software engineer

design engineer

design verification engineer

senior software engineer

firmware engineer

I've been here almost 20 years (in my mid-40s) and can say honestly AMD is an amazing place to build a career.  If you are smart, driven, and do 'what it takes' you can go very far in this company.  Conversely, if you are just looking for a 9-5 job, you may find yourself overworked and disappointed.  For those of you, however, who are willing to prove yourselves, work some extra hours, go the extra mile, show you truly 'care', work to proactively improve things and make AMD better, you WILL be noticed, recognized, and will advance.  In my 20 years, I've seen senior and staff engineers who stagnate and sit in their roles for a decade or more (and nothing wrong with that if all you want to do is contribute technically at a certain capacity) but I've also seen technologists without university degrees excel and become senior management (directors and above).  

The nice thing about AMD is, you can go as far as you want to.  This company is for the BEST, and if you are one of them, you CAN and WILL go far and love this place.   And while, yes, there are some occasional sacrifices - phone calls with colleagues and customers in other geographies in evenings, occasional weekends when we all rally to deliver on a critical milestone, etc., there is also amazing flexibility - whether that's a mix of remote work, taking time off for aappointments, holidays - we don't swipe time cards here.  You are measured by the work you do not the hours you put in.  So you might work a weekend, and other days you might take off early.  Will you work more than 40 hours a week on average even with this arrangement?  Yes, but you will do it because you CARE, and you love the work, the culture, and the people.  The compensation, work life balance, and opportunities within AMD are your reward.  

So if you are driven and want a rewarding career, get in here.  If you want to work 35 hours a week, browse social media, and do the bare minimum, while expecting a high salary, this place isn't for you.  AMD isn't perfect, and there are always challenges, but that's because we are in a fast moving industry - things are always changing and we need to move quickly as well.  So roadmaps change.  Projects get started, cancelled, and restarted.  We reorganize internally.  We create new processes, and turf old ones.  We bash our heads against our desks in frustration, and toast each other when we succeed.  We have friends, and we have people we tolerate, like any other workplace.  The difference is - we're leading edge, we're making a difference, and we're awesome.  Come join us.

Deadlines and schedule rule over all else. Managers regularly attempt to squeeze everything from employees, from setting unrealistic dates for milestones to making overly optimistic assumptions about how long tasks will take to complete. Repeated attempts to coerce work on your time (emails on weekends asking for task status updates to fix "urgent" issues). There are few opportunities to learn unless it is directly related to a deliverable, very little time is spent on personal or even team development/training because it is work all the time. The turn-over rate is steady and a bit high, always new faces if you like meeting new people.

Work distribution can be uneven with day-to-day work being downloaded onto more junior engineers or people who get things done. Lots of meetings to the point that there was a shortage of rooms pre-pandemic. The site I am at has parking and space issues and people are still contemplating cubicle sharing when returning to the office during this pandemic.

The pay is fair and there are benefits: medical, dental, eye, prescriptions, RRSP matching, but most other companies in the space offer these. If you want to learning something new, there are a large number of teams, but expect that you will be driving this on your time. In my experience, it seems that this process may not be transparent e.g. a manager may not consider an internal candidate because it would leave other team short-staffed etc. but this would be hard to prove (in my case the manager obviously lied that they knew nothing about my group when they are on a first-name basis with the groups director).

A typical day consists of:
- both planned and unplanned activities/tasks/issues
- global cross-functional meetings and/or presentations 
- overall meetings (back-to-back) during the day and in the evenings

I learned:
- to manage my time and deliver multiple deliverables in a short period of time (mega-tasking) as industry is very fast paced
- to manage conflict and work with a diverse set of personalities
- to effectively lead professionals

Management:
- overall upper management is high-level due to the nature of a global organization putting more accountability and decision making on Managers and their employees

Co-Workers:
- highly intelligent professionals in the technology industry
- very diverse educational background
- very unique personalities

Hardest part of the job:
- the sheer amount and pace of work due to the global nature of the products and the centralization of Marketing at Headquarters

Most enjoyable part of the job:
- due to the global nature of the product and the type of industry you never know what to expect on a day-to-day basis allowing for the opportunity for innovative and creative solutions

	Implemented the process of Hardware Pre-qualification for Asics – This became the standard testing procedure for new hardware
	Created and maintained test plans for the SQA organization
	SQL Data Mining with Excel reports and PowerPoint presentations
	Responsible for reproducing issues from FAE / OEM customers
	Executed manual test plans using Web-base Test Director
	Reporting of defects and bugs using Remedy System
	Responsible for codec’s and video copy protection testing
	Assisted Continuation Engineers on software debugging
	Specialized in the testing of various multimedia hardware / software in web software environment 
	Effectively managed team by delegating testing, adjusting test matrixes to meet deadlines and maintain quality assurance standards
	Defined process deficiencies in current QA testing and address issues to managers, directors, marketing, and development teams
	Responsible for successfully coordinating the implementation and management of the off shore QA team in India
	Responsible for writing daily / weekly reports, and documenting numerous release test plans to be approved by management

AMD is a culture of paranoia and security, caught up in the hype of corporate security. After giving my particulars to an investigation firm in Fort Worth, Texas, for a background check, my gmail reported that someone had tried to access it from, wait for it, you guessed it, Fort Worth, Texas. As a contractor I was assigned a cubicle on my first day but no computer. After a week or so they cobbled together a workstation from an old computer and tiny monitor, which makes technical writing and diagrams very difficult. Another thing I noticed is that they retain some of the longest employee relationships in the software business. I met a number of engineers (non-management) who had been there 15 years or longer. That is highly unusual for an industry that thrives on cross-pollination of experience by both work and work culture, and the people who seem to stay have that same sort of disposition you find in career civil servants, burned out, no creativity, no passion, and a broken spirit, like house trained animals. This is the worst company I have ever worked for in 17 years experience in software and telecommunications. I would not wish it on anyone.

The products are very interesting to work on, a fun culture around gaming, but not very visible in the Markham office. Work/life balance is non-existent - many 11-12 hour days every week, some 12-13 hour days. Many consecutive weekends spent working from home or in office or on call. This lasts months at a time, with very little break in between. Lots of knowledgeable engineers and developers, but project management makes it hard to build products effectively. Overall, what could be a fun and rewarding workplace is made unpleasant because employees don't receive breaks or rewards for the hard work they do.

AMD is an excellent place for software developers to work due to several key factors. Firstly, AMD is a global leader in computer processors and graphics technology, offering exciting projects and the chance to shape the future of computing. Secondly, the company values its employees, providing support for skill development and a focus on work-life balance. Additionally, AMD fosters a diverse and inclusive culture that encourages collaboration and innovation. Lastly, AMD's commitment to sustainability and corporate social responsibility allows software developers to contribute to meaningful projects with a positive impact. Overall, working at AMD offers the opportunity to engage in cutting-edge technology, grow professionally, collaborate in an inclusive environment, and contribute to impactful initiatives.

Human Resource (HR) management plays a vital role in the success of any organization. It ensures that the right people are hired, trained, and supported, helping the company meet its goals. Good HR operations foster a positive workplace culture by promoting employee engagement, fairness, and growth. They manage payroll, benefits, and compliance, ensuring that employees are paid on time and treated fairly according to the law. HR also handles conflict resolution, creating a peaceful work environment. By offering professional development opportunities, they help employees improve their skills and advance their careers. Overall, effective HR management contributes to higher employee satisfaction, productivity, and retention, making the company more competitive and successful.

It had been an exciting and productive 18+ tears at AMD/ATI organization. I was given all the opportunities to learn and grow in Characterization, Board design, Validation, program management and managing a group of 14 engineers. I was able to train Engineering students from prominent universities in the province of Ontario and create a positive dynamic environment for everyone to enjoy.
I was able to work on world class products that captured the imagination of millions of people.
Overall it was all worthwhile the adventure.

ATI used to be a great place to work. After AMD carved it up and took over the desktop graphics, it seems a lot of the spirit of ATI disappeared.
The work was challenging, and I wish I had stayed long enough to get a real feel for it, and for how management has changed since the AMD takeover, but I was around at a time when they were changing CEOs practically every other week. When the new guy came in, they famously laid off several thousand people, and I got culled before I really had a chance to dig in.
The rumor is that they go through hiring binges and then soon after go through purges. Many of the senior staff are very frustrated with the situation.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Software engineer 216 salaries reported	$139,795 per year
Design engineer 130 salaries reported	$140,196 per year
Design verification engineer 151 salaries reported	$148,116 per year
Senior software engineer 37 salaries reported	$111,778 per year
Firmware engineer 110 salaries reported	$129,216 per year

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