Senior/Staff Digital Design Engineer

About OLIX

AI is growing faster than any technology in history and the explosion in demand has created a massive infrastructure gap; we can no longer build chips or power stations fast enough to keep up. The industry is still leaning on a ten-year-old hardware blueprint that has reached its limit. A new paradigm that is faster and more efficient will be the biggest economic opportunity of the next century and create the most important company of the next decade. OLIX is building this next paradigm; the Optical Tensor Processing Unit (OTPU) achieves performance and energy efficiency that is impossible to match from existing chips.

The Role

We are seeking highly skilled and motivated Senior/Staff Digital Design Engineers with a strong focus on CMOS digital design to take end‑to‑end ownership of high‑speed, real‑time data‑processing silicon—from early algorithm modelling to verified RTL and silicon bring‑up. You will join a multidisciplinary group creating next‑generation OTPUs where digital, optical and mixed‑signal domains intersect. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in electrical engineering and semiconductor physics, along with a passion for developing reliable, high-performance digital circuits that drive breakthrough AI hardware.

Responsibilities

• Architect, design and implement high‑throughput digital pipelines (multi‑GSPS input rate, continuous streaming data paths, deep pipelining and hand‑shaking) in advanced CMOS nodes.

• Prototype and iterate rapidly in FPGA (Xilinx/AMD, Intel, or equivalent): bring‑up real‑time demos, exercise high‑speed transceivers, and feed learnings back into the ASIC.

• Model algorithms and validate concepts in MATLAB/Simulink (or equivalent), ensuring functional equivalence through to gate‑level sign‑off.

• Own RTL development (SystemVerilog / Verilog / VHDL) including synthesis, static‑timing closure, formal and constrained‑random verification.

• Analyse power, performance and area (PPA); implement innovative techniques to achieve aggressive bandwidth‑per‑watt targets.

• Collaborate with optical‑hardware, mixed‑signal and software teams to optimise data‑converter interfaces, clock‑domain crossings and firmware abstractions.

• Mentor junior engineers, lead design reviews and champion best‑practice design methodologies.

Skills & Experience

• 7+ years of hands‑on digital design for high‑performance ASICs or SoCs, including ownership of at least one product that processes a continuous real‑time data stream.

• Proven success closing timing on multi‑hundred‑MHz to multi‑GHz clock domains and integrating high‑speed IP (e.g., SerDes, HBM/DDR, PCIe, 100 GbE or similar).

• Expertise with industry‑standard EDA flows: RTL synthesis, CDC/RDC, STA, power‑intent (UPF/CPF), lint, and gate‑level simulation.

• Demonstrated FPGA prototyping skills: constraint management, transceiver tuning, and hardware debug in the lab.

• Proficiency using MATLAB/Simulink or Python/NumPy for algorithm modelling, fixed‑point analysis and test‑vector generation.

• Solid grounding in digital signal‑processing concepts, computer‑architecture fundamentals and semiconductor device physics.

• Excellent communication and cross‑functional collaboration abilities; thrives in a fast‑moving, ambiguous environment.

Nice to have

• Tape‑out experience at 22 nm or below.

• Knowledge of coherent optical links or photonic‑electronic co‑design.

• Familiarity with AI/ML workloads, systolic arrays or tensor‑processing architectures.

• Contributions to open‑source RTL, verification frameworks or FPGA boards.

Compensation & Equity

• Competitive Salary: £125,000 - £180,000, commensurate with your experience, skills, and location.

• Equity & Ownership: Meaningful stock options. You’re not just joining the mission; you’re owning a piece of it.

• Proximity Bonus: We value your time. To minimise your commute and maximise your life, we offer a £24k annual Living-Local Bonus if your residence is within 20 minutes of the office.

Health & Wellbeing

• Premium Healthcare: Comprehensive BUPA medical and dental cover, including Medical History Disregarded (MHD), for complete peace of mind.

• Time Off: 25 days of annual leave, plus all UK bank holidays.

The Workspace & Tech

• Elite Hardware: M4 Macs come as standard, with M4 Pro upgrades for our engineering team. We will provide whatever you need to do your best work.

• Optimal Environment: High-spec noise-cancelling headphones and a fully ergonomic workstation designed for deep focus.

• Rapid Prototyping: Access to our high-performance 3D printing lab for work, experimentation, and personal creative projects.

Life at the Office

• Chef-prepared meals: if you need to work late.

• Caffeine on Us: We’ve got you covered with a tab at our favourite local coffee shop.

Relocation & Global Mobility

• Visa Sponsorship: We hire the best in the world. We offer full UK and international visa sponsorship.

• Seamless Relocation: Whether you’re moving across the country or across the globe, our dedicated relocation partner provides funding and concierge support to get you settled.

Due to U.S. export control regulations, candidates’ eligibility to work at OLIX depends on their most recent citizenship or permanent residency status. We are generally unable to consider applicants whose most recent citizenship or permanent residence is in certain restricted countries (currently including Iran, North Korea, Syria, Cuba, Russia, Belarus, China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Venezuela). Applicants who have subsequently obtained citizenship or permanent residency in another country not subject to these restrictions may still be eligible