Physical Design Engineer, Senior to Level

Physical Design Engineer

The Physical Design Engineer is responsible for the complete physical implementation of complex digital integrated circuits (ASICs/SoCs) from netlist to GDSII. This role involves turning logical circuit designs into physical layouts that meet timing, power, area, and reliability constraints.

Key Responsibilities

• Netlist-to-GDSII Implementation:
  Execute the full physical design flow including Floor planning, Power Planning, Placement, Clock Tree Synthesis (CTS), and Routing.
• Timing Analysis & Closure:
  Perform Static Timing Analysis (STA) to identify and fix setup/hold violations across various process corners and modes (PVT).
• Physical Verification:
  Run and resolve Design Rule Checks (DRC), Layout vs. Schematic (LVS), and Electrical Rule Checks (ERC) to ensure manufacturability.
• Power Optimization:
  Implement low-power design techniques (multi-voltage, power gating) and analyze IR drop/EM (Electromigration).
• Signal Integrity:
  Analyze and mitigate crosstalk, noise, and signal integrity issues.
• Flow Automation:
  Develop and maintain scripts (Tcl, Shell, Perl, Makefile) to automate design flows and improve efficiency.

Technical Skills & Tools

• EDA Tools, proficiency with industry-standard tools such as
• Synopsys: ICC2, Fusion Compiler, Prime Time, StarRC, Redhawk.
• Siemens/Mentor:
  Calibre (for DRC/LVS/PERC).
• Deep understanding of CMOS digital circuit design, standard cell libraries, and memory macros.
• Knowledge of lower geometry technology nodes (e.g., 12nm, 7nm, 5nm) and their specific physical constraints.
• Strong scripting skills in Tcl, Shell, Makefile or Perl for tool customization and data parsing.

Qualifications

• Education:
  
  Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field.
• Experience:
  
  Experience ranges around 5-8 years, with responsibility for block-level or full-chip ownership.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 2+ years of Systems Engineering or related work experience. OR Master's degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 1+ year of Systems Engineering or related work experience. OR PhD in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field.