I am currently 6 years in hardware design team(backend) at Intel and contemplating a decision between moving into an RTL role in the same team or accepting an offer from Nvidia in a similar domain(backend- physical design). What do you guys think? Is moving to front end logic design at Intel considered more valuable than a backend role at nvidia (this also comes with risks related to a new unknown team/org). Also the pay is much higher at Nvidia although Intel may match the TC to some extent. Appreciate any advice.
Nvidia is not a great company... You may get paid more but your benefits are going to take a nosedive. Nvidia always pays higher base but yearly bonus is a joke as well. Keep that in mind as you negotiate.
I worked at Intel and now work at NV. Intel bonuses are nice, especially if you're in a high grade (I was 10). NV has no bonus, but base is higher, plus espp gives you similar add-on income. If I had to compare two companies, NV would win, but it doesn't mean it's the best when compared to others. At NV culture is much better than Intel's typical "war of clans".
How much bonus does Intel give?
There are 2 programs, a small one and a big one. Payout depends on company performance, some complex formula. For small it was 5 to 10K for me. For big, there's a percentage of base (10% for me), and a multiplier. On good years multiplier was upto 4x. Worse years maybe 2.5x. So I had 170K base, on good years the bonus was in 50-60K.
Well looks like the topic got diverged into pay and benefits; I think OP is more concerned about role switch and team switch. 6 years is probably the right time to switch to a different role. If you really wanna do front-end, then stay in Intel and take some pay-cut (vs NV offer) and then try, after you gain RTL experience. It sounds like not everything is good at NV either.
A wise man told me don’t switch companies between 5-10 years of exp, coz other teams treat you like crap. I agree with it now. It’s not a good time, coz they can’t give you Lead roles and when they treat you like a junior engineer it feels awful after you’ve been treated well at an old company. So yes, weigh that as well.
So when is a good time to switch?
Either before you become Senior engineer or after you’ve had more than 10 years exp or if you’re promised a lead role. Even if it’s lead for a smaller team, where you can mentor or guide other engineers. Otherwise, you’re just another junior engineer with Sr engineer title.
Nvidia is great? 😳
Dont mean to hijack the thread but Can some folks talk more about RTL vs PD pros and cons. I have about 5 years as OP and I'm in PD, thinking of switching. I wanna know more about the long term impacts. Thank you very much. Unless the pay difference is huge like 50K or something. I dont care about 10/20K differences in total pay.
Keep in mind why would nv pay higher base. There is a reason. Big name doesn't mean every team is good. Also consider if you need authorization to work, if so, stay at where you are.
In nvidia it depends on team.Some teams have bad culture and are biased . IMO choose work that matters in long term
Definitely depends. Some functions/design teams are not in Santa Clara. It is very hard to coordinate your work in Santa Clara with them, which means emailing/phone calls at night. Your next day wouldn't go so smooth if they didn't communicate the update/information to you or you got tired and did not bother to follow on emails on that previous night. Sometimes you have sleepless nights.
Nvidia is great?
I have the same question