Assertion-Based Verification Engineer

Project

Work done for a product or program.

• Write SystemVerilog Assertions capturing interface protocols, internal design invariants, handshake rules, FIFO and arbitration properties.
• Use SystemVerilog bind constructs to attach assertion modules to RTL without polluting design source code.
• Define assertion coverage — cover properties and cover sequences — to prove that the assertions themselves are being exercised.
• Tune assertions for simulation performance, avoiding unbounded sequences and expensive multi-cycle windows that slow regressions.
• Verify that assertions are correct by deliberately injecting faults and confirming that the assertion fires as expected.
• Support the formal verification team by converting simulation assertions into formally provable properties with appropriate assumptions.
• Review designer-written inline assertions for correctness, redundancy and severity classification.
• Maintain assertion density metrics per block and drive under-instrumented blocks toward the target density.
• Debug assertion failures in Verdi, distinguishing genuine design violations from over-strict assertion conditions.

Function

Work that keeps the discipline running: methods, tools, suppliers and people.

• Develop reusable assertion IP modules that can be bound to any instance of a standard interface across projects.

Project

1. Produce and hand over the role's key deliverables
   • Reusable SVA assertion IP library for standard protocols
   • Bind files attaching assertions to RTL instances
   • Assertion coverage report and density metrics per block
   • Assertion fault-injection validation results
   • Assertion coding guidelines and review checklist
2. Plan verificationGeneral
   • Extract the features to verify from the specification
   • Define coverage goals and the test strategy
   • Review the plan with design and architecture
3. Close verificationGeneral
   • Build testbenches and tests
   • Run and triage regressions
   • Report coverage and sign off

Function

1. Keep the methodology currentGeneral
   • Maintain reusable verification components
   • Update guidelines after each project
2. Improve the infrastructureGeneral
   • Reduce regression run time
   • Improve debug and coverage tools