AI-enabled PDK Development Engineer

Job Title

AI-enabled PDK Development Engineer

Role Summary

Develop and maintain Process Design Kit (PDK) rule-deck code, verification and extraction workflows, and associated documentation using software engineering and AI/ML techniques. Work within PDK teams and with cross-functional engineering groups to translate process and design requirements into tested, maintainable deliverables.

Experience Level

Mid-level engineer. Posting indicates approximately 2+ years (Level 5) or 3–5+ years (Level 6) of relevant experience; final leveling will follow company guidelines.

Responsibilities

Primary responsibilities include PDK code and rule development, automation, validation, and collaboration with domain experts.

• Develop, test, maintain, and support rule decks and PDK code for LVS, DRC, PEX, OPC, and Design Manual requirements.
• Apply AI/ML and LLM methods to generate, translate, review, debug, optimize, and regression-test rule-deck code under expert review and release controls.
• Implement automated pipelines that convert process and design requirements into structured rules, test cases, documentation, and QA evidence.
• Create and maintain positive/negative test layouts, golden references, coverage metrics, and regression suites for verification and extraction deliverables.
• Analyze correlations between PEX/OPC outputs and silicon, process, metrology, EM, and simulation data to improve model and rule fidelity.
• Integrate deliverables into commercial EDA environments and PDK release flows using version control, CI, issue tracking, and change management.
• Collaborate with process integration, device, modeling, mask, lithography, design enablement, and circuit-design teams to produce customer-usable design collateral.
• Perform work in accordance with Environmental, Health, Safety & Security requirements.

Requirements

Must-have technical skills and experience; preferred items listed separately.

• Must-have: Strong Python programming and software-engineering practices (maintainable code, automated testing, debugging, version control, documentation).
• Must-have: Practical experience with AI/ML methods, large language models, code generation, NLP, retrieval/grounding techniques, optimization, or data analytics applied to engineering workflows.
• Must-have: Ability to translate domain requirements into testable software solutions and validate AI-generated outputs via deterministic checks, regression tests, and expert review.
• Must-have: Proficiency with at least one additional language or environment (Tcl, Perl, C/C++, Java, or equivalent) and experience in Linux/Unix.
• Must-have: Experience designing and running automated tests, regression suites, acceptance criteria, and structured technical documentation for software or AI-enabled workflows.
• Other: Travel up to 10% and fluency in written and verbal English.
• Nice-to-have: Semiconductor, foundry, or PDK background and familiarity with device/process layers, PDK release practices, or layout verification concepts.
• Nice-to-have: Experience with commercial EDA tools or platforms for LVS/DRC/PEX/OPC (e.g., Calibre, IC Validator/StarRC, Pegasus/Quantus) and with CI/CD, containerized environments, and automated QA dashboards.
• Nice-to-have: Experience with AI-assisted coding agents, retrieval-augmented generation, static analysis, model governance, or secure handling of proprietary design data.

Education Requirements

Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Microelectronics, Physics, Applied Mathematics, or a related field; or equivalent practical experience. (The posting explicitly lists these degree fields and allows relevant academic research, internships, co-ops, or substantial project experience as consideration.)

About the Company

Company: GlobalFoundries

Headquarters: Saratoga Springs, New York, USA

GlobalFoundries is a leading contract manufacturer for the global semiconductor industry, with facilities in multiple countries, including the USA. The company develops a broad portfolio of semiconductor technologies and employs around 13,000 people worldwide. GlobalFoundries focuses on enhancing competitiveness in specialized application solutions and fostering innovation in mobile communications, consumer electronics, and automotive applications.