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Principal design engineer skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

5 min read

Quoted experts

Bryant Harrison,

Bryant Harrison

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical principal design engineer skills. We ranked the top skills for principal design engineers based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 7.5% of principal design engineer resumes contained rf as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a principal design engineer needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 principal design engineer skills for your resume and career

1. RF

Here's how principal design engineers use rf:

Use Atoll RF Design Propagation tool to produce complex before and after coverage maps to support RF Affidavits for public hearings.
Train and work with AT&T appointed Lawyers to fine tune testimonies and educate them on RF requirement needs.

2. Principal Design

Here's how principal design engineers use principal design:

Assigned as a principal design engineer on Exxon Neftegas Limited, Odoptu First Stage production, Sakhalin Island, Russia.
design) Principal Design Engineer, Quarry Technologies (Reef Point Systems), Burlington, MA (Dec.99 - Jul.

3. CAD

Here's how principal design engineers use cad:

Managed IT duties for the device design facility and installed and administered CAD and product data management software for Closure Medical.
Coordinated joint US-Asia programs of R&D & manufacturing including make/buy sourcing decisions and balancing of CAD and testing resources.

4. MATLAB

Here's how principal design engineers use matlab:

Verified an automatic satellite channel acquisition system against its Matlab model.
Developed Matlab / ModelTech ModelSim verification environment to perform functional verification of ASIC.

5. SOC

SOC stands for "System and Organization Controls" report, which is conducted by a third-party auditor independent from the company being reported on. An SOC report demonstrates that a company is acting ethically, which may lead to more retained clients.

Here's how principal design engineers use soc:

Designed DDR2 controller memory interface and integrated DDR2 Controller IP into BrightScale's CA1024 and BA1024 SOC chips.
Perform ASIC design, implementation, and verification of Set-top-Box SOC chip.

6. C++

C++ is a general-purpose programming language that is used to create high-performing applications. It was invented as an extension to the C language. C++ lets the programmer have a high level of domination over memory and system resources. C++ is an object-oriented language that helps you implement real-time issues based on different data functions

Here's how principal design engineers use c++:

Developed using Visual C++ and the IMAPI2 tool kit as a dialog based application.
Developed code in C, C++ and MIPS assembly to help solve problems for customers and for internal test development.

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7. Verilog

Verilog іѕ a Hаrdwаrе Dеѕсrірtіоn Language, HDL; a textual fоrmаt tо dеѕсrіbе еlесtrоnіс circuits аnd systems. Verilog wаѕ dеvеlореd tо be used for vеrіfісаtіоn thrоugh ѕіmulаtіоn, for tіmіng analysis, fоr tеѕt analysis аnd fаult grаdіng аnd fоr logic ѕуnthеѕіѕ.

Here's how principal design engineers use verilog:

Established automated method of linking specification requirements to System Verilog coverage verification results.
Created a Perl program that automatically generates top level Verilog connectivity tests.

8. Project Management

Here's how principal design engineers use project management:

Project management of cross-functional teams in a rapidly expanding start-up environment.
Standardized project management methodologies, processes and workflows across the enterprise.

9. Design Verification

Design verification can be defined as the examination and evaluation that leads to confirmation that the objectives have been met and specific requirements of a particular design have been fulfilled. It is the process through which you can test your design outputs to see if they match your design inputs.

Here's how principal design engineers use design verification:

Lead and Manage Design Verification team in testing the performance of ASIC receiver (system NF and sensitivity).
Managed cross-department designs, supporting marketing on bids, through to design verification and product handover.

10. Analog

An analog system refers to a system that uses continuously variable signals.

Here's how principal design engineers use analog:

Developed analog and digital circuitry for patient monitoring devices.
Integrated an 8031 processor based Built-In Test system designed to monitor critical analog and digital signals throughout a missile warning system.

11. FPGA

Here's how principal design engineers use fpga:

Supported testing of all in house FPGA boards, from bring up through validation, and production testing using the framework.
Implemented bus interface and board control FPGA for mixed signal ASIC test system.

12. IP

An IP - Internet Protocol is a unique number assigned to all devices connected to information technology, such as printers, routers, modems, etc. Each device or domain that connects to the Internet is assigned an IP address, and as packets are directed to the IP address attached to them, the data goes where it is needed. IP addresses are the identifier used to send information between devices on a network. They contain location information and make devices accessible for communication.

Here's how principal design engineers use ip:

Participated in the evaluation and selection of standard cell, memory, and I/O ASIC libraries and soft IP blocks.
Involved in the test chip design of new family of structured ASIC with PCI Express IP integration.

13. Circuit Design

Circuit Design is the process of designing how an electrical circuit will be constructed. These designs can be used to create complex electrical systems or smaller systems with individual circuits integrated within a transistor. Simpler systems may only require a single designer, whereas larger and more complex designs require entire teams dedicated to the design and construction.

Here's how principal design engineers use circuit design:

Played a major role in acquiring of VLSI related software and hardware tools, attracting new circuit design/layout engineers.
Assisted junior engineer in building EM model and transmission line library for circuit design team.

14. Rtl Design

Here's how principal design engineers use rtl design:

Evaluated existing RTL design based on latest available specification.
Delivered test vectors to Third Party Company so they could design advanced external gate-arrays compatible with our RTL designs.

15. RTL

Here's how principal design engineers use rtl:

Developed automatic RTL generation software.
Debugged DFT issues flagged by DFT DRC checks and provided feedback on RTL changes required to address clock and reset issues.

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What skills help Principal Design Engineers find jobs?

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What soft skills should all principal design engineers possess?

Bryant Harrison

Instructor, Murray State University

Engineers are constantly working with a variety of people on a project. These people could be other engineers in the same department or other departments, managers, stakeholders, and customers. The ability to communicate both on a technical and non-technical level with these people is likely the most important soft skill for a design engineer.

What skills stand out on principal design engineer resumes?

Bryant Harrison

Instructor, Murray State University

Design Engineers should be able to think creatively and be prepared to use software to solve problems. Students who have acquired certifications in design software have shown some level of aptitude toward using that software to create and design engineering solutions.

What hard/technical skills are most important for principal design engineers?

Dr. Heidrun Schmitzer

Professor and Chair, Xavier University

Depends on the engineering career, but in general, an ability to know how to use design software, measurement/testing, and analysis equipment, in addition to prototyping and fabrication tools

What principal design engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Robert Saunders P.E.

Assistant Department Head, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville

Project management and/or leadership training, either at the university they graduated from, or a good online source. Either or both of these would demonstrate the proactive attitude of the student. And get involved in something; community service groups, design a project, anything that shows you are pushing forward professionally and personally, not just sitting at home.

What type of skills will young principal design engineers need?

John Ring

Director Engineering Outreach, Elon University

While our universities consistently educate engineering students with hard skills and strong engineering fundamentals, tomorrow's engineers need to be strong communicators, collaborators, and critical thinkers. Our professional environments are filled with data and information, and the constraint is typically how much time individuals can dedicate to solving a problem. At Elon University, we educate tomorrow's engineers to have the hard skills necessary to analyze the information and situations, apply critical thinking techniques to determine ways to solve the issue, and then concisely and efficiently communicate with colleagues as solutions are being set in motion.

Do you want to know more?

List of principal design engineer skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a principal design engineer resume and required skills for a principal design engineer to have include:

RF
Principal Design
CAD
MATLAB
SOC
C++
Verilog
Project Management
Design Verification
Analog
FPGA
IP
Circuit Design
Rtl Design
RTL
ISO

Solidworks
VHDL
Design Reviews
IC
FDA
Engineering Design
ASIC
PCB
GD
Place-And-Route
Perl
EDA
Cadence Virtuoso
Switches
Linux
SystemVerilog

Debugging
Product Development
CMOS
Mentor Graphics
Timing Closure
Prototyping
DRC
Ethernet
Extraction
Virtuoso
Mixers
Timing Analysis
CPU
Lead Design
Antenna

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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