Principal Test Engineer/DFT Architect

The Principal Test / DFT Architect will define testability and production test strategy for advanced semiconductor products from concept through production release. This role bridges ATE test architecture, DFT, circuit design, product engineering, validation, quality, operations, and manufacturing to ensure products are designed for high-quality, cost-effective, scalable production test.

The ideal candidate has deep semiconductor ATE test experience, strong knowledge of analog, mixed-signal, digital, and power-management IC testing, and enough circuit design understanding to influence observability, controllability, trim/calibration strategy, test muxing, embedded monitors, diagnostic coverage, and test strategy before tape-out.

This is a senior technical leadership role for an individual contributor who can set strategy, influence design and engineering teams, mentor engineers, and establish reusable test and DFT methodologies across product families.

Test and DFT Architecture

· Define product-level test and DFT strategy, including wafer probe, final test, characterization, qualification, GRR, production test flow, and cost-of-test targets.

· Partner with design, systems, validation, product engineering, test engineering, quality, operations, and manufacturing teams to define DFT requirements early in the lifecycle.

· Drive requirements for test muxes, scan/debug access, analog observability, digital controllability, embedded monitors, BIST where applicable, trim/calibration access, fuse/NVM test modes, and diagnostic hooks.

· Review schematics, architecture documents, specifications, register maps, and test-mode plans to identify testability gaps before design freeze.

· Establish reusable DFT and test-access standards for power, analog, mixed-signal, and digitally assisted products.

ATE and Production Test Strategy

· Define ATE platform strategy, including tester selection, instrument usage, multisite targets, handler/prober compatibility, hardware reuse, test-time optimization, and production scalability.

· Establish strategic test flows, binning methodology, screen strategy, guardband approach, data collection strategy, and test naming conventions.

· Assess feasibility for critical tests such as high-voltage stress, analog parametric measurements, digital interface testing, trim/calibration, NVM programming, wafer-level characterization, and production diagnostics.

· Influence test hardware architecture, including load boards, probe cards, sockets, change kits, and interface circuitry, to improve accuracy, signal integrity, and multisite scalability.

· Guide platform-transition strategies and production test readiness for new products and product families.

Circuit and Testability Leadership

· Apply circuit-level knowledge to ensure key internal nodes, bias conditions, clocks, references, protection circuits, calibration loops, and failure mechanisms are observable and controllable on ATE.

· Work with design teams to ensure critical analog, digital, and power-management functions can be accurately measured in production.

· Evaluate the impact of circuit architecture, wafer-test strategy, package choice, and test platform capability on test coverage, yield learning, quality risk, cost, and cycle time.

· Support complex silicon and production debug by connecting ATE data, bench data, circuit behavior, design intent, process variation, and production yield trends.

· Identify testability risks early, including limited test access, insufficient characterization coverage, weak diagnostics, limited traceability, or late test-mode definition.

Cross-Functional Influence

· Serve as senior technical interface between design, DFT, test engineering, product engineering, validation, quality, operations, and manufacturing partners.

· Lead testability reviews at key development gates and ensure issues are resolved before tape-out, qualification, or production release.

· Create test architecture documentation, DFT checklists, coverage expectations, production-readiness criteria, and product-family test strategy templates.

· Mentor engineers on DFT principles, ATE methodology, debug strategy, and scalable production test development.

· Influence roadmap decisions for ATE platforms, test data infrastructure, characterization automation, production analytics, and AI-enabled test optimization.

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· Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field; advanced degree preferred.

· Typically 12+ years of semiconductor experience in test engineering, DFT, product engineering, validation, design, or product industrialization.

· Strong hands-on experience with ATE test development and production test strategy.

· Experience with analog, mixed-signal, digital, and/or power-management IC test.

· Strong understanding of ATE instrumentation, timing, digital pattern execution, analog measurements, multisite test, handler/prober interfaces, test hardware, and production data.

· Working knowledge of circuit design concepts, including references, regulators, ADC/DACs, digital interfaces, clocks, trims, NVM/fuse structures, protection features, and test-access circuitry.

· Familiarity with wafer sort/final test strategy, production test flows, yield learning, quality screening, and test-cost modeling.

· Ability to read schematics, block diagrams, design specs, register maps, test plans, and characterization/yield data.

· Strong debug capability using ATE results, bench measurements, simulation data, failure-analysis inputs, and production trends.

· Experience with scripting, automation, and data analysis tools such as Python, JMP, MATLAB, SQL, or equivalent.

· Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional technical reviews and influence without direct authority.

Preferred Qualifications

· Experience with power-management, automotive, high-voltage, mixed-signal, or digitally assisted analog products.

· Experience with ATE platforms such as Advantest V93K, Teradyne/Microflex, ETS, COHU/DiamondX, SPEA, or similar.

· Familiarity with scan, BIST, memory test, boundary scan, test access protocols, and digital DFT methods.

· Experience with trim/calibration architecture, fuse/NVM programming, wafer sort, final test, production diagnostics, and test-time reduction.

· Knowledge of NPI gates, production release, characterization, qualification, GRR, and test readiness.

· Experience with yield analysis, guardbanding, statistical methods, test-cost modeling, quality screening, and production data analysis.

· Familiarity with AI/ML or advanced analytics applied to semiconductor test and production data is a plus.

Key Skills

· Semiconductor ATE and production test expertise

· DFT and testability architecture

· Circuit-aware problem solving

· Cross-functional technical leadership

· Test cost, quality, yield, and coverage optimization

· Structured silicon and production debug

· Strong data analysis, communication, and mentoring skills

· Ability to define reusable methodology across product families

Success Measures

· Testability requirements are defined before tape-out.

· Product test flows meet quality, coverage, cost, cycle-time, and production-readiness targets.

· Critical analog, digital, trim, NVM, and diagnostic functions are measurable on ATE.

· Testability reviews reduce late design changes, production surprises, and post-silicon debug cycles.

· ATE platform, hardware, package/test, and multisite strategies support scalable production.

· Test architecture improves reuse, yield learning, and production readiness across product families.

Renesas is an embedded semiconductor solution provider driven by its Purpose ‘To Make Our Lives Easier.’ As the industry’s leading expert in embedded processing with unmatched quality and system-level know-how, we have evolved to provide scalable and comprehensive semiconductor solutions for automotive, industrial, infrastructure, and IoT industries based on the broadest product portfolio, including High Performance Computing, Embedded Processing, Analog & Connectivity, and Power.

 

With a diverse team of over 22,000 professionals in more than 30 countries, we continue to expand our boundaries to offer enhanced user experiences through digitalization and usher into a new era of innovation. We design and develop sustainable, power-efficient solutions today that help people and communities thrive tomorrow, ‘To Make Our Lives Easier.’     

 

At Renesas, you can: 

• Launch and advance your career in technical and business roles across four Product Groups and various corporate functions. You will have the opportunities to explore our hardware and software capabilities and try new things.  

• Make a real impact by developing innovative products and solutions to meet our global customers' evolving needs and help make people’s lives easier, safe and secure. 

• Maximize your performance and wellbeing in our flexible and inclusive work environment. Our people-first culture and global support system, including the remote work option and Employee Resource Groups, will help you excel from the first day.    

Are you ready to own your success and make your mark?  

Join Renesas. Shape Your Future with Us.  

Renesas Electronics is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer, committed to celebrating diversity and fostering a work environment free of discrimination on the basis of sex, race, religion, national origin, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, military status, veteran status, or any other basis protected by federal, state or local law. For more information, please read our Diversity & Inclusion Statement.

Renesas Electronics deals with dual-use technology that is subject to U.S. export controls regulations. Under these regulations it may be necessary for Renesas to obtain U.S. government export license prior to release of technology to certain persons. The decision whether or not to file or pursue an export license application is at the sole discretion of Renesas.