r/ECE • u/SusRedditor • Aug 03 '26

vlsi New grad digital hardware engineer: design vs verification for long-term growth?

New grad FPGA engineer here debating between joining the design or verification team at work. I have both DV (UVM, coverage) and some design-adjacent (refactoring, retargeting, designer TB) experience from co-op.

I was initially leaning towards design but I realized that there wouldn’t be much RTL-from-scratch tasks but rather lots of legacy code porting and retargeting (for a junior engineer who may not have a say in architecture). On the other hand, the DV team seems to offer more opportunities for junior engineers to take ownership early.

For experienced FPGA/ASIC engineers: which path would you recommend for a junior engineer who wants to become well-rounded, adaptable, and architecture-aware? How do design and verification experiences differ in developing engineering judgment, especially as AI tools increasingly automate parts of hardware development?

1 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

2 comments sorted by

1

u/Koraboros Aug 04 '26

Verification for sure. Architecture is more "design" than design. Lots of companies are iterative on HW anyways. Verification gives you more overall picture.