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Bengaluru: India's semiconductor push is triggering a surge in hiring as companies race to build design and manufacturing capabilities.
Companies such as Micron, AMD, Applied Materials and L&T Semiconductor are seeking specialised talent in chip design, verification, physical design, AI accelerators and embedded software, with demand far outstripping supply at mid- to senior-levels. There is also strong demand for system-level engineering talent-professionals who understand silicon, software and end applications in an integrated manner.
Earlier this month, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the launch of the second phase of India Semiconductor Mission with a ₹1,000 crore outlay under the FY27 budget. As the industry expands in scale and complexity, the demand for specialised capabilities, too, continues to outpace supply, executives ET spoke to said.
One of the most critical skill gaps in the semiconductor industry today is in advanced chip design and verification, said Jhansi Potham, director of talent acquisition at Micron India.
"This includes deep expertise in VLSI, system-on-chip (SoC) integration, physical design, design-for-test (DFT) and low-power architectures. These skills form the backbone of next-generation semiconductor innovation and require years of focused experience," she said.
AMD India, which houses about a quarter of the company's global workforce, is looking to ramp up its engineering teams across CPU, GPU, AI, platform engineering and software development to support its product roadmap and growing customer demand in data centres, AI and high-performance computing.
"There is a global scarcity of semiconductor engineering talent, and skills in silicon microarchitecture, RTL design, verification, physical design, AI accelerator engineering and low-level firmware are particularly hard to find, especially at senior levels," said Fathima Farouk, HR head, AMD India.
There are currently 3,400-odd active jobs in the semiconductor sector, driven by a combination of replacement hiring and expansion, shows data from staffing firm Xpheno. Profiles in demand include senior design engineer, physical design engineer, validation engineer, design verification engineer and senior engineer, said Kamal Karanth, co-founder.
Nearly seven in 10 semiconductor jobs in India are concentrated across Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Noida, highlighting the continued clustering of chip design capabilities alongside emerging manufacturing ecosystem, shows data from jobs and talent platform foundit (formerly Monster).
“The long-term industry momentum is strong given the projected growth in global semiconductor sales. India is expected to benefit from expanded manufacturing and fab investments, advanced packaging (ATMP) demand and government policies,” said Tarun Sharma, chief product and technology officer, foundit.
Applied Materials India is selectively hiring senior talent across areas such as corporate functions, product development, process engineering, and algorithm and software development.
“Interdisciplinary expertise, spanning physics, materials science, software, data and advanced manufacturing is becoming essential to address the next-generation of semiconductor challenges. Hands-on experience in fabs (fabrication/manufacturing units), process labs, or high-precision manufacturing environments is also increasingly hard to find and remains a major differentiator,” said Avi Avula, president at Applied Materials India.
Others like L&T Semiconductor Technologies are working on scaling up industry-academia partnerships to build the talent ecosystem.
The company has rolled out the ‘iRISE’ programme, through which it has partnered with institutions such as IIT Bombay, IIT Guwahati, BITS and IISc to co-create specialised training and research programmes that emphasise practical, project-based learning.
“We are also actively engaging with industry platforms such as the ICEA Semiconductor Product Design Leadership Forum to champion semiconductor innovation and IP creation, contributing to a more cohesive semiconductor design ecosystem in India,” said Sandeep Kumar, chief executive, L&T Semiconductor Technologies.
Applied Materials, too, works closely with universities by combining curriculum development with real‑world, experiential learning. It provides students exposure to industry-grade semiconductor process simulations through the AppliedTwin framework. It also has curriculum‑building partnerships with academic institutions focused on aligning coursework with current and emerging industry needs.
Companies such as Micron, AMD, Applied Materials and L&T Semiconductor are seeking specialised talent in chip design, verification, physical design, AI accelerators and embedded software, with demand far outstripping supply at mid- to senior-levels. There is also strong demand for system-level engineering talent-professionals who understand silicon, software and end applications in an integrated manner.
Earlier this month, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the launch of the second phase of India Semiconductor Mission with a ₹1,000 crore outlay under the FY27 budget. As the industry expands in scale and complexity, the demand for specialised capabilities, too, continues to outpace supply, executives ET spoke to said.
One of the most critical skill gaps in the semiconductor industry today is in advanced chip design and verification, said Jhansi Potham, director of talent acquisition at Micron India.
"This includes deep expertise in VLSI, system-on-chip (SoC) integration, physical design, design-for-test (DFT) and low-power architectures. These skills form the backbone of next-generation semiconductor innovation and require years of focused experience," she said.
AMD India, which houses about a quarter of the company's global workforce, is looking to ramp up its engineering teams across CPU, GPU, AI, platform engineering and software development to support its product roadmap and growing customer demand in data centres, AI and high-performance computing.
"There is a global scarcity of semiconductor engineering talent, and skills in silicon microarchitecture, RTL design, verification, physical design, AI accelerator engineering and low-level firmware are particularly hard to find, especially at senior levels," said Fathima Farouk, HR head, AMD India.
There are currently 3,400-odd active jobs in the semiconductor sector, driven by a combination of replacement hiring and expansion, shows data from staffing firm Xpheno. Profiles in demand include senior design engineer, physical design engineer, validation engineer, design verification engineer and senior engineer, said Kamal Karanth, co-founder.
Nearly seven in 10 semiconductor jobs in India are concentrated across Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Noida, highlighting the continued clustering of chip design capabilities alongside emerging manufacturing ecosystem, shows data from jobs and talent platform foundit (formerly Monster).
“The long-term industry momentum is strong given the projected growth in global semiconductor sales. India is expected to benefit from expanded manufacturing and fab investments, advanced packaging (ATMP) demand and government policies,” said Tarun Sharma, chief product and technology officer, foundit.
Applied Materials India is selectively hiring senior talent across areas such as corporate functions, product development, process engineering, and algorithm and software development.
“Interdisciplinary expertise, spanning physics, materials science, software, data and advanced manufacturing is becoming essential to address the next-generation of semiconductor challenges. Hands-on experience in fabs (fabrication/manufacturing units), process labs, or high-precision manufacturing environments is also increasingly hard to find and remains a major differentiator,” said Avi Avula, president at Applied Materials India.
Others like L&T Semiconductor Technologies are working on scaling up industry-academia partnerships to build the talent ecosystem.
The company has rolled out the ‘iRISE’ programme, through which it has partnered with institutions such as IIT Bombay, IIT Guwahati, BITS and IISc to co-create specialised training and research programmes that emphasise practical, project-based learning.
“We are also actively engaging with industry platforms such as the ICEA Semiconductor Product Design Leadership Forum to champion semiconductor innovation and IP creation, contributing to a more cohesive semiconductor design ecosystem in India,” said Sandeep Kumar, chief executive, L&T Semiconductor Technologies.
Applied Materials, too, works closely with universities by combining curriculum development with real‑world, experiential learning. It provides students exposure to industry-grade semiconductor process simulations through the AppliedTwin framework. It also has curriculum‑building partnerships with academic institutions focused on aligning coursework with current and emerging industry needs.
