Manasa Rao’s Journey From Eight Years at ARM to Building CPUs at Rivos

In Rivos’ Bangalore office, Manasa Rao is part of a two-person team responsible for CPU top-level design verification. It’s a role that demands both technical breadth and attention to detail, ensuring that every component of the CPU works together before the chip makes it to silicon. 

Manasa’s work spans the verification process, starting with architecture specifications, working closely with Rivos architects. From there, she develops detailed test plans, designs scenarios to push the system to its limits, and integrates tools to improve the verification flow. “Every day is different,” she said. “Some days I’m reading specs and coming up with scenarios to test them. Other days, I’m recreating a bug, integrating a new tool, or chasing coverage targets.” 

Earlier in Manasa’s career, she spent a year as a Senior Hardware Engineer at Samsung Electronics, almost three years as a Design Engineer at AMD, and eight years at ARM, where she became a subject matter expert in her domain. While she valued the ARM’s work ethic and collaborative culture, she eventually felt stuck in her role. “The learning curve got shorter,” she recalled. “My job became very structured, and I wasn’t keen on joining another big company where too many people are doing the same things.”

When Manasa joined Rivos in 2022, she immediately found the variety she was seeking. Adjusting to a workplace without as much structured guidance took time, but she embraced the challenge. “It was refreshing to meet people with such caliber from varied backgrounds, all with a shared vision to get this startup up and running,” she shared. “It feels like I’m part of a big family. From the CEO to the CTO, everyone is approachable.”

Her favorite part of the job is catching elusive bugs and corner cases. “When something in my test plan uncovers a rare issue, I sleep better at night,” she said with a smile. “A good workday brings a lot of satisfaction and joy.”

Outside of work, Manasa is a full-time mom. She enjoys watching plays, trekking in the Himalayas, learning Hindustani classical music, and solving intricate jigsaw puzzles.