Physical Design Engineer (Multiple levels)
QualcommJob Title
Physical Design Engineer (Multiple levels)
Role Summary
Work on physical implementation of ASICs and SoCs across floorplanning, placement, clock tree synthesis, routing, timing closure, and sign-off flows. The team supports high-performance computing, AI, mobile, automotive, and data center products on advanced process nodes.
Experience Level
Mid-level / multiple levels. Typical experience range shown in the posting: 2–10+ years across junior to senior roles.
Responsibilities
Deliver physical design tasks from synthesized netlist to tape-out and enable design sign-off.
- Execute floorplanning, partitioning, power planning, and IR-drop analysis.
- Perform placement, clock tree synthesis (CTS), routing, and timing optimization across MMMC scenarios.
- Analyze and resolve timing violations, signal integrity, crosstalk, and physical design rule issues.
- Run RC extraction, physical verification, and formal verification activities leading to sign-off.
- Implement ECOs and support design convergence to tape-out.
- Collaborate with architecture, RTL, DFT, verification, and methodology teams.
- Develop low-power implementation methodologies and customized place-and-route solutions.
- Build automation and productivity tools using scripting and software development techniques.
Requirements
Must-have technical skills and experience (degrees summarized separately under Education Requirements).
- 2–10+ years industry or relevant academic/project experience in physical design.
- Experience in ASIC/SoC physical implementation and sign-off flows (placement, CTS, routing, STA).
- Familiarity with place-and-route tools (e.g., Cadence Innovus, Synopsys Fusion Compiler) and STA tools (e.g., Synopsys PrimeTime SI).
- Knowledge of physical verification, formal verification, MMMC sign-off, and signal integrity/noise analysis.
- Low-power design and power-domain implementation experience.
- DFT-aware physical implementation and constraint management experience.
- Programming and automation skills: Python, Perl, TCL, shell scripting; familiarity with C/C++ and Linux/Unix environments.
- Strong problem solving and ASIC development/debugging skills.
Education Requirements
Minimum: Bachelor's degree in Science, Engineering, or related field plus 2+ years of relevant experience; OR Master's degree in Science, Engineering, or related field plus 1+ year of relevant experience; OR PhD in Science or Engineering. Preferred fields include Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or other related technical disciplines.
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.
