Senior Staff Digital Design Engineer

Team Overview:

The RAIN Reader IC (RIC) design group is part of the Impinj Silicon Engineering department and is responsible for the development of Impinj’s RIC products. Within the RIC Design group, the digital team owns the digital subsystems of these products, including the digital modem, the microcontroller subsystem, digital control loops, calibration engines, and the control and interface logic for analog IP. The team carries these designs from architecture and micro-architecture definition through RTL, verification, DFT, and timing closure to tapeout, post-silicon bring-up, and validation, partnering closely with chip architects, RF/analog designers, physical design, and CAD/EDA engineers and using state-of-the-art tools and methodologies. The team works to balance short-term goals needed to deliver products rapidly to market and long-term enhancements to methodologies and practices to enable future efficiencies.

What You'll Do:

• Drive the digital design of Impinj's next-generation RAIN RFID Reader ICs from architecture through tapeout and silicon validation.
• Develop micro-architectures, create executable models, and implement RTL for complex digital and mixed-signal IC subsystems.
• Collaborate with chip architects and RF/analog engineers to partition and realize advanced mixed-signal architectures, including digital control loops, calibration engines, and interface logic for analog IP.
• Partner with physical design and verification teams to ensure timing closure, signal integrity, and delivery of production-ready Reader ICs.
• Define and implement DFT strategies — including scan insertion, BIST, and boundary scan — appropriate for mixed-signal Reader IC designs.
• Work with CAD/EDA engineers to evolve Impinj's ASIC/SoC design flows, methodologies, and best practices.
• Enhance existing RAIN RFID Reader products with new features, performance improvements, and power optimizations.
• Support post-silicon bring-up and debug, correlating RTL and simulation results with lab measurements to validate design intent.

What You'll Bring:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering, with 12 years of experience (or 8 years with MS or 5 years with a PhD) required.
• 12+ years of RTL design experience, including at least 2–3 full tapeout cycles preferably on mixed-signal or RF-integrated ICs.
• Strong skills in digital logic design, micro-architecture definition, synthesis, and timing closure.
• Proficiency in Verilog and SystemVerilog for RTL development, behavioral modeling, and verification.
• Solid understanding of digital design methodologies including CDC analysis, clock gating, low-power design (UPF/CPF), and static timing analysis.
• Experience with UVM-based verification, functional coverage, assertion-based verification, and DFT implementation (scan, MBIST, ATPG).
• Scripting proficiency in Python, Perl, or UNIX shell for flow automation and design productivity.
• Proven ability to lead technical workstreams, mentor junior engineers, and communicate effectively across analog, digital, and systems disciplines.

Compensation & Benefits:

[Review the Total Rewards documentation to find the applicable salary/hourly range for the role. Input where bolded below and delete these instructions before posting live.]

The benefits listed below may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Impinj and the country where you work.

The typical base pay range for this role across the US is $158,700 - $238,100. Individual base pay depends on various factors such as complexity and responsibility of role, job duties, requirements, and relevant experience and skills. Both market wage data and the mid-point of the pay range is reviewed and used as the starting point for all new hire offers. Offers are made within the base pay range applicable at the time.

At Impinj certain roles are eligible for additional rewards, including merit increases, annual bonus and stock. These awards are allocated based on individual performance. In addition, certain roles also have the opportunity to earn sales incentives based on revenue or utilization, depending on the terms of the plan and the employee’s role. US based employees have access to healthcare benefits; a 401(k) plan and company match among others.

For a more comprehensive list of US employment benefits, click here. 

US Export Controls:

This position has access to technologies or data subject to U.S. export control regulations. Under these laws, the release or transfer of export-controlled items or information to individuals who are not classified as "U.S. persons" (as defined by Immigration & Nationality Act) may require prior authorization from the U.S. government. We may require additional documentation related to national identity to determine whether an export compliance license is required for any export-controlled items. This information is requested solely for the purpose of complying with U.S. export control laws and will not be used for other purposes. Learn more about export compliance here.