Physical Design Engineer

Job Title

Physical Design Engineer

Role Summary

Join Microsoft's Compute Silicon & Manufacturing Engineering (CSME) within SCHIE to deliver physical implementations of large SoC designs that power Microsoft's cloud infrastructure. The role focuses on RTL-to-GDS execution, clock construction, timing and physical signoff, and cross-functional coordination.

Primary mission: produce production-ready physical designs that meet performance, power, area, quality, and manufacturability targets.

Experience Level

Mid-level. Typical technical experience range: approximately 1–3+ years of relevant semiconductor or physical-design engineering experience, depending on background.

Responsibilities

Key responsibilities include:

• Drive RTL-to-GDS implementation from synthesis through place-and-route and all signoff stages (timing, physical verification, EMIR, formal equivalence, low-power verification).
• Design and implement SOC clock networks and clock tree synthesis (CTS) for high-speed designs.
• Optimize SOC blocks and methodologies for clock construction, timing, and PPA (power, performance, area) trade-offs.
• Coordinate with CAD, RTL/design, DFT, architecture, power & performance, technology teams, and external partners.
• Influence tools, flows, and methodologies via data-driven analysis and methodology exploration.
• Provide clear project status, planning, and technical ownership for medium-to-large SOC blocks.

Requirements

Must-have skills and constraints:

• Hands-on experience with physical design flows: synthesis, floorplanning, place-and-route, extraction, timing closure, and physical verification.
• Proven ability with clock construction strategies and CTS for high-speed SOCs.
• Experience with timing signoff, EMIR, formal equivalence, and low-power verification.
• Understanding of PPA trade-offs and low-power design methodology for SOCs.
• Strong collaboration, communication, problem-solving, and data-analysis skills.
• Ability to meet Microsoft security screening requirements and to provide citizenship or residency documentation as required for export-control eligibility.

Nice-to-have:

• Production silicon tape-out experience in advanced foundry process nodes.
• Experience owning PD execution for medium-to-large SOC blocks and partnering with PD flow/CAD and methodology teams.
• Familiarity with PD tooling, automation, and manufacturability/yield optimization.

Education Requirements

Microsoft lists Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctorate degrees in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related technical fields; equivalent practical engineering experience is accepted and referenced as an alternative to degree-based requirements.

About the Company

Company: Microsoft

Headquarters: Redmond, Washington, United States

Microsoft is a global technology company that develops and sells software, services, devices, and solutions. Known for its Windows operating system, Office suite, and Azure cloud platform, Microsoft aims to empower individuals and organizations around the world to achieve more. The company fosters a culture of innovation and inclusion, focusing on delivering trusted experiences to customers and partners globally.