Storage SoC Design , Sr. Staff Architect-Hybrid/Remote Work

Samsung Semiconductor Inc. (SSI) is advancing the world’s technology. As a leader in Memory, System, LSI and LCD technologies, our US teams contribute to breakthroughs in 5G, SOC, memory and display. With our global perspective and diversity of thought, we proudly serve our customers around the world. We are looking for team members who share our commitment to learning and growth and excel when collaborating within and across teams.

SSI is headquartered in the heart of Silicon Valley and is a wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. - the #1 employer in the world (Forbes, 2020 & 2021) and top patent-holder in the U.S. Want to advance the world’s technology with us?

JOB TITLE/REQ ID/LOCATION:

Storage SoC Design Architect

Req. # 41103

San Jose, CA 

INSIDE THIS BUSINESS GROUP:

The Technology Enabling and Development (TED) Lab is part of Samsung’s Memory Business Unit, the industry's technology and volume leader in DRAM, NAND Flash, and SRAM memory.  TED has the charter to develop SSD for enterprise customers. More recently, TED has also been tasked to develop SSD controller architecture to support future enterprise SSD designs. We are an integral part of Samsung’s strong R&D focus & lab innovation engine. We work closely with development teams across geographically distributed sites to bring innovation to enterprise SSD product road maps.

OVERVIEW & IMPACT:

The successful SOC Architect candidate will be a key technical member of TED Controller Architecture Team and will be responsible for designing and developing high level architecture for SSD controllers. She or he will join a team of experts in researching and developing innovative high level controller chip architecture for data center/cloud and enterprise SSD. The ideal candidate must have prior experience developing high level chip and system architecture of leading-edge high performance SSD devices.

The SOC Architect will be responsible for developing, contributing, and leading ASIC high level-architecture activities in SSI storage-based controllers. The successful hire will have strong knowledge of latest trends in NVMe standards, data center/enterprise customer technical requirements, and knowledge/experience of end to end SSD controller chip architecture. The job scope will cover technical requirement analysis, architecture specifications, high level design/flows, and architecture modeling for architecture level assessment of high level building blocks and flows using state of the art advance development tools and methods before microarchitecture and RTL development.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Engage and Review standards and technical customer requirements at product, system, and firmware level.
• Analyze requirements for chip design, prepare architecture specifications, high level design/flows, and work closely with model development and microarchitecture team for architecture assessment and chip development.
• Evaluate and Assess tradeoffs using architecture level transactional and LT models for ease of implementation, leverage, scalability, and PPA.  
• Research architectural trade-offs of enterprise/data-center storage controller ASIC
• Write and maintain High Level Architecture Specification
• Research emerging technology NVMe/Multi-tenancy standards, interconnects and map to optimal implementation in SOC and help develop new IP for high performance and mainstream enterprise/data-center SSDs
• Analyze storage workloads to identify performance bottlenecks and opportunities
• Collaborate with Microarchitecture/RTL team to ensure high level architecture intent is preserved during SOC and product development.
• Perform self-guided performance simulation studies of design alternatives
• Work collaboratively with the team responsible for SoC level system modeling to explore new SoC architectures
• The successful applicant may also engage in creating innovative storage accelerator solutions and analyzing them to demonstrate the benefits and trade-offs
• Work with other hardware/software architects developing one of a kind innovative Enterprise Storage models, MPW, and Controllers to ensure critical chip architecture assessment and decisions are made early enough in the design cycle.
• Propose and execute on innovations in software and hardware storage controller architecture based on their benefits to large-scale enterprise applications

QUALIFICATIONS & REQUIRED SKILLS:

• BS. with 15 years, M.S. with 13 years or Ph.D. with 10 years in Computer Engineering or Electrical Engineering and at least 8 years of SoC design and architecture experience
• Extensive experience with ARM microprocessor, interconnect, memory, storage SoC systems architecture
• Demonstrated record of architecting, designing and delivering complex and high-performance hardware SoC systems and high density storage using flash
• Exposure and understanding of storage workloads and benchmark performance
• Experience in NVMe and multitenancy controller architecture. Solid experience in PCIe and NVMe interfacing and understanding of I/O protocols
• Experience analyzing storage workloads
• Storage interfaces and protocols: PCIe, NVMe, and Evolving standards like ZNS, ZRWA, Open Channel, and other similar protocols.
• Network interfaces and protocols: Ethernet, RoCE v1/v2, and Infiniband is a plus
• Flash technology: Toggle, ONFI, FTL
• Familiarity with all aspects of chip architecture and development: requirements, architecture specifications, high level design/model, microarchitecture design, firmware, and System.
• Demonstrated hands-on experience writing detailed chip architecture specifications and implementation details. Provide architectural guidance throughout the design process beyond architecture model to microarchitecture and implementation.
• A strong knowledge through academic coursework or experience in NAND memory systems, as well as other memory types
• Platform level architectures and performance. Strong exposure to performance analysis and design tradeoffs. Strong working knowledge of architecture tradeoff analysis and modeling tools, commercial and in-house.  Exposure to SW development practices
• Demonstrated problem solving and troubleshooting skills
• Excellent communication skills with experience working cross-functionally in a matrix environment
• Collaborative, good listener, ability to make timely decisions
• Adaptable to unexpected scenarios and challenges
• Fast learner with great attention to detail
• Ability to travel domestically and internationally as needed

Preferred Qualifications

• BS in Computer/Electrical/Electronic Engineering or Computer Science, and 15 years of relevant experience in software or firmware or a MS in Computer/Electrical/Electronic Engineering or Computer Science with 13 years of relevant experience.

Additionally, we look for the following universal qualities in all candidates:

• Resourceful Achiever: self-motivated and proactive, you flex to try new approaches and creatively solve problems 
• Avid Learner: you thrive with challenges, seek continuous growth and improvement, and seek data to prove your hypotheses
• Devoted Professional: you are diligent and deliberate in your work, leveraging your expertise to deliver results without ego  
• Thoughtful Collaborator: you build relationships across teams, offering help and welcoming ideas from others to drive work forward in an inclusive manner

PREFERRED SKILLS

• Must be highly motivated with excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Demonstrated attention to detail
• Excellent problem solving and troubleshooting skills
• Ability to be highly organized and self-motivated
• Must be a strong individual contributor as well as a team player
• Ability to meet aggressive project deadlines in a team environment
• Ability to work successfully with cross-functional teams, including coordinating across organizational boundaries and geographies.
• Ability to create near term value within a strategic research environment.
• Comfortable working in a multinational environment and understands how to leverage cultural diversity

COVID-19 POLICIES

• Successful applicants must comply with company COVID-19 policies, which are subject to change in response to public health, regulatory and business circumstances
• Current policies are subject only to emergency or legally-required exceptions and include: mandatory reporting of vaccination status; vaccination requirement for office access, external meetings and business travel; mask usage in office; and daily screening procedures at offices

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