CPU Physical Design CAD Engineer (Sr Staff)
QualcommJob Title
CPU Physical Design CAD Engineer (Sr Staff)
Role Summary
As a CPU Physical Design CAD Engineer on the CPU Engineering team (NUVIA within Qualcomm), you will develop and support implementation tools and flows used for place-and-route to achieve leading power, performance and area for custom CPUs. The role focuses on tool and flow development, methodology improvements, and close collaboration with physical design teams and EDA vendors.
Experience Level
Senior-level. The posting indicates experienced candidates are expected (guidance ranges from mid-career to senior, with preferred candidates having around 10+ years of place-and-route experience; minimum experience varies by degree-see Education Requirements).
Responsibilities
Primary responsibilities include:
- Develop, integrate, and release new features in high-performance place-and-route CAD flows.
- Architect and recommend methodology and flow improvements to optimize power, performance and area (PPA).
- Maintain, support, debug implementation flows and resolve project-specific issues.
- Provide methodology guidance and tooling support to worldwide CPU physical design teams.
- Work with EDA vendors to define tool roadmaps and resolve tool issues.
Requirements
Must-have technical skills and experience; preferred items noted.
- Extensive hands-on experience with place-and-route and implementation flows for high-performance chips.
- High proficiency in Tcl and Python for flow automation.
- Experience across physical-design tasks including placement, routing, timing analysis, timing sign-off and PDV.
- Experience with advanced process nodes (5 nm or smaller).
- Strong debugging skills and experience maintaining and regressing CAD flows.
- Familiarity with industry-standard place-and-route tools (for example, Cadence Innovus) and experience collaborating with EDA vendors.
- Ability to work with distributed teams and provide methodology guidance.
- Nice-to-have: prior experience targeting CPU or high-performance SoC projects.
Education Requirements
Qualifications listed: Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field (with 6+ years relevant experience); OR Master's degree in those fields (with 5+ years relevant experience); OR PhD in those fields (with 4+ years relevant experience). The posting allows equivalent practical experience in lieu of a degree.
About the Company
Company: Qualcomm
Headquarters: San Diego, California, United States
Qualcomm is a global leader in semiconductor and telecommunications equipment, specializing in mobile technologies and innovations. Known for its Adreno GPUs, the company provides solutions enabling advancements in mobile gaming, AI, VR/AR, and autonomous driving. Qualcomm's cutting-edge technology and commitment to high-performance, power-efficient designs drive the evolution of mobile graphics and connectivity worldwide.
