Who We Are

Synogate is a startup with the vision to improve the process of designing digital circuits for microchips. Our edge is our free open-source tool “Gatery”, a C++ library which allows to apply tools and methods of software development to the domain of semiconductor design. It boosts productivity and fun, with the intention of becoming the next industry standard.

Our main products are IP cores and contract work. We implement algorithms in digital circuits for use with ASICs and FPGAs. With our strong background in network technology, we focus on hardware-accelerated high-speed network components.

You will be able to be part of building a company, a tech stack and, if things go our way, ushering in a new world of accessible hardware development. Our upcoming product, “HashCache”, is a DoS-resistant key-value-store for high-speed network appliances, such as hardware firewalls for data centers. Development is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research; otherwise, we are self-funded.

There is a lot of work to be done and ideas to be tested. We cherish open, constructive communication to get better every day. We are very happy about applicants who bring any and all kinds of diversity.

Please send us your CV and your portfolio, as well as anything about you that you find interesting. We’ll take it from there and get in touch with you.

Full time positions

Software Developer

You know C++ and want to dive deeper?

As a software developer, your primary work area will be “Gatery”, our C++ library for chip design. This work requires a creative and innovative mindset, which is why profound interest, motivation, and willingness to learn is more important to us than formal degrees. Gatery’s backend contains challenging graph operations. Work on Gatery’s frontend requires creative use of C++ to expose Gatery’s functionality as intuitive and easy to use functions, classes, and templates to the hardware developers. In addition to Gatery and related, internal tools, you will be working on low-level driver and firmware code as well as software driven test setups to validate hardware implementations.

We are looking for:

  • strong software development skills
  • strong algorithmic skills
  • experience in C++
Desirable, but not required:
  • experience or interest in low level / close to metal programming
  • knowledge in graph algorithms
  • knowledge in networking (IP stack)
  • Master’s degree, professional experience
  • located in the Berlin area

Your responsibilities:

  • contribute to the development of our RTL-design library “Gatery”
  • write firmware / driver code
  • write software and driver to run system tests
  • write unit tests
  • write documentation

We offer:

  • team leads with professional C++ experience to learn from
  • an environment to hone your skills and expertise
  • insights into the world of RTL-design
  • flat hierarchies
  • build up a startup from scratch
  • flexible working hours
  • bootstrapped & with public funding
  • leave your mark in a new open-source ecosystem
  • salary range: € 3.7-4.7k (€ 44k - 56k per year)

When will you start:

We are looking to start with this position as soon as possible.

How to apply:

Please email us your CV and cover letter (can be the email body) demonstrating why you are a good fit. We are especially interested in your previous projects, be they academic, private, or professional, and your precise responsibilities within the project. We greatly appreciate anything you can share, be it your github account, code, or screenshots.

Technical Sales Representative

Fresh chips, anyone?

For this position, we need someone with experience in technical B2B sales, from strategy to execution. Our business models need development and our network within the industry must grow. We need you to know what needs to be done to get our products sold, and we can provide you with all the information you need.

We are looking for:

  • 2+ years of experience in B2B sales
  • excellent spoken and written English is required, German and all other languages are a plus
  • located in the Berlin area

Desirable, but not required

  • experience with network security industry
  • knowledge in electronics/microchips
  • knowledge in licensing

Your responsibilities:

  • build up an international customer base
  • explore partnerships
  • explore new markets and business models
  • visit and represent Synogate on trade shows
  • visit and represent Synogate on customer visits

We offer:

  • be part of building up our business model
  • grow your network in a high-volume domain
  • learn more about IT than anyone in the Apple store (and also tons about software, electronics, management, administration, games, licenses and law if you want)
  • leave your mark on the most exciting industry of the century
  • bootstrapped (with public funding)
  • salary range: € 3.7-4.7k (€ 44k - 56k per year)
  • negotiable sales commission

When will you start:

We are looking to start with this position as soon as possible.

How to apply:

Please email us your CV and cover letter (can be the email body) and let us know why you are interested in this position and what your sales experience is based on (do tell us about your experience). Please do keep in mind that your presesntation will for now be our only benchmark of your presentation skills.

Student positions

Thesis Worker

You want to do your Bachelor or Master thesis at Synogate?

Note that as a company we can not offer the actual thesis topic, we can only support it.

We are open to cooperate with universities and can suggest interesting topics as well as provide access to our tech.

We are looking for:

  • Bachelor or Master students
  • Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, etc.
  • Comfortable with C++
  • On-site or remote (has impact on topics)

Some possible thesis directions:

  • Software implementation and performance evaluation of HashCache
  • Optimization of Gatery’s logic simulator through multithreading and JIT compilation
  • Hardware implementation of an algorithm of choice and comparison to a reference software implementation, e.g.:
    • Keypoint detection and description for SLAM
    • Simple neural network inference accelerator
    • Arithmetic coding

We offer:

  • access to tech, expertise, and hardware:
  • leave your mark in a new open-source ecosystem

Email us your CV & portfolio

Student Trainee / Intern

You want to work part time at Synogate alongside your studies?

We are looking for:

  • Bachelor or Master students
  • Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, etc.
  • Programming skills
  • Some familiarity with C++
  • On-site or remote

Your responsibilities:

Subject to your skills and interests any mix of:

  • Support our RTL designers:
    • RTL implementation of algorithms and protocols in Gatery
    • Implementation of small toy projects to test and demonstrate Gatery components
    • Writing test benches
    • Writing documentation
  • Support our software developers:
    • Experiment with dirty C++ tricks to implement nice frontend interface concepts for Gatery
    • Implement various graph transformations
    • Conceptualize and implement debugging tools and UIs
    • Optimize tight loops, potentially utilizing multithreading and/or JIT compilation
    • Writing unit tests
    • Writing documentation
  • Producing content (text, schematics, …) for blog posts, tutorials, or the website

We offer:

  • flexible working hours (to adjust to your university schedule)
  • a fresh, fast moving work environment
  • flat hierarchies
  • leave your mark in a new open-source ecosystem
  • work on Gatery is visible to future employers

Email us your CV & portfolio