Joblaze summary

The Forward Deployed Engineer at ChipAgents works closely with customer teams in the semiconductor industry to develop tailored software solutions that enhance chip design and verification processes. This role requires a solid foundation in RTL, testbenches, and simulation, along with strong programming skills in Python and familiarity with AI agents. Ideal candidates have hands-on experience in chip design or verification and are comfortable navigating ambiguity to deliver effective solutions. The position involves significant collaboration with both internal R&D and customer engineers, emphasizing communication and problem-solving.

Joblaze insights

Listed 3 days ago — first seen on Joblaze October 31, 2026. Last confirmed on ChipAgents's careers page November 2, 2026.
Salary band is above the typical range for comparable tech roles (median ~$130,000).
Starts above 96% of 334 comparable mid other roles in United States that list Python we track (median $111,197 across 58 companies). See Python salary trends
Python appears in 18.1% of 3239 comparable mid other roles in United States; RTL appears in 0.1% of 3239 comparable mid other roles in United States.

Quick facts

Is the Forward Deployed Engineer role remote?: No — this is an on-site role in San Jose.
What's the salary range?: ChipAgents lists $180,000–$300,000 for this role.
Where is the role based?: ChipAgents is hiring for this position in San Jose.
What's the tech stack?: Joblaze extracted these technologies from the posting: C++, Python, RTL, SystemVerilog, TypeScript, Verilog.
What seniority level is this role?: ChipAgents targets mid-level candidates for this position.
Is this full-time or contract?: Full-time for this Forward Deployed Engineer role at ChipAgents.

From the original posting

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.

What We Offer

$180K/yr – $300K/yr base salary + equity. Open to above-scale compensation for exceptional candidates.

Standard company text repeated across ChipAgents's postings is omitted here.

Forward Deployed Engineer