Lead Product Engineer

Job Title

Lead Product Engineer

Role Summary

The Lead Product Engineer acts as the technical bridge between R&D, Application Engineering, and customers for Cadence’s Digital and Signoff Group. The role focuses on physical design and timing closure for advanced-node ASICs (7nm and below) and drives tooling and flow improvements to meet customer PPA goals.

This is a customer-facing, high-impact engineering role that influences product evolution, benchmarks competitive flows, and delivers customized RTL-to-GDSII methodologies.

Experience Level

Senior — leadership-level individual contributor. Typical experience guidance: BS in Electrical Engineering + 4+ years industry experience, or MS in Electrical Engineering + 2+ years of digital implementation experience.

Responsibilities

The primary responsibilities focus on technical support, product improvement, and customer-facing flow development.

• Serve as the primary place-and-route (P&R) technical resource for internal teams and external customers.
• Work with R&D to track, diagnose, and resolve software issues to ensure robust tool releases.
• Execute competitive benchmarks and demonstrations to show Cadence advantages in Power, Performance, and Area (PPA).
• Develop, deploy, and maintain customized RTL-to-GDSII methodologies, scripts, and flows to meet customer design targets.
• Advise customers and internal teams on timing closure strategies and PPA optimization at advanced nodes (7nm, 5nm, and below).
• Collaborate with Product Marketing and stakeholders to align technical capabilities with market and customer roadmaps.

Requirements

Must-have technical skills and experience.

• Deep understanding of the full ASIC design flow (RTL-to-GDSII), with emphasis on physical design and timing analysis.
• Hands-on experience with timing closure and PPA optimization at advanced nodes (7nm, 5nm, or below).
• Familiarity with industry-standard EDA tools for synthesis, placement, routing, and signoff.
• Proficiency in scripting (Tcl, Python, or Perl).
• Strong verbal and written communication skills to translate complex technical issues into actionable plans.
• Customer-facing experience and ability to deliver technical presentations and benchmarks.
• Nice-to-have: familiarity with AI-driven productivity tools and prior experience in product engineering or application engineering roles.

Education Requirements

BS in Electrical Engineering (EE) plus 4+ years of industry experience, OR MS in Electrical Engineering (EE) plus 2+ years of digital implementation experience. Focus on electrical/EE or closely related technical fields; digital implementation experience required. (Information summarized from the posting.)

About the Company

Company: Cadence Design Systems

Headquarters: San Jose, California, USA

Cadence Design Systems is a global electronic design automation company that provides software, hardware, and intellectual property for designing advanced semiconductor chips. With over 25 years in the industry, Cadence is known for its innovative technology solutions and has been recognized by Fortune Magazine as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For. The company is dedicated to solving complex technical challenges in order to enable customers to create revolutionary products and experiences.