FIXED-FEE RTL ENGINEERING

Verification and RTL design, scoped like an engineer — not billed like a lawyer.

DVLabS is a design-and-verification lab: two independently scoped service lines — RTL verification and RTL design & implementation — each priced as a fixed fee against a target you set, not an open-ended hourly tab.

Verification: UVM, SystemVerilog OOP, cocotb, and formal/assertion-based — full scope, every methodology.

RTL design: MCU/SoC, ASIC-targeted, and FPGA — architecture through implementation, handed off clean for your downstream flow.

One number: pick a target and a tier, get a fixed fee before any work starts.

Build your estimate See what's included

SystemVerilog UVM · IEEE 1800.2 VHDL Verilog cocotb / Python SVA & Formal Questa / VCS / Xcelium Vivado Quartus Prime Verilator

TWO SERVICE LINES

Everything scoped separately, priced separately.

Verification and RTL design are independent engagements. Bring us either one, or both — you'll always know exactly what's in the deliverable before you sign off on a fee.

RTL Verification

prove it works

Every major verification methodology, from lightweight directed testing to full formal proofs — available in full, no exceptions.

UVM testbenches

Full agents, sequencers, scoreboards, and register abstraction layers, built to IEEE 1800.2 so the verification IP is reusable on your next project.

SystemVerilog OOP verification

Lighter object-oriented SV testbenches for teams that want structure and reuse without standing up a full UVM environment.

cocotb (Python) verification

Python-driven co-simulation testbenches that plug into Verilator or your existing simulator — a natural fit for smaller IP blocks and CI-driven regression.

Formal & assertion-based verification

SVA property development and formal proofs — reachability, deadlock freedom, and protocol compliance — to close corner cases simulation alone tends to miss.

Coverage closure & sign-off

Functional and code coverage analysis, hole triage, and a documented closure report you can hand to your customer or your fab.

RTL Design & Implementation

build it right

Architecture and RTL for MCU/SoC, ASIC-targeted IP, and FPGA — carried as far downstream as an in-house engineering team typically owns before handing off to fab or lab.

Microcontroller & SoC RTL design

Custom microcontroller cores, peripherals, and SoC-level integration in Verilog, VHDL, or SystemVerilog, from architecture through RTL.

ASIC-targeted RTL design & verification

Microarchitecture definition, RTL implementation, and functional verification for ASIC-targeted IP and subsystems. You receive clean, lint-checked, synthesizable RTL and a verification closure report, structured to drop directly into your own synthesis and static timing analysis flow.

FPGA design & implementation

Architecture, RTL, and synthesis across Xilinx/AMD, Intel/Altera, Lattice, and Microchip toolchains, carried through place-and-route to a timing-checked implementation.

FPGA timing closure & STA

Static timing analysis, SDC constraint authoring, and clock-domain-crossing cleanup to close timing at speed on your target FPGA device.

FPGA bitstream generation

Partitioning, mapping, and bitstream generation for FPGA-based prototyping and emulation platforms. You receive the compiled bitstream plus utilization and timing reports, ready for your team to load and validate on hardware.

HOW PRICING WORKS

Four choices. One fixed fee.

We don't sell hours — we sell an outcome. You pick the service line, the methodology or project type, the target, and the effort tier; we turn that into a scoped proposal before any work starts.

Pick your service line

Verification or RTL Design & Implementation. Most engagements start with one — you can always add the other later.

Choose methodology or project type

UVM, SV OOP, cocotb, or formal for verification. MCU/SoC, ASIC-targeted, FPGA implementation, or FPGA bitstream generation for design.

Set your target & effort tier

Slide the coverage or completeness target, then pick Essential, Standard, or Immersive pace.

Get a fixed-fee proposal

We convert those choices into scoped deliverables, a timeline, and one number — not an open-ended hourly tab.

THE ALTERNATIVE ROUTES

What you'd pay to get this done another way

Every one of these is a legitimate way to get verification or design work done. Here's how they typically compare on cost, time-to-start, and what happens when the project ends.

	In-house hire	Freelance marketplace	Traditional design-services firm	DIY + emulator capex	DVLabS
Cost model	Salary + benefits, year-round, whether or not there's a full pipeline of work	Hourly billing; quality and methodology consistency vary widely by contractor	Custom quote after NDA and a sales cycle; rates rarely published	Large upfront hardware/tooling spend before any project work starts	One fixed fee, scoped to your target and tier — verification and RTL design priced independently
Typical cost	~$125K–$156K/yr median for a UVM/verification engineer, up to $200K+ at senior levelSource: ZipRecruiter, Glassdoor UVM salary data, 2026	~$75–$150+/hr for specialized SystemVerilog/UVM/FPGA workSource: Upwork category rate data, 2026	Where published, contract rates commonly run ~$100–110/hrSource: UK FPGA contract listing, 2026	Enterprise emulation systems (Palladium/ZeBu/Veloce-class) are a seven-figure capital purchase before facility and staffing costs	Transparent, tied to target % and effort tier — see the estimator above
Time to start	Typically 2–4 months to source, interview, and onboard	Days — but no guarantee of methodology fit or consistency	Weeks of vendor onboarding, NDAs, and procurement	Months of procurement, install, and bring-up before first use	Scoping call this week; work begins on signed proposal
When the project ends	Severance or "bench" cost if there's no next project queued	Easy to pause, but you often lose institutional knowledge	Contract minimums and termination clauses often apply	Hardware sits idle — sunk cost regardless of utilization	Engagement ends on schedule, no bench or idle-asset cost

ENGAGEMENT PROCESS

From first call to signoff

Discovery call

30 minutes on your RTL, your timeline, and what "done" needs to mean for this milestone.

Scope & plan

We draft a verification or RTL design plan against your chosen methodology/project type, target, and effort tier, with named deliverables.

Fixed-fee proposal

One number, one timeline, milestone payments attached. No surprise hourly overages.

Execution with weekly progress reports

You get a running readout of coverage, milestones, and open items every week, not just at the end.

Sign-off & handover

Closure report, full testbench/RTL handover, and a walkthrough with your team.

PAYING US

However works for your finance team

Milestone-based invoicing as standard — typically 30% to start, 40% at the target checkpoint, 30% at sign-off.

Card

Visa, Mastercard, Amex via Stripe checkout

PayPal

Invoice or checkout link, PayPal Business

Crypto

BTC, ETH, USDC via a hosted payment gateway

Bank transfer

Wire or ACH for milestone invoices

ⓘ This page shows the payment methods DVLabS intends to accept. To actually process payments, connect a Stripe or PayPal Business account and a crypto payment gateway on the backend with your own merchant credentials — none are wired up in this static page.

QUESTIONS

Frequently asked

The scope questions people usually ask before a scoping call.

Can I engage verification and RTL design separately?

Yes — they're scoped, estimated, and invoiced as independent services. Plenty of clients only need one; some line up both for the same block or SoC.

What does the ASIC-targeted RTL design service include?

Microarchitecture definition, RTL implementation, and functional verification for your ASIC-targeted IP or subsystem. You receive clean, lint-checked, synthesizable RTL and a verification closure report, ready to hand into your own synthesis and static timing analysis (STA) flow.

Does FPGA bitstream generation include loading or testing on hardware?

The service covers partitioning, mapping, and compiling down to a loadable bitstream, plus utilization and timing reports. Loading the bitstream and validating it on hardware is handled by your team, or can be scoped as a separate engagement.

Which verification methodologies do you support?

UVM (IEEE 1800.2), lighter SystemVerilog OOP testbenches, cocotb/Python co-simulation, and formal/assertion-based verification. We'll recommend a methodology during scoping if you're not sure which fits.

How is the fixed fee calculated?

From the service line, methodology or project type, your target (coverage % or design completeness), and the effort tier you pick. The estimator above mirrors the same model we use to draft your proposal.

What FPGA vendors and devices do you work with?

Xilinx/AMD, Intel/Altera, Lattice, and Microchip device families — architecture, RTL, synthesis, timing closure, and bitstream generation across each toolchain.

How do you handle confidentiality and IP?

A mutual NDA is standard before any RTL, spec, or testbench changes hands, and all deliverables and IP rights transfer to you at sign-off.

GET IN TOUCH

Ready to scope your project?

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Your current estimator plan

Service lineVerification

Methodology / typeUVM

Target85%

Effort tierEssential

Spec statusSpec still evolving

Estimated fee$8,900 – $10,600

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