Digital signal processing (DSP) has two facets—hardware design and software algorithms and applications. Traditionally, India has been a power house of software and hence has a strong DSP software presence, believes Abhijit Giri, senior engineering manager, DSP, Analog Devices India. A number of young engineers develop optimised algorithms in India.
Giri says, “In DSP software domain, there are companies which develop either off-the-shelf DSP software IPs such as various multimedia and communication codec modules, or provide system integration services to OEMs.”
Talking about hardware, he adds, “Analog Devices have strong DSP design presence coupled with ownership to improve the performance and take hardware to the next level to enable software engineers to develop better algorithms providing better customer experiences. With combined hardware and software developments, I believe that DSP is a great domain poised to provide good opportunities for engineers in India.”
Explaining why the DSP domain is growing and has a bright future in India, Rajeev Kaushal, general manager-product engineering services, eInfochips, says, “There are more than a hundred organisations dealing with DSP and more than 20 companies specially focused on the DSP domain in India. It is a very niche market. Today, there is a lot of requirement related to DSP in the defense vertical. It is a domain that is growing very well in India.”
He feels that in the coming days, there will be lots of projects and career opportunities in DSP domain in India.
Scope
“DSP technology finds a number of applications,” informs Kantheti Srinivas, director-product applications and systems engineering, Analog Devices India. Audio systems, car infotainment systems, handsets, cellular communications, telecommunications, and medical imaging and diagnostics are just a few examples that touch the common man’s life every day. With rapid evolution of these technologies, the opportunities only continue to grow.
Suggestions from industry experts
“For a software and systems engineer, key skills needed are sound mathematics, signal processing concepts, digital systems followed by strong programming skills. Hardware designers should have skills related to semiconductor design, architecture focused on improved performance, power optimisation, etc” —Kantheti Srinivas, director-product applications and systems engineering, Analog Devices India
“Those interested in pursuing a career in DSP should have studied at least one DSP processor architecture. In addition, they should be conversant in ‘C’ language and Assembly language programming, and familiar with software optimisation methodologies. Also, a module on DSP cores is included in electronics engineering courses. In case you have not studied DSP cores, many colleges offer short-courses in embedded systems and DSP programming. It is advisable that you enroll in such a course” —Subodh Shukla, Engineering Group Director, Cadence Design Systems (India)
“Some basic to intermediate-level courses in digital signal processing/processors are offered by Cranes. These courses are authorised by companies like Texas Instruments. There are some courses offered by M.S. Ramaiah School and IISC as well” —Sunil Kshatri, AVP, human resources, Sasken
Srinivas says, “With all major OEMs having design and development centres in India, I believe the job scenario in DSP and associated systems is very good.” “DSP is a specialised field in high technology. So work in this domain rates high in job satisfaction,” he adds.
“In the wireless and media space, DSP skills are needed in two areas—codecs development and optimisation, and physical-layer development,” informs Milind Gandhe, business line head, semiconductor & silicon platforms, Sasken.
He says, “Demand for codec development and optimisation is now declining, but the demand for physical layer (Layer 1) development is quite high. These are niche areas and there are not too many experts available with these skills. As a result, the career prospects are quite bright.”
“With the rise of DSP related applications in today’s electronics, a natural consequence is increasing work in the field of DSP,” believes Subodh Shukla, engineering group director, Cadence Design Systems (India). There is substantial amount of DSP in most of the commonly used devices like cell phones, DVD/CD players, portable music devices and TVs.
He says, “There is a lot of DSP work happening in India. Historically, India has a long tradition of DSP—when the first semiconductor companies approached India over 20 years ago, the teams were involved in DSP. Over the years, India has built up expertise in DSP, which is recognised globally. Therefore a lot of the outsourced work to India in embedded systems/chip design area is in DSP.”
Also, with IT booming in India, there is a lot of demand for jobs in the DSP field in India, believes Jiju George, director-human resources at Broadcom. He informs, “The scope of career in this field would be in sectors such as defense, telecom, multimedia, medical instrumentation, low-cost smart devices, space and aviation, consumer electronics, automotive and safety products.”
Qualification
To make a career in DSP field, one typically needs to have a graduate degree in electronics engineering or electronics and communication engineering. A postgraduate degree in signal processing is preferred, informs Gandhe.
Skills required
• Knowledge of typical DSP theoretical aspects like sampling, convolution, correlation, filters, forward error-correction codes, speech codecs, digital modulation techniques and FFT
• DSP architectures (single-core and multi-core)
• ‘C’/Assembly programming on real-time OS
• Fixed-point representation of numbers
• Hardware accelerators
• Hands-on experience with tools like MATLAB
• Exposure to equipment like spectrum analysers, signal generators and modulators —Sunil Kshatri, AVP, human resources, Sasken
For DSP chip or system design, a master’s degree in electronics or associated domain is desirable.
“Writing DSP software requires good grasp of signal processing concepts. Therefore a master’s degree in electronics or computer science with specialisation in DSP would be highly preferred,” explains Giri.
Kaushal believes that a good idea of design algorithm, understanding of different platforms and an attitude to learn are the minimum requirements. He says, “The candidate must have hunger and passion to learn and face challenges in this particular domain.”
What’s in it for freshers?
“Some of the more advanced techniques are not taught in courses. So a fresher should view the first two-thre years of his career as an apprenticeship in the area,” says Gandhe. Once the engineer achieves a level of expertise, career growth is very fast.
“For a fresher who has moved into signal processor domain, opportunities mostly start from implementing an algorithm for exactness and later on optimising it for memory, MIPS, performance, power, etc,” informs Srinivas.
Common resume keywords for DSP jobs
Algorithms, architecture, C, C++, communications, digital, DSP, embedded, hardware, MATLAB, maths, real-time, signal processing, simulation, wireless, ASIC, FPGA, image processing, RTOS
He says, “As the career progresses, engineers should explore opportunities to develop the algorithm for specific applications—be it noise cancellation for a specific environment or a new communication algorithm for a proprietary communication network.”
“This provides good challenges and opportunities to showcase the experience an engineer gained over a period of time to develop new IP and demonstrate his skills,” he adds.
There are opportunities for freshers but they must fulfil the basic requirement to enter DSP domain. Kaushal explains, “Freshers must have good analytical skills. The assigned task depends on the capabilities of the candidate at entry level. There are inhouse training programmes organised by companies to train candidates in DSP field as per the working structure of the company.”
George informs that freshers are offered profles in the areas of software development, firware debugging, audio codec, RTL implementation of DSP algorithms, and system design and verification. The operative tasks that they would be performing are design, development, documentation, review, integration and testing of physical-layer signal processing and control modules on DSP/RISC processors.
Pay package
The pay package depends upon the skills and expertise of the candidate. “In current market, the average pay package ranges from Rs. 250,000 to Rs. 500,000, depending on the capabilities of the candidate,” informs Kaushal.
Training
Talking about the training programme at Analog Devices India, Giri says, “We have a reputation of going to the top campuses every year and hiring good talent via rigorous written and interview process. On joining Analog Devices, candidates go through a rigorous programme where they use Analog Devices’ DSP processors and program them to gain the necessary knowledge. They implement key algorithms and gain mastery hands-on. On joining a project, they continue to enhance their skill set.”
Adding to that Srinivas says, “In many institutions, software optimisation methodologies are taught only at the postgraduate level. If a fresher has not studied software optimisation methodologies, we provide some on-the-job training in this area.”
Talking about the training atmosphere at Cadence Design Systems, Shukla shares, “We provide on-the-job training on real-life projects. This is the best training that freshers can get, as they are exposed to real designs and real-world pressures. In addition, we regularly have knowledge sharing sessions where experienced designers discuss projects with the team. We also assign mentors to freshers to guide them while they are new to the job.”
Companies like Broadcom and Sasken provide a basic overview of DSPs, followed by on-the-job training.
Sharing how eInfochips goes about training freshers in the DSP domain, Kaushal informs, “We have eITRA (eInfochips Training and Research Academy) at eInfochips, which is an initiative to narrow the gap between the academia and the industry. It provides special training programmes in the DSP domain. Also, we have project-specific training programmes in groups, which form the second level of the training process.”
To sum up
“DSP domain is growing very fast in India and has a number of lucrative positions and work profiles to offer,”says George. It is challenging, but has a lot of potential to grow. Giri says, “My strong recommendation would be to get a master’s degree in signal processing as it helps one to build a career. Various institutes offer a number of short-term courses. One needs to understand their offerings and make a wise call on the effectiveness of the courses.”
