--- title: 'Sr. Staff SoC Power & Performance Architect at Ambiq Micro, Inc.' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/sr-staff-soc-power-performance-architect-ambiq-micro-inc-austin-texas-dwbapwmszy1j' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-12' --- # Sr. Staff SoC Power & Performance Architect at Ambiq Micro, Inc. - **Company:** Ambiq Micro, Inc. - **Location:** Austin Texas, United States - **Posted:** 2026-08-21 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-12 - **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/ambiqmicroinc/jobs/4377745009 ## Job description Company Overview Ambiq is on a mission to enable intelligence everywhere — powering the AI edge revolution with the world's lowest-power semiconductor solutions. Built on our proprietary sub- and near-threshold technology, our chips deliver multi-fold improvements in energy efficiency without costly process scaling. Since 2010, we've shipped over 300 million units to customers building smarter wearables, medical devices, IoT products, and AI-powered edge applications. Our cross-functional teams span design, research, development, production, marketing, sales, and operations across Austin, Hsinchu, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Singapore. We move fast, tackle hard problems, and create space for people to grow through complex, meaningful work that shapes the future of technology. We're looking for self-motivated, creative problem-solvers who are eager to push technological limits and make a real impact in energy efficiency. At Ambiq, we live by five values: Innovate. Collaborate. Focus. Learn. Achieve. If that's you, join us — the intelligence everywhere revolution starts here. This role will be on-site 5 days a week in NW Austin. Scope Ambiq is looking for a Sr. Staff Power & Performance Architect to help shape the architecture behind some of the industry’s most power-efficient SoCs. You will drive power and performance analysis, budgeting, modeling, and debug from early architecture through silicon correlation, while defining practical architecture guidance for power management, clocking/reset, fabric, and embedded system behavior. This role is ideal for a senior low-power SoC architect who enjoys hands-on analysis, silicon debug, architecture specification, automation, and customer-facing technical influence. ## Responsibilities - Execute power and performance analysis across pre-silicon modeling, RTL power analysis, power-aware simulation, and post-silicon correlation. - Build and maintain SoC, subsystem, and use-case-level power budgets. - Drive variance analysis against power and performance targets, surfacing risks early. - Lead architectural debug of power anomalies in simulation, emulation, or silicon. - Trace issues from waveform to RTL to architectural intent to root cause. - Develop and automate power modeling infrastructure, reporting flows, regression dashboards, and analysis tooling using Python and/or TCL. - Characterize power states, transitions, leakage/dynamic splits, Vmin behavior, retention, and corner behavior on first silicon. - Feed silicon learnings back into next-generation architecture. - Contribute architecture and microarchitecture specifications for power management, clocking/reset, fabric, flow sequencing, software/hardware interaction, and power models. - Analyze process-node tradeoffs and translate them into architectural recommendations. - Support use-case and test-case development. - Partner with physical design on power domain partitioning and UPF/power intent mapping. - Work with software architecture teams to define power management flows, APIs, and power manager behavior. - Support FPGA teams during early bring-up of power management and global flows. - Translate silicon power/performance capabilities into datasheet guidance, competitive positioning, and customer-facing collateral. - Support pre-sales, field engineering, RFQ/RFI responses, customer meetings, and customer use-case power estimation as Ambiq’s P&P subject-matter expert. ## Qualifications - BS in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field. - 7+ years of architecture experience in low-power SoC, embedded SoC, semiconductor, MCU, processor, or related silicon environments. - Hands-on ownership of power and/or performance analysis, budgeting, and debug. - Experience with Cadence Genus or equivalent industry power analysis tooling (Cadence Joules, Synopsys PrimePower, Siemens PowerPro). - Experience with power-aware simulation flows. - Strong Python and/or TCL scripting for modeling, automation, reporting, and analysis. - Demonstrated ability to write architecture and microarchitecture specifications that engineering teams can build from. - Strong written and verbal communication skills. - Ability to work effectively across hardware, software, physical design, validation, applications, field, marketing, and sales teams. - Experience with collaboration tools such as Confluence, SharePoint, JIRA, and Git. ## Preferred Qualifications - MS or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field. - 10+ years of semiconductor or embedded SoC industry experience. - UPF / IEEE 1801 authoring or review experience. - Clocking/reset architecture experience. - Arm Cortex-M architecture experience. - Experience with Arm Cortex-A, RISC-V, DSP, or heterogeneous multicore architectures. - Experience with APB, AHB, AXI, NoC, cache, pseudo-SRAM, DRAM, non-volatile memory, or high-bandwidth memory topologies. - Prior customer-facing, pre-sales, field, or applications engineering engagement. - Familiarity with AI-assisted engineering environments such as Claude Code, Cursor, or equivalent. Must be currently authorized to work in the United States for any employer. ## About Ambiq Micro, Inc. ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: Ambiq develops ultra-low-power semiconductor platforms and system-on-chip (SoC) solutions that enable edge AI on battery-powered devices. - **Entity Type**: Public (NYSE: $AMBQ, as of July 30, 2025) - **Headquarters**: Austin, Texas, USA (with offices in Hsinchu, Shenzhen, Shanghai, and Singapore) - **Founded**: 2010 - **Founders**: Dr. Scott Hanson (current CTO) ## Core Business - **Primary industry**: Semiconductor / Ultra-Low-Power Integrated Circuits / Edge AI Hardware - **Target customers**: B2B — OEMs and device manufacturers building wearables, smart glasses, smart home devices, healthcare monitors, industrial sensors, and IoT products - **Mission statement**: To enable intelligence (AI and beyond) everywhere by delivering the lowest-power semiconductor solutions on the planet. ## Products & Services - **SPOT® Platform**: Proprietary, patented Subthreshold Power Optimized Technology that operates below 1V, delivering a quadratic improvement in energy efficiency vs. traditional designs. This is the core differentiator enabling complex AI at the edge. - **Apollo SoC Family**: System-on-Chip solutions now in their 5th generation. Flagship products include Apollo510, Apollo510B, ApolloD Lite, and Apollo330M Plus. Designed for wearables, smart glasses, smart home, healthcare, and industrial use. - **Atomiq SoC Family**: Additional SoC offerings for edge AI applications. - **Real-Time Clock (RTC) Products**: Standalone ultra-low-power timing solutions. - **Developer Tools**: Evaluation boards, display kits, debugger tools, and accompanying software/AI developer solutions. ## Market Standing - **Valuation/Market Cap**: $1 billion valuation (pre-IPO); Market cap post-IPO not publicly disclosed in available sources. - **Key Metric**: Total funding of over $700 million raised prior to IPO; 290 million devices sold as of early 2026. - **Notable Investors/Partners**: Raised over $700M in capital; led by CEO Fumihide Esaka who previously led Transphorm and NIEC. Specific institutional investors not detailed in available materials. - **Growth Signals**: Went public on NYSE in July 2025; sold 290M devices (up from 270M at the start of 2025); won Embedded World Best in Show and AI Excellence Awards in 2025; IoT Semiconductor Company of the Year (3rd time). ## Competitive Advantages - **SPOT® Technology Moat**: Proprietary subthreshold operation below 1V provides a fundamental physics-based power advantage that competitors cannot easily replicate — a 10x power reduction vs. competing MCU solutions. - **Massive Installed Base**: 290 million devices shipped creates strong switching costs and ecosystem lock-in for customers. - **Edge AI Leadership**: Enables always-on AI inference on battery-powered devices where thermal and power constraints make traditional chips unusable. - **Patented Platform**: Extensive patent portfolio protecting the SPOT technology. ## Strategic Focus - **Edge AI Expansion**: Continuing to push larger and more complex AI models onto battery-powered edge devices. - **Market Diversification**: Growing beyond wearables into smart glasses, healthcare, smart home, and industrial IoT. - **Public Company Growth**: Leveraging IPO capital (July 2025) to scale R&D, sales, and global operations. - **Fifth-Generation SoCs**: Rolling out Apollo5 series with enhanced AI capabilities and broader customer adoption. ## Why Work Here - **Cutting-Edge Technology**: Work on the frontier of ultra-low-power semiconductor design and edge AI — a niche with massive growth potential. - **Collaborative Culture**: Company values emphasize innovation, collaboration, focus, learning, and achievement. Diverse, global team across Austin, Hsinchu, Shenzhen, Shanghai, and Singapore. - **Growth & Learning**: Mentorship programs, continuous learning opportunities, and clear career development paths. Strong emphasis on hiring for a "learning mindset." - **Benefits**: Medical, dental, vision, identity protection, 401K, and paid time off (varies by region). - **Work Environment**: Mix of on-site and remote roles (e.g., Field Application Engineer roles list "Remote Employee" for Central and West Coast US). 33 open positions as of mid-2026 across hardware design, software, AI, embedded systems, sales, and operations. - **Diversity & Inclusion**: Explicit commitment to creating an inclusive environment and hiring from diverse backgrounds. ## Sources 1. [ambiq.com](https://ambiq.com/) 2. [ambiq.com/about-us](https://www.ambiq.com/about-us/) 3. [ambiq.com/careers](https://ambiq.com/careers/) 4. [ir.ambiq.com](https://ir.ambiq.com/overview/default.aspx) 5. [job-boards.greenhouse.io/ambiqmicroinc](http://job-boards.greenhouse.io/ambiqmicroinc) ## Other roles at Ambiq Micro, Inc. - [Sr. Director, SoC Architecture](https://feeny.ai/job/sr-director-soc-architecture-ambiq-micro-inc-austin-texas-sqzb3rrwke00) — Austin Texas, United States - [Sr. Engineer - Analog Validation](https://feeny.ai/job/sr-engineer-analog-validation-ambiq-micro-inc-austin-texas-cc993gmmgtdj) — Austin Texas, United States - [Staff Applications Software Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-applications-software-engineer-ambiq-micro-inc-singapore-frtk4qhmt1k1) — Singapore - [Staff Applications Hardware Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-applications-hardware-engineer-ambiq-micro-inc-austin-texas-eaqvym6tpbb1) — Austin Texas, United States - [Sr. Staff Engineer - Digital Design Verification](https://feeny.ai/job/sr-staff-engineer-digital-design-verification-ambiq-micro-inc-austin-texas-pebh77yajmq7) — Austin Texas, United States - [Sr. Staff Engineer, Product Test Engineering](https://feeny.ai/job/sr-staff-engineer-product-test-engineering-ambiq-micro-inc-hsinchu-city-bpnh1kr26mgd) — Hsinchu City, Taiwan - [HW System/SoC Architect](https://feeny.ai/job/hw-system-soc-architect-ambiq-micro-inc-singapore-nghfwvt65bq2) — Singapore - [Sr. Staff SoC RTL Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/sr-staff-soc-rtl-engineer-ambiq-micro-inc-austin-texas-sc5gp5823b0f) — Austin Texas, United States - [Staff Engineer, Product Test Engineering](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-engineer-product-test-engineering-ambiq-micro-inc-hsinchu-city-yqyxdzyppv8n) — Hsinchu City, Taiwan - [Staff Validation Engineer - Wireless Radio Lead](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-validation-engineer-wireless-radio-lead-ambiq-micro-inc-austin-texas-15hed2strwjk) — Austin Texas, United States