Lead / Senior Physical Design Engineer
QualcommJob Title
Lead / Senior Physical Design Engineer
Role Summary
Lead physical design activities for ASIC/SoC projects, owning implementation from netlist to GDSII and sign-off. Work within a hardware engineering team to deliver floorplanning, place-and-route, clock-tree synthesis, and sign-off checks for production designs.
Experience Level
Senior-level - typically requires extensive experience in physical design. The job lists 8+ years of physical design experience; see Education Requirements for degree-based minimums.
Responsibilities
Primary responsibilities and day-to-day duties include:
- Own physical design (PD) execution from netlist to GDSII, including sign-off readiness.
- Perform floorplanning, placement, routing, CTS, and PDN implementation and closure.
- Implement voltage islands and low-power methodologies across the design flow.
- Debug and resolve congestion, timing (STA/CTS) and closure issues.
- Drive sign-off flows and checks (power verification, PDN, STA, functional verification, design rule checks).
- Improve and standardize PnR methodologies and automation flows.
- Coordinate status, issues, and handoffs with global teams and stakeholders.
Requirements
Must-have technical skills and experience:
- Strong knowledge of ASIC place-and-route flows and methodologies.
- Hands-on experience owning PD tasks including netlist-to-GDSII flow and sign-off checks.
- Expertise with PnR tools such as Cadence Innovus / Synopsys Fusion Compiler and related flows.
- Experience with low-power implementation, voltage islands, and related methodologies.
- Proven ability to debug congestion and CTS issues across complex designs.
- Familiarity with sign-off toolchains and checks (PV, PDN, STA, FV, CLP, Scan, DRC).
- Proficient scripting skills (TCL, Perl, Python) for automation and flow integration.
- Effective communicator and able to work in a global, cross-functional team environment.
Education Requirements
Minimum qualifications stated: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Electrical/Electronics Engineering, Engineering, or related field with 4+ years' hardware engineering experience; OR Master's degree in those fields with 3+ years' experience; OR PhD in those fields with 2+ years' experience. The posting also specifies 8+ years of physical design experience for the role.
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.
