Junior CPU Architect

CPU Architect Junior (L3 equivalent) 0-2 years

Other levels: CPU Architect Senior CPU Architect Principal CPU Architect Staff CPU Architect Lead CPU Architect

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NVIDIA

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AMD

Arm

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The job description

Tech stack. gem5, Python, SystemVerilog basics, computer architecture fundamentals, Arm or RISC-V ISA basics, workload analysis, technical writing

About the role

You will join a CPU architecture team at a semiconductor company as a junior architect, learning the craft of processor design while contributing to real program work from your first months. Junior architects run modeling experiments, analyze workload data, characterize competitive parts, and document findings under the mentorship of senior architects. This is a deliberate apprenticeship: you will be given real responsibility with close guidance, and your growth in architectural judgment is an explicit goal of the role.

What you will achieve

Run performance modeling experiments using established simulation infrastructure, producing clean, well-documented results that senior architects can rely on for decisions, and proactively flagging anomalies or surprising outcomes for deeper investigation.
Characterize workloads and benchmarks, building the datasets and analyses that ground the team's architecture choices in real application behavior rather than assumptions.
Analyze competitive processors through public information, teardowns, and measured data, summarizing findings clearly for the architecture team.
Contribute to architecture specifications by drafting sections under senior review, learning the precision and completeness the role demands.
Build your architectural judgment through structured mentorship, design reviews, and post-mortems, progressing from executing experiments to proposing them.
Develop fluency in the team's tools, methodologies, and codebase, becoming a productive, independent contributor within the first year.

What you will bring

Must-haves

0 to 2 years of relevant experience, or a strong graduate degree in computer architecture, electrical engineering, or computer science with processor-focused coursework or research.
Solid fundamentals in computer architecture: pipelining, caching, virtual memory, and the basics of out-of-order execution.
Programming skills in Python and C++ sufficient for building analysis scripts and working with simulators.
Basic familiarity with hardware description languages and digital design concepts.
Genuine curiosity about how processors work and the drive to understand systems deeply rather than superficially.
Clear written communication and the humility to ask questions, accept feedback, and learn from mistakes.
Strong work ethic and reliability: you finish what you start and communicate proactively when you are stuck.

Nice-to-haves

Graduate research, thesis, or publications in computer architecture.
Experience with gem5, SST, or other architectural simulators from coursework or projects.
Familiarity with RISC-V and the open-source hardware ecosystem.