David Spicer Email & Phone Number

Providing HDL design services via Cave Spider Technology Limited.Feb 2022 - Present - Ongoing contract with unnamed client.• Battery control and monitoring application• Firmware for radio and measurement processing• Processor emulation and debug GUI for development support• Verilog-based ASIC design• System-verilog testbench feature-additions and testcasesFeb 2021- Sep 2021 - Contract for Inomize Limited• Verilog-based ASIC design• Python scripting for memory-generation flowMay 2019 - December 2019 - Contract for Sondrel Systems, Bristol• Verilog-based ASIC design• Flash and eMMC/SD controllers• Debug and rework of existing designs to address functional and clock domain issues• Assisting with coverage closureJuly 2017 - November 2018 - Contract for Sondrel Systems, Kings Langley• VHDL-based ASIC design• UVM verification• Video hardware and AXI peripheralsAugust 2016 - July 2017 - Contract for Imagination Technologies, Kings Langley• VHDL-based ASIC design/verification• Video hardwareJuly 2015 - February 2016 - Contract for Imagination Technologies, Kings Langley• VHDL-based ASIC design/verification• Video hardwareMarch 2014 - February 2015 - Contract for Moortec Semiconductor Limited, Plymouth• VHDL-based ASIC design.• Ethernet, AXI4.Ongoing - Internal projects• Lattice XP2 and ICE40 FPGAs• Processor design• Gaming hardware

- Building on previous period of employment at Ericsson (see below for a more extensive breakdown).- Some SystemVerilog-based testbench design.- Support, debug and enhancements for legacy designs.Tools: Xilinx ISE/EDK, Mentor Questasim, SVN.

• VHDL-based design.• Targetted Xilinx FPGAs (Spartan/Kintex).• Apple Prores CODEC design.• Combination of VHDL testbench and software modelling for verification.Tools: Xilinx ISE, Mentor Modelsim, GIT.

• Worked in the Compression group.• Home-working role with frequent on-site visits.• Design/verification of support hardware for professional encoder products.• VHDL-based design.• Primarily targetting Xilinx parts, with some reuse on Altera.• Microblaze-based system on chip developments for system control functions, including design of library peripherals, integration of existing IP and software for early bringup.• High-density/high-speed packet processing and routing.• MPEG2 DCT/IDCT.• Verification: VHDL testbench, randomised stimulus, software models, code coverage.Tools: Xilinx ISE, Xilinx EDK, Mentor Modelsim, Mentor HDL Designer, SVN.

Cambridge

• VHDL-based design.• Software for silicon verification and graphics processing.Unfortunately, family illness made it impossible to relocate to Cambridge and I made the difficult decision to quit this promising role.

Developed games software for set-top-box and Sony PSP. Mix of C, Arc assembler and MIPS assembler.

Plymouth

• Worked in the Digital Television group.• VHDL-based design.• System on chip designs based around Power PC and MIPS processors.• MPEG2 decode and transport processing.• Hardware support for multi-stream hard-disk recording.• DVB Descrambler.• Verification, using VHDL-based testbenches and software modelling. Code coverage.• Silicon bringup and debug.Tools: Cadence DF2/NCsim, Synopsys Design Compiler, SOS.

Swindon (To March 2001) And Plymouth

• Worked in the Digital Television group.• VHDL-based design.• System on chip designs..• MPEG2 decode and transport processing.• Verification, using VHDL-based testbenches and software modelling.

Swindon, United Kingdom

• Worked in the Digital Television group.• VHDL and Verilog-based design.• MPEG2 decode and transport processing.• PVR hardware.• Both clean-sheet developments and feature additions to existing hardware.• Verification, using VHDL-based testbenches, emulation and software modelling.• Silicon bringup and debug.• Creation of test software, including video monitoring, bitstream error-injection, stress-testing, etc.

Programming and audio for a number of commercial games software titles.Platforms: Sinclair Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, Commodore Amiga, Atari ST, PC.Processors: Z80, 6502, 68000 and 80x86 assembler.

Bachelor’S Degree, Vlsi Circuit Engineering, 2:1

Education record

'A' levels in Electronics, Applied Maths, Physics and Computer Science. 'AO' level in Advanced Maths.

Education record

9 'O' levels. 1 'AO' level.