Validation/Characterization Engineer

Change the world. Love your job.

Validation engineers are said to have a 'break-the-part' mentality. This means they spend some of their time working to identify the use-cases in which the device will stop working as intended and understand the impact and cause of those failures. Sometimes, those are acceptable failures, but others we may need to mitigate for quality, safety, or other reasons. Plus, we want to ensure that our parts are consistently performing to the specifications that we set in our data sheet, and even to some more conservative limits or as defined in the VVCM (validation/verification compliance matrix). To do this, they must design PCB boards and develop automation software that will increase coverage and reduce data collection time. Validation engineers will also design, develop, and implement necessary methods of measuring device performance and troubleshooting any related systems, equipment or device issues that arise. Validation engineers are often working in a post-silicon lab or on the software programs required to run their measurements.

Why Multiphase Processor Power (MPP):

Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, and Autonomous Driving are just a few of the trends driving the need for high current multiphase switching power in the Enterprise, Data Center, Communications and Automotive markets. The Multiphase Processor Power product line is focused on bringing to market driverless multiphase controllers and Smart Power Stage (driver plus power FETs with integrated sensing) solutions to attach to enterprise computing and other ASICs that require currents from 100A to greater than 1000A. The MPP team actively collaborates with TI’s advanced technology, packaging and research and development teams to deliver the highest power density solutions for the power level.

About the job
At TI, Validation Engineers leverage strong technical knowledge working hands-on to bring differentiated power solutions to our customers globally. Validation Engineers also partner closely with Design, Test, Systems and Application engineers to ensure our power solutions are both meeting customer and market requirements and are technically and cost-wise optimized. The MPP product line is working on complex multiphase buck controllers and the world’s breakthrough technology to develop high-power density power stages. The validation engineer in MPP has to evaluate the system-level performace also for enterprise computing.

About the role and team:

• Develop validation board, schematics and layout, matching it with customer use-case & applications. The validation boards include - modularization of the Val board for generic flow, solving mixed-signal challenges, scalability of HW for a large number of setups and most importantly closeness to the customer EVMs.
• Build, design, and document the full validation plan. The validation plan needs a detailed understanding of not only the device but also the system environment.
• Define the Validation Strategy in terms of Hardware, Software and Instrumentation
• Building Validation test cases and implementing them on different scripting languages. (i.e. Python, Test stand, lab view etc)
• Define, build the automation strategies and implement them through methodology, circuit, script and hardware innovations.
• Bring the device on the bench; Perform system level and parametric test on the bench with a strong break-the-part mentality.
• Work with design and Firmware team to support customer needs, and implement custom features in FW. Close collaboration with FW and application teams to understand the device issues and bugs and find the FW-level workaround for the fix.
• Debug device and setup-related issues and drive the issue to closure independently
• Engaging on customer issues and fixes with application engineers, to help them understand the device better, help to fix the issues and provide modifications if any tweaks are needed. This is done in collaboration with Application engineers.

Minimum requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or related field of study
• 5+ years of relevant experience

Preferred qualifications:

• Experience in validation engineering of analog products
• Demonstrates hardware debugging skills, schematic and PCB layout design.
• Excellent time management; Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Experience in simulating and designing inverters and/or DCDC converters
• Knowledge of semiconductor power switches like MOSFET, IGBT, and SiC MOSFET
• Expertise in tools e.g. Simplis, Matlab, Altium, PSPICE.
• Proficient in different scripting languages. (i.e. Python, Test stand, lab view etc)
• Schematic generation and layout performed in Altium
• Physical layout management, signal grounding and routing tradeoffs, optimization
• Must budget time, manage schedule and complete complex design tasks on time
• Must have depth of experience and meticulous approach to ensure high-quality results
• Must account for limitations of system-level specifications, testability, and debug
• Ability to establish strong relationships with key stakeholders critical to success, both internally and externally
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Must work well with colleagues and customers to foster a highly creative, interesting, productive, and fun working environment