Influential Woman · Semiconductor

Renu Patle

Principal SOC Architect, Microsoft

Folsom, CA

3Awards received

Certifications · Degrees · Memberships

Degree IIT Kanpur Degree Graduated 2008 Member WomenX Silicon at Google (Communication Lead)

Her Story

About Renu

I started my career in microelectronics and VLSI design in the semiconductor field back in 2008 after graduating from IIT Kanpur. I joined Intel as a graphics design engineer and have been in the same industry ever since, developing my niche over the past 18 years. Most recently, I've grown into an architect role where I work on optimizing power and performance of AI chips and semiconductor chips. Throughout my career, I've worked on all kinds of different form factors and segments, including SOC, mobile, laptop, PC, data center, and servers in those fields. My day-to-day job today involves thinking about how an AI chip or any semiconductor chip can consume the least amount of power while giving the best performance and most amount of work. I hold two patents in my field and have several conference publications and presentations done. Problem solving is what inspired me to get into this field. I love a challenge, and engineering always forces you to think about how to put science, physics, and chemistry to real use where you are helping the world become a better place and more advanced and autonomous.

Her Interview

Ten minutes with Renu

01What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?

The best career advice that I've received is that whenever you want to grow in a field and learn or get better at it, learning by yourself is not enough. Ask for feedback, seek for feedback, even if it feels uncomfortable, even if it's not your forte, go and ask for it. How did I do? What can I do better? It could be annoying sometimes, but you have to present your questions and respond to their answer in such a way that they feel good. When they are giving feedback, they feel good that you are taking it positively, and they feel more open to sharing their opinion about it. The immediate feedback always, always helps you grow much faster than anything else. So that was the best career advice I've ever received.

02What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?

This is the most exciting time to be in the hardware and silicon design and semiconductor field, because the AI boom has increased the chip demand, which has just skyrocketed, and it represents huge, huge, huge challenge in terms of power that we can supply and the energy demand. In terms of being an engineer in this field, there are so many opportunities for you to solve the problems of this big industrial power demand. I feel this is the most exciting time to be in this field and contribute. This is fun. The AI has brought in a lot of challenges and potentials for solutions.

03What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?

The value important is integrity for me, and keeping the commitments that I've done. And the value that I add has to come through hard work and staying in the right track.

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