Physical Design Engineer II
MicrosoftJob Title
Physical Design Engineer II
Role Summary
Join Microsoft's Silicon, Cloud Hardware, and Infrastructure Engineering (SCHIE) team to work on physical design for cloud hardware used across Microsoft services. The role focuses on implementation and signoff of complex blocks or full chips to meet performance, quality, and manufacturability targets.
Position is an individual contributor role on-site 3 days per week (Redmond, WA) with occasional travel and involvement in cross-functional delivery and manufacturing readiness activities.
Experience Level
Mid-level. Typical candidates have multiple years of hands-on physical design experience; the posting specifies technical experience requirements that vary with degree (see Education Requirements).
Responsibilities
Core responsibilities include implementation, signoff, and convergence of physical design and signoff flows.
- Perform physical design tasks at block, sub-chip, and/or full-chip level: planning, synthesis, placement, clock tree synthesis, custom clocking, and place-and-route (PNR).
- Run and analyze static timing analysis (STA), resolve timing violations, and drive convergence to timing signoff.
- Develop and deliver EM (electromigration) and IR-drop signoff models and convergence strategies.
- Perform physical verification, IR drop & EM checks, and formal equivalence checks as required for signoff.
- Design and tune PNR strategies for congestion- and timing-challenged blocks.
- Report clear status, issues, and risks to program management and work with limited direction when needed.
Requirements
Must-have skills, security compliance, and professional competencies.
- Proven hands-on experience in physical design flows: synthesis, PNR, STA, signoff, and physical verification.
- Experience delivering EM/IR signoff methodology and driving EM/IR convergence.
- Ability to analyze and resolve STA violations and timing convergence problems.
- Strong problem-solving, attention to detail, and clear status reporting to management.
- Ability to meet Microsoft security and export-control screening requirements, including verification of citizenship or lawful residency when required.
Nice-to-have:
- Experience with industry EDA tools such as Star-RC, Fusion Compiler, PrimeTime, Innovus, Conformal, Formality, or similar vendor tools.
- Prior experience addressing congestion and advanced PNR challenges at advanced nodes.
Education Requirements
Required (per posting): Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field AND 1+ year technical engineering experience; OR Bachelor’s degree in those fields AND 2+ years technical engineering experience; OR equivalent experience. Preferred options listed include Bachelor’s +6 years, Master’s +4 years, or Doctorate +2 years, or equivalent experience.
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.
