Digital IC Design & Validation Engineer (EP-ESE-ME-2025-244-GRAP)

Join CERN as a Digital IC Design & Validation Engineer, and help shape the future of Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors for particle detectors. In this role, you will contribute to the design, verification, and lab-based validation of complex digital circuits, working alongside a multidisciplinary team of analog, verification, and instrumentation specialists.

Ideal candidates will have experience of digital design of ASICs or FPGAs, lab-based validation, and enthusiasm for pushing the boundaries of speed, efficiency, and reliability in state-of-the-art detector systems.

Your responsibilities

• Design architectures and digital circuits for monolithic pixel sensors and readout ASICs.
• Develop synthesizable RTL (Verilog/VHDL) and contribute to system-level architecture.
• Perform simulation, verification, and validation of digital designs.
• Support post-silicon testing, including FPGA-based emulation, lab characterisation, and integration with detector systems.
• Collaborate closely with analog/mixed-signal designers, detector physicists, and system engineers.
• Contribute to documentation, design reviews, and project planning.

Your profile

Experience:

• Background in electronics and instrumentation.
• 1-3 years of experience in digital IC design (academic or industrial).
• Experience of RTL design (Verilog/SystemVerilog or VHDL).
• Experience of lab testing, post-silicon validation, FPGA prototyping.
• Knowledge of digital simulation and verification tools.
• Familiarity with synthesis, timing analysis, and physical IC design flows.
• Knowledge of radiation-tolerant designs is a plus.

Skills:

• RTL design using hardware description languages (Verilog/SystemVerilog, VHDL);
• Digital electronics, instrumentation, sensing;
• Development or utilisation of lab testing set-ups and equipment;
• Lab measurements and data analysis;
• Scripting languages (Python, TCL, Shell);
• Ability to work in a collaborative, multidisciplinary environment;
• Strong analytical mindset and attention to detail;
• Spoken and written English, with a commitment to learn French.

Eligibility criteria:

• You have a professional background in Electronics engineering (or a related field) and have either:
  • a Master's degree with 2 to 6 years of post-graduation professional experience;
  • or a PhD with no more than 3 years of post-graduation professional experience.
• You have never had a CERN fellow or graduate contract before.