$140,000–$300,000
Forward Deployed Engineer
Published · Updated
$180,000–$300,000annualizedSan Jose, CAOn-site
A customer-embedded engineer who partners with semiconductor design and verification teams to turn field problems into working software and shipped capabilities.
Find roles that fit you
We find roles for your experience and goals, explain the fit, and help you get introduced to hiring teams.
We never share your profile with employers without your permission.
At a glance
Posted base pay
$180K–$300KAbove the median
Median $188K
This job$180K–$300KTypical senior FDE payMiddle 50% of 1,837 postings$160K–$219KThe work
Builds what the customer runs
Balance
- Mostly building
- Mixed
- Mostly pre-sales or support
Project stages
- Pre-sales (not covered)
- Proof of concept (not covered)
- Implementation
- Operations (not covered)
Travel Required, amount not stated
- Coding
- Writes production code
- Builds for
- External customers
- Level
- Senior
- Role
- Individual contributor
What they ask for
Tools
Less common in FDE jobs
- Company stage: Early17%
- Company size: About 51–200 people19%
- On-site37%
Share of US FDE postings that state each fact.
The job description from ChipAgents
Posted by ChipAgents on
About ChipAgents
ChipAgents is revolutionizing chip design and verification with agentic-AI workflows. Founded by experts in AI and semiconductor design, we partner with top-10 semiconductor companies, hyperscale cloud providers, and cutting-edge startups. Our platform accelerates RTL development, functional verification, and simulation, unlocking new levels of productivity and design quality.
Role Overview
We're hiring a Forward Deployed Engineer who come from chip design, verification, and EDA and want to build software. You will embed directly with customer teams at some of the largest semiconductor companies, working alongside an internal R&D engineer and a customer-side domain expert. We’re looking for engineers with hands-on experience in RTL, testbenches, and simulation who can quickly identify the customer’s real problems and build new capabilities alongside them, beyond supporting our existing product.
Key Responsibilities
- Embed on-site (or near-site) with customer design and verification teams to build new solutions with them.
- Own the customer relationship end-to-end for your account, from problem definition to a working product in their hands.
- Work with R&D, domain experts, and customer champions to turn field problems in RTL development and verification into shipped solutions.
- Write code that connects ChipAgents to customer design flows, including RTL, testbenches, simulators, and verification environments.
Qualifications
- BS or MS in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related field.
- Hands-on experience in chip design or design verification (DV) at a semiconductor, EDA, or hardware company.
- Working knowledge of Verilog, SystemVerilog, and RTL, and familiarity with verification flows such as testbenches, simulation, and debug.
- Software engineering skills (Python required; C++ or TypeScript a plus) and a strong interest in working at the intersection of software and hardware. You are comfortable building under ambiguity and shipping custom, working solutions without a stable spec.
- AI-native, with experience using AI agents, especially coding agents such as Claude Code, Codex, and OpenCode.
- Excellent communicator, able to work directly with customer engineers and managers and translate field learnings into clear priorities for research and product teams.
- Comfortable with frequent on-site customer travel.
Nice to Haves
- Experience with UVM, formal verification, or commercial EDA tools.
- Experience customizing AI agents.
- Prior forward-deployed, solutions engineering, applications engineering, or field engineering experience in the semiconductor industry.
- Experience with scripting and automation around design flows, such as Python, Tcl, or Makefiles.
- Experience standing up secure customer environments and data access.
Why ChipAgents
- Work at the intersection of AI and semiconductors, using your chip and EDA background to build software that changes how chips are designed.
- Work alongside a world-class technical team and an advisory board of EDA legends, with real product, real customers, and real scale already in production.
Equal Opportunity
ChipAgents is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome applicants of all backgrounds.
What We Offer
- $180K/yr – $300K/yr base salary + equity. Open to above-scale compensation for exceptional candidates.
- Unlimited PTO and full benefits (medical, vision, dental, 401k).
- Two engineering-centric offices with free parking, private gym, and free lunch, drinks and snacks.
About ChipAgents
Builds AI agents that automate semiconductor design, verification, debugging, and root-cause analysis workflows.
Series A · 50–100 people
Similar jobs
$125,000–$400,000
LangChainBuilds what the customer runs
Deployed Engineer, Professional Services (San Francisco)
San Francisco, CAHybrid
$150,000–$300,000
$182,000–$250,208
Hiring at ChipAgents and want this page changed or removed? Email info@nextmove.md and we take it down.
Employer postings · How we read postings