Guides, industry insights, and career advice for IC engineers, ASIC designers, and chip architects.
Floorplan engineers define how blocks, macros, and power rails are arranged on the die - decisions that set physical constraints for all of downstream implementation.
Power analysis engineers own the IC power sign-off gate at tapeout, using Synopsys PrimePower, Cadence Voltus, and Ansys RedHawk to verify IR-drop, electromigration, and thermal margins.
Why timing closure pays a premium near tapeout, the tool flow at advanced nodes, and what the path from physical design looks like.
What static timing analysis signoff actually looks like at advanced nodes, the tool stack employers ask for, and how the path from physical design works.
DFT engineers are scarce relative to demand because the discipline sits at the intersection of RTL, physical design, and manufacturing test, and depth in all three takes time.
FPGA engineering splits into two distinct tracks, product-side RTL and ASIC prototyping, each with its own tool stack, employer profile, and compensation band.
Why mixed-signal pay outruns pure-digital, what the tool stack looks like across the analog-digital boundary, and where the work happens.
A technical deep-dive into how FPGAs achieve sub-microsecond tick-to-trade latency in high-frequency trading. Covers pipeline architecture, order book design, and protocol parsing.
Why analog IC design pays for intuition, where the work actually happens, and which process nodes are still mature in the analog world.
Why verification headcount keeps growing, what the tool stack looks like in 2025, and where the senior pay sits relative to RTL design.
What chip architecture actually looks like at fabless companies, who hires, how compensation reflects scarcity, and what feeder roles get you there.