details on data processing if desired.