Senior / Staff / Principal Datapath Design Engineers – £60,000–£140,000 – Bristol/Hertfordshire

My client, a leading semiconductor IP company developing advanced graphics technology, is expanding its specialist Datapath team and is looking for engineers at Senior, Staff and Principal level.

This is an opportunity for engineers who enjoy turning mathematical functions into efficient hardware. You’ll join an applied research team combining algorithm development, architectural exploration and hands-on implementation to develop arithmetic components for future GPU products.

The Opportunity

You’ll work at the intersection of mathematics and digital hardware design, exploring how arithmetic functions can be implemented to achieve the right balance of numerical accuracy, performance, power and silicon area.

The work spans mathematical modelling, architecture prototyping, detailed microarchitecture and RTL implementation. Depending on your experience, you could take ownership of individual arithmetic blocks or provide technical direction across more complex developments.

Engineers from ASIC and FPGA backgrounds are encouraged to apply. Relevant experience could come from graphics, DSP, communications, radar, image processing or other applications involving substantial arithmetic hardware design.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop arithmetic datapath architectures for functions such as floating-point operations, multiplication, division and trigonometric calculations.
• Translate mathematical requirements into practical hardware implementations.
• Prototype and evaluate alternative architectures, balancing precision, latency, throughput, power and area.
• Produce detailed microarchitecture specifications and implementation plans.
• Develop efficient RTL using VHDL or SystemVerilog.
• Collaborate with design, verification and validation engineers throughout development.
• Contribute to research, invention and potentially patentable approaches to arithmetic hardware.
• At Staff and Principal level, provide technical leadership, guide architectural decisions and support the development of other engineers.

Essential Skills & Experience

• Commercial experience designing arithmetic hardware within ASIC or FPGA environments.
• Strong mathematical reasoning and an understanding of numerical representation, precision and error.
• Hands-on RTL development experience using VHDL or SystemVerilog.
• A strong understanding of digital IC design and the relationship between architecture choices and implementation results.
• Experience using relevant design tools and engineering development workflows.
• The ability to explain technical decisions clearly and work collaboratively on complex engineering problems.

Principal applicants should bring substantial specialist arithmetic design experience, with evidence of technical leadership and ownership of demanding datapath developments.

Desirable Experience

• Floating-point arithmetic and associated standards.
• Arithmetic hardware optimisation and numerical algorithms.
• Formal verification.
• C, C++, Python, Tcl or shell scripting.
• Scientific computing tools or numerical libraries.
• Graphics algorithms or GPU hardware.
• Version control and continuous integration tools, such as Git and Jenkins.

Previous GPU experience is useful, but engineers with strong arithmetic hardware expertise from other sectors will also be considered.

Why Consider This Opportunity?

• Work on mathematical components that directly influence future graphics hardware.
• Follow ideas from research and architectural exploration through to implementation.
• Solve technically challenging problems involving accuracy, performance and silicon efficiency.
• Collaborate with engineers specialising in mathematics and arithmetic hardware.
• Contribute to invention, knowledge sharing and technical development.
• Join at a level reflecting your specialist experience and technical contribution.

Package & Location

• Base Salary: £60,000–£140,000
• 30% annual bonus opportunity
• Total compensation: £78,000 – £182,000
• Hybrid working model
• Pension scheme
• Private medical insurance
• Life assurance
• Income protection
• Relocation Support available (If required)
• Visa Sponsorship Available (If required)
• Ongoing training and professional development opportunities
• The opportunity to work alongside recognised experts within the graphics industry
• Significant influence over future generations of graphics technologies

Application Process

My client offers a streamlined 3-stage interview process:

• Stage 1: Technical Screening (45 minutes)
• Stage 2: Technical Panel Interview (2 hours 10 minutes)
• Stage 3: HR / Final Discussion

The process can typically be completed within 2-4 weeks, depending on candidate availability.